Samsung, which has dominated the world with its own display technology for years, is preparing to make a historic change in its smartphone strategy. According to recent leaks from China, we may see panels from one of its biggest rivals, BOE, instead of Samsung Display in future Galaxy S series flagships.
Strategic Partnership Between Eternal Rivals
According to information shared by the famous leak source Ice Universe and DealSite, a critical meeting took place between the head of Samsung’s telecommunications department and the CEO of BOE. BOE is actually not an unfamiliar name to Samsung. The Chinese giant has long supplied LCD panels for Samsung televisions. However, it is claimed that the main focus of this new meeting is the development of high-end OLED panels for flagship smartphones.
For the company, which has so far only used panels from its subsidiary Samsung Display in “premium” devices such as the Galaxy S and Galaxy Z series, this represents a radical change.
Many might ask, “Why would Samsung buy from someone else when it has its own screens?” The answer is actually quite simple: cost pressure.
Rising Component Prices: Processors (like the Snapdragon 8 Elite), camera sensors, and memory prices are increasing daily. Price Balance: Instead of directly passing these increases on to consumers and driving up prices, Samsung aims to reduce costs by turning to different suppliers for screens, one of its biggest cost items. Apple Example: Apple already uses BOE panels in some iPhone models, and the results have been very positively received by users.
Interestingly, there was a recent legal battle between Samsung Display and BOE. Samsung Display won a patent infringement case against BOE and temporarily blocked BOE from shipping panels to the US. However, in the last few months, it seems that tensions between the two giants have subsided, and a “win-win” collaboration is on the horizon.
If this partnership materializes, it remains to be seen how it will affect the screen quality of Samsung’s flagship phones. However, BOE’s technological leaps in recent years suggest that Samsung is not taking too many risks in this regard.
