New Samsung OLED TVs on the cards as LG deal set to finalize

Samsung and LG are two of South Korea’s top companies. These diversified conglomerates compete in a variety of industries at home and overseas. In some areas, Samsung is in the clear lead, leaving LG so far behind that it’s no longer in the rear view mirror.

However, certain circumstances appear to have brought the two companies together. Rather unsurprisingly, there’s a Chinese element behind it. That’s why it’s now expected that a long-awaited partnership between Samsung and LG may be announced as early as this week.

Samsung LG deal will be worth a few billion dollars

Samsung might be the world’s top supplier of mobile OLED panels but LG Display dominates the large OLED panel segment. Samsung’s dislike for OLED TVs is well known so the company didn’t bother manufacturing OLED panels for TVs.

It perfected its own QLED panel technology for high-end TVs while using LCD panels for the more affordable second-tier TVs. This strategy has worked well for Samsung over the years since there was enough of a price difference between LCD and OLED panels. Then came the Chinese. They improved the quality and yields of their LCD panels and made their products competitive.

The price for LCD panels has risen as demand increases to the point that the gap between LCD and OLED panel prices has drastically reduced. So Samsung can now switch to OLED, which provides benefits over LCD, without taking a big hit on its margins.

The only problem is that Samsung doesn’t make large OLEDs. So it has to walk across town to LG Display. The company already supplies OLED panels to major TV manufacturers like LG Electronics, Sony and Vizio. It has lowered defect rates, increased production yields and is even expanding capacity.

There have been a few reports over the past few months indicating that a historic partnership worth a few billion dollars between Samsung and LG Display is on the cards. Samsung will reportedly use LG’s OLED panels in its second-tier TVs. It’s flagship models will continue to use QLED. This will be enough to hold Samsung over until Samsung Display is able to sort out the yield constraints for its next-gen QD-OLED panels.

Korean media is now reporting that the head of Samsung Electronics’ video display business division Han Jong-hee will confirm the partnership with LG Display as early as this week. Samsung is expected to sign a contract to source between 2 to 3 million OLED panels from LG Display per year until 2024.

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Samsung India offering discounts and freebies on TVs, soundbars, and more

Samsung is offering exciting deals, discounts, and freebies on its home appliances, soundbars, and TVs in India as a part of its Summer Days Sale 2021. Customers buying a 55-inch or bigger LCD/QLED TV from Samsung will get a free soundbar. The company is also offering up to 20% cashback and no-cost EMI schemes on its products.

Those who buy a 75-inch (or bigger) QLED TV in India will get an HW-Q900T 7.1.2-channel soundbar (worth INR 99,990) with Dolby Atmos for free. Some TV models will get a free HW-Q800T 3.1.2-channel soundbar (worth INR 48,990) with Dolby Atmos. Customers buying 65-inch (or bigger) QLED TVs or 75-inch (or bigger) UHD TVs will get a free HW-T450 2.1-channel soundbar (worth INR 16,490). 55-inch (or bigger) QLED TVs and 65-inch (or bigger) UHD TVs will come with a free HW-T420 2.1-channel soundbar (worth INR 13,490).

Samsung is also offering a low-cost EMI scheme for up to 36 months, extended warranty plans, and up to 20% cashback on select TVs. The company is also offering a 10% cashback on some of its soundbars.

The South Korean firm is offering 15% cashback and easy EMI options with its Curd Maestro, Direct Cool, Frost Free, and Side-by-Side refrigerators. The company is offering a 10-year warranty on the compressor of its refrigerators. Samsung’s select microwaves are currently being sold with a 10% cashback offer, 5-year extended warranty (Magnetron), 10-year warranty on ceramic enamel cavity, and two free Borosil sets.

There are various other offers on smartphones, tablets, washing machines, ACs, wearables, and more. The cashback offer can be availed by using credit and debit cards from Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, Federal Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and State Bank of India. All the offers mentioned above on Samsung products will be available till June 30, 2021, in India.

