Samsung Once Thought Android Was A Joke, Now All Samsung Phones Run On Android

Samsung really did not see the potential of the Android operating system from the beginning. The Korean tech giant once had an opportunity to buy the Android operating system from its founder Andy Rubin, even before Google. However, Samsung decided not to make that deal. So is this the biggest regret for the Korean smartphone company?

In his book "Dogfight: How Apple and Google Went to War and Started a Revolution," author Fred Vogelstein revealed what happened during the meeting between the Android and Samsung development teams, which took place in Seoul in 2004. Founder Andy Rubin presented the idea of ​​Android and future vision to Samsung executives, but they didn't seem interested in what he said in that room.

They think that Andy Rubin's plan to turn the operating system into a mass product is ridiculous and like a joke. Even after Rubin finished his presentation, there was a terrifying moment of silence, and one of the Samsung executives spoke out:

“You and what army are going to go and create this? You have six people. Are you high?”

Recalling what happened at the meeting, Andy Rubin said: “They laughed me out of the boardroom.” However, shortly thereafter, Google decided to acquire Android for $50 million and recruited Andy Rubin as senior vice president of mobile and digital content.

Surprisingly, Samsung executives began to realize that they had made a huge mistake. One of them called Rubin, one day after Google acquired Android, to ask if it could be a separate meeting to discuss the "incredibly interesting proposal" they had discussed a few weeks ago in Seoul or not. But everything was too late.

Android is currently the most popular mobile operating system in the world, with over 2.5 billion active devices. Up to 80% of smartphones in the world currently run the operating system. With those figures, it is obvious that we all think that Samsung made a huge mistake when not buying it before Google.

However, according to a famous quote from Athenian aristocrat Phaedrus, “Things are not always what they seem.”

Google has done a good job of developing and promoting the Android operating system. Before the OS became successful, Nokia had still dominated the mobile phone market, believing that Symbian was the future and so did everyone. Samsung has become the world's No. 1 smartphone maker today, thanks in large part to Android and Google.

If that year, Samsung had agreed to buy Android and develop this operating system for its own smartphones, there might have been no Android, which is an open operating system that is completely free and has a lot of apps.

Because Google makes Android a success story, it does not mean Samsung can do the same. Instead, the Android in Samsung's hands could have turned into an exclusive operating system with a smaller user base, which developers are not interested in.

Although it is impossible to say exactly what would happen if Samsung acquired Android in 2004, before Google. But it can be affirmed that it was not a big mistake, because today both Samsung and Google are very successful. 

How about you? Do you think that was Samsung's biggest decision and acquiring Android could make Samsung's mobile division even bigger than it currently is?

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