Samsung's first Tizen phone ships with Google Search and YouTube apps, and Google as its default search engine Following delays of over a year, Samsung finally shipped its first Tizen-powered handset, the Z1, earlier this month in India. The arrival of Tizen on smartphones — remember it's been on Samsung's Gear smartwatches for almost a year now — has been a long time coming, and there's been plenty of speculation among press and mobile industry watchers that Tizen could emerge as a viable alternative to Android for the Korean electronics giant. What we've found during our initial hands-on time with an Indian Samsung Z1, however, is a phone that's very much at ease with Google's ecosystem.

Firstly and most significantly, the Samsung Z1 ships with Google Search and YouTube apps in its app drawer. Both are pretty basic — the Google app merely pops up a search bar, then sends you to the built-in web browser to show results. Meanwhile the YouTube app is just a wrapper for the video service's mobile site at m.youtube.com. Basic as they are, however, the fact that official iconography is being used suggests Samsung is acting with Mountain View's approval. Verizon is offering the Pixel 4a for just $10/mo on new Unlimited lines The presence of Google and YouTube apps in the app drawer is no small deal. None of the other search providers supported in the Tizen browser — Bing and Yahoo — are given such prominence. What's more, Google has the honor of being the Tizen browser's default search engine out of the box. Though Tizen and the Samsung Z1 are direct rivals to the Android platform in general and Android One in particular, two of Google's main services are positioned front and center on the the first Tizen phone.