• Buy Samsung QLED/LCD smart TVs from Samsung India

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Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 already breaking Samsung’s records

There’s a lot of excitement for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3. These are undoubtedly Samsung’s highly anticipated devices of 2021. Given the success that it has witnessed with their predecessors, Samsung is hopeful that the new devices are going to sell very well.

According to recent reports, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 are now in mass production. The daily production figures of these devices have set a new record for Samsung’s foldables. It’s a clear indication that Samsung is bullish on the sales prospects of its new foldable smartphones.

Samsung expects the new foldables to do very well

A report claims that Samsung is producing between 50,000 – 70,000 units of the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 every single day. This figure is much higher than any of Samsung’s previous foldables.

Samsung has reportedly set an ambitious combined sales target of 7 million units for the new devices. It expects to sell 3 million units of the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and 4 million units of the Galaxy Z Flip 3. That’s quite an increase over their predecessors.

There are a number of factors that may contribute to more sales for the 2021 foldables. These are no longer first-generation devices. Samsung’s foldable technology is maturing. These devices are becoming more durable. They’ll also be packed to the gills with new technology.

The Galaxy Z Fold 3 will be the first Samsung foldable to feature the S Pen. Since there won’t be a new Galaxy Note this year, it may pick up sales from Note loyalists as well. We’ve also exclusively revealed that both the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 will get a price cut of up to 20%.

Better devices at lower prices sounds like a winning formula. Samsung appears to be confident in the new foldables’ ability to win your heart and your dollars. Whether that actually happens remains to be seen. Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 in August.

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Samsung just got done with ditching China for India

Samsung has set up a massive factory in Noida, UP, India to manufacture components for its products. The company has also made a significant investment in setting up a display panel manufacturing plant at the factory.

The company had confirmed in December last year that it would shift its display manufacturing unit from China to India. Merely six months after the announcement was made, Samsung is now done ditching China for India.

Samsung has invested almost $650 million in Noida

In a bid to attract Samsung’s mobile and IT display production unit to Noida, the government gave special incentives to the tune of $61 million. This massive investment was to create 500 direct and over 1,300 indirect jobs.

Samsung has now completed the construction of the display manufacturing unit that was shifted from China to Noida. A delegation from the company called on the state’s chief minister over the weekend.

It said that due to the better industrial environment and investor-friendly policies, Samsung decided to relocate its display manufacturing unit from China to Noida. The work of setting up the unit has now been completed.

The South Korean giant has spent almost $650 million to shift the manufacturing unit to India. It underscores the company’s commitment to manufacturing devices and components in India. With the heavy construction work now completed, it’s quite possible that this new manufacturing unit may be able to start commercial display production in the coming months.

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Samsung Display workers go on strike for the first time in history

Samsung Display is used to making history. For example, it was the first to commercialize UTG (ultra-thin glass) foldable displays. However, advancements in display technology aren’t the only “firsts” that the company now needs to get used to.

For the first time in history, Samsung Display workers have gone on a strike against the company. They went on strike after negotiations with the management failed over a wage hike.

Similar industrial actions could spread to other Samsung affiliates

Samsung had been staunchly opposed to labor unions in the past. Employees were prevented from forming unions at the companies under its corporate umbrella. However, the attitude towards unions has now changed. Samsung boss Lee Jae-yong had promised to get rid of the conglomerate’s “no labor union” policy.

Today, representatives of the labor union at Samsung Display launched their first strike in the company’s history. They did that after negotiations over a wage increase fell through. Around 40 representatives of the union staged the strike at the Samsung Display plant in Asan, South Chungcheong Province.

The union has close to 2,400 members or approximately 10 percent of the entire Samsung Display workforce. It’s yet to decide whether a full-scale strike will be launched. That option is not off the table as more than 90 percent of union members had voted for industrial actions last month.

