I have bought a new phone. It is a Samsung Z3, powered by a Tizen OS. Have you heard of it? It is a Linux-based mobile OS, successor of such initiatives as MeeGo and LiMo. It is owned by Samsung, and it is Open Source. And it is fast. Its applications are written in C. Not Java, not JavaScript and not even Swift. An actual low level C.
So far I only played with it as an end user. It is slick and responsive - until I opened a browser. Does not matter if I use the builtin one or Opera, the pages are taking their time to respond. I see that as a testament to the impressive speed of the native applications.
As an end user I like several things a lot:
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No tie-in to any online services. For example, you can backup into some cloud, but you may also simply attach an USB Mass Storage device and do the same.
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True multitasking. Pop-up are dismissive. You do not have to make a decision to sing a dozen of license agreements on activating a phone - you can leave them there and use the phone until you make up your mind.
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Permissions are manageable on the per app basis. For example, I can turn on GPS and make it available to the HERE Maps, but not to Facebook. Facebook app still requests location permissions upon installation, but I can go to the app management screen and revoke them. It is awesome.
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Grayscale screen feature. Samsung added it as a mean to improve battery life. But I just love the look of it. Modern web and mobile applications are bright coloured beyond any reason. Most of them do not have any option to alter the colour theme. This feature makes all of them to be still in their full HD, but look decent. It also exposes developers who did not do their homework on colourblind people.
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HERE Maps. After years with Google and Garmin this application is a breath of fresh air. And its offline feature is awesome.
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App store. When was the last time you installed an app and it did not request any permissions? There were countless posts on the web lamenting the fact that even calculator apps require an odd set of permissions these days. Not in Tizen app store. There are free applications in it which do not require any. And they do not have any Ads in them. And they work.
It has been just one day so far and I have not used the new phone that much. But the experience has been great so far. And if you know me, I am not a big fan of the mobile OS'es. I did not praise any since the days of Maemo (Nokia n810) and MontaVista Linux (Motorola A1200). I think the future is bright again.