Samsung released a suite of tools early today for developers to more easily and cheaply build decentralized applications on its Galaxy S10 smartphone—on the Ethereum blockchain only, according to the announcement. The move further fuels debate that the electronics giant continues to favor Ethereum over other blockchains.
The new SDK will give many more developers exposure to Samsung’s range of Galaxy smartphones—which have been upgraded accordingly. Its other smartphones will support Ethereum development in the near future.
Developers will now have the means to better manage blockchain accounts, streamline transactions, more easily estimate fees using live crypto exchange rates and also enable a payment gateway for cryptocurrency remittance, according to Samsung.
To use this payment solution, dapps access Samsung’s keystore, a device-based, private key storage system within its security layer, Knox. The company explained that the new SDK now “links users not only to the Samsung KeyStore but also to any external cold wallets as well.”
The release of tools for mobile dapp development, by the electronics giant, is good news for Ethereum. But the company’s championing of world’s second biggest blockchain, for its smartphone, does not yet extend across its many other blockchain interests.
In April, Samsung executive, Moritz von Widekind told Decrypt that the company’s blockchain platform has its own consensus algorithm but also uses the HyperLedger and Ethereum protocols. The latter would be deployed in situations where smart contracts are needed, he added—to guarantee artists music rights, for instance.
The lack of detail in Samsung’s latest announcement might explain a muted response from Ettherum developers (we reached out to ask, and will update accordingly.)
The final SDK will drop at the end of 2019. In the meantime, developers in Canada, South Korea and the U.S. can request to partner with Samsung to access the beta.
Samsung launched its Galaxy S10 in February. It included a crypto wallet supporting ether and ERC20 tokens, but had limited support for dapp development.
At launch, the wallet supported only four dapps: crypto gaming platform Enjin, beauty community Cosmee, collectibles platform CryptoKitties and merchant payments service CoinDuck.
Samsung is also rumoured to be developing its own coin.