If that happens, Samsung Display’s production would suffer, and that’s something it wouldn’t like. The union is demanding a 6.8 percent increase in base pay but the company has countered with a 4.5 percent raise instead. Both sides are not budging on their stance for now.

Once Samsung announced it would ditch its no labor union policy in May last year, the company would have known it may face such challenges in the future. Lee Jae-yong had promised that the conglomerate will strictly comply with labor laws and guarantee three fundamental labor rights of workers.

The labor union at Samsung Display was subsequently formed under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions last year. Industry observers are of the view that such industrial actions could expand to other Samsung affiliates in the future.

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Samsung’s Summer of Galaxy starts today with $50+ worth of goodies

Samsung is giving away over $50 worth of goodies to all of its existing customers as of today. The occasion is what the company refers to as the “Summer of Galaxy” – a promotional event meant to reward its existing customers for… well, existing.

Despite its name, this “summer” is only set to last for a month, as far as vouchers are concerned. Which is all anyone cares about, to be honest. As per Samsung’s official announcement of the event, there’s something for everyone here in terms of goodies. Everyone stateside, that is, as this is a U.S.-exclusive offer.

A 50% discount on the Galaxy Watch 3 is also on offer – with a catch

Perhaps the least surprising offer is also the most valuable of the bunch in terms of savings – it’s the three-month subscription to YouTube Premium. You know the one, Samsung’s been offering it in a perpetual manner for years. “Perpetually” meaning every other week, more or less.

But it’s not Samsung’s fault no one wants to pay for YouTube. Have you seen it lately? Still, given how a third of the planet is running Galaxy devices these days, Google’s sales strategy appears to be on point: just sell the subscriptions nobody wants in a bulk to Samsung for pennies on the supposed dollars, then claim your premium service is growing every quarter while the investors fall over themselves.

Oh well, at least the rest of the Summer of Galaxy offerings are somewhat decent: there’s a $5 Uber Eats voucher, three months’ worth of a Billboard Pro membership, and a comparable Twitch offering. Additionally, the most hardcore fans who manage to find a friend to buy a Galaxy S21-series device will net themselves and their plus-one a 50% discount on the Galaxy Watch 3.

Check out all the details at the Summer of Galaxy landing page.

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Samsung unveils pricing of Odyssey G3, G5, and G7 gaming monitors for South Korea

Samsung unveiled four new Odyssey gaming monitors earlier today, but it was mum on their pricing and availability for the international market. The company has now revealed information about the availability and prices of the Odyssey G3, Odyssey G5, and the Odyssey G7.

The 28-inch Odyssey G7 (G70A) gaming monitor is priced at KRW 950,000 (around $840) in South Korea. The 27-inch Odyssey G5 (G50A) will be sold with a price tag of KRW 650,000 (around $570). The 24-inch and 27-inch versions of the Odyssey G3 (G30A) gaming monitor are priced at KRW 275,000 (around $240) and KRW 315,000 (around $280), respectively.

The Odyssey G7 has a 28-inch 4K IPS LCD display with a 144Hz refresh rate, 400 nits peak brightness, DisplayHDR 400, Nvidia G-Sync Compatible certification, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, HDMI 2.1, and Ultrawide Game View. It can be paired with the latest gaming consoles like the Microsoft Xbox Series X and the Sony PS5 for 4K 120Hz gaming with variable refresh rate and auto low-latency mode. It even features a USB hub.

The Odyssey G5 has a 27-inch QHD IPS LCD display with a 165Hz refresh rate, 350 nits peak brightness, HDR10, and AMD FreeSync Premium. The Odyssey G3 comes in 24-inch and 27-inch versions, and both use Full HD IPS LCD display panels with a 144Hz refresh rate, AMD FreeSync Premium, and height-adjustable stands. All the new gaming monitors feature RGB lighting at the rear.

According to the latest numbers from market research firm IDC, Samsung was the number one gaming monitor brand (above 100Hz refresh rate) in the world and had a 16.9% share of the market in Q1 2021.

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