Samsung’s China shift is bleeding its Korean suppliers dry

Samsung’s adoption of multi-camera systems for smartphones a few years ago didn’t seem to have helped local lens suppliers much. In fact, the opposite happened, and rival companies from China have been thriving on the back of Samsung’s orders for a few years. Meanwhile, lens suppliers in South Korea were all in the red last year, and Haesung Optics stopped producing lens modules altogether earlier this month.

Sekonix reportedly was the only domestic smartphone camera lens supplier that had recorded an operating profit in the first half of the year. However, most other South Korean suppliers that were hoping to grow their business after Samsung switched to multi-camera systems haven’t been as lucky, and many of them are on the verge of losing their business entirely.

Samsung’s aggressive cost-saving strategies go beyond camera lenses

Samsung, like many other smartphone makers, is looking for ways to cut production costs. And to this end, the company’s been outsourcing the production of more smartphone models to ODMs and began acquiring more parts — OLED panels and batteries — from Chinese suppliers, including TCL, BOE, and ATL.

Word is that more TCL and BOE panels will be used for future low and mid-range smartphone models, while ATL batteries will reportedly power the Galaxy S22 series. And although there were rumors of a possible collaboration with Japanese camera manufacturer Olympus for the Galaxy S22 series’ camera system, they were later denied by the company.

Getting back to South Korean lens suppliers, industry watchers are worried that companies from China who benefit from supplying modules to Samsung could end up dominating the segment, similar to how LCD manufacturers did.

An unnamed industry official cited by The Elec went as far as claiming that if the domestic lens industry doesn’t improve, “it will be a burden on Samsung Electronics.”

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SamMobile Weekly Giveaway: Get your hands on the Galaxy Buds Live!

We have the Galaxy Buds Live on offer in our latest SamMobile Weekly Giveaway. It remains one of the best Samsung earbuds in 2021 and with good reason.

We mentioned in our Galaxy Buds Live review that comfort is one of the biggest selling points of these earbuds. The unique design allows for a very comfortable listening experience. The Galaxy Buds Live also happen to be the first Samsung earbuds to support Active Noise Cancellation.

SamMobile members from across the globe and enter using the widget below for a chance to win the Galaxy Buds Live. The winner will be announced on October 6, 2021.

Samsug Galaxy Buds Live international giveaway!

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[Result] SamMobile Weekly Giveaway: It’s your chance to win a Galaxy Fit 2!

Need a little help with your workouts? Samsung’s Galaxy Fit 2 is just the perfect device for you. It’s up for grabs in our latest SamMobile Weekly Giveaway.

In addition to the many advanced tracking features that the Galaxy Fit 2 offers, the device can even automatically detect five different activities. There’s even sleep tracking functionality. A single charge is enough to make the device last for up to 15 days.

Simply follow the steps mentioned in the widget below to submit an entry for the giveaway. The winner will be announced on September 29, 2021.

Result: Congratulations to Rui Santos for winning the Galaxy Fit 2. We’ll get your prize out to you right away. Everyone else can try their luck in next week’s giveaway!

Samsug Galaxy Fit 2 international giveaway!

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Galaxy S22 has the same battery supplier as the Galaxy Note 7

What comes to your mind when someone mentions the Galaxy Note 7? It’s probably the device’s flawed battery that was a fire hazard. The battery was the entire reason why Samsung had to discontinue the Galaxy Note 7 weeks after it was released.

Samsung reevaluated its battery supply chain after the incident. It ceased all business with a Chinese supplier that supplied a chunk of those batteries. That same supplier has gradually been brought back into the chain. Now it has emerged that the Galaxy S22 series is also going to use batteries from the same supplier.

ATL and Samsung SDI both supplying batteries for the Galaxy S22 series

China’s Amperex Technology Limited (ATL) was one of the suppliers for the Galaxy Note 7’s batteries alongside Samsung SDI. ATL was cut off from Samsung’s battery supply chain following the incident.

Samsung has since put in place rigorous safety measures to ensure there’s never a repeat of that embarrassing episode. ATL might have been able to meet Samsung’s strict standards as the Korean giant has reopened its business relationship with the company.

Batteries from ATL are currently being used in Galaxy A/M series smartphones, Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Buds wearables. ATL has even supplied batteries for Samsung’s flagship models. The Galaxy S21 series utilizes batteries from both ATL and Samsung SDI.

Korean media is reporting that ATL and Samsung SDI will also supply batteries for the upcoming Galaxy S22 lineup. The fact that Samsung is using ATL once again for its flagship models shows that its technology and safety has continued to improve.

The Samsung SDI-made Galaxy S22 battery has already leaked online. It has a rather disappointing 3,700mAh capacity, a 300mAh decline compared to the Galaxy S21’s 4,000mAh battery.

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Samsung and Apple have canceled their OLED iPad project

There have been multiple rumors about an OLED iPad being released next year. Apple was reportedly working with Samsung on the OLED panel for the tablet. That was hardly surprising as Samsung’s is the dominant supplier of OLED displays.

However, it appears that there has been a change of plan. The latest reports suggest that Apple and Samsung have given up on this project for now. This means that there probably won’t be an OLED iPad next year.

Apple and Samsung can’t seem to agree, what else is new?

Apple was reportedly going to launch its first iPad with an OLED display in 2022. It would have featured a 10.86-inch panel supplied by Samsung. This tablet was supposedly the successor to the existing iPad Air. In 2023, Apple was then expected to launch 11-inch and 12.9-inch OLED iPad Pro models.

The latest reports out of South Korea suggest that the 10.86-inch OLED display project has been cancelled by Samsung and Apple. The reason remains a mystery with some claiming it may have to do with profitability issues or the single stack structure of the OLED panel.

The single stack OLED panel structure is most widely used currently. The RGBs form a single emission layer. In a two stack tandem structure, which Apple had reportedly asked for, there are two RGB emission layers stacked on top of each other. This is said to deliver a 2x increase in brightness and 4x in panel life.

Samsung Display proposed a single stack structure despite the request from Apple. It has commercialized single stack only so far. Unless Samsung Display knows that the 10.86-inch OLED iPad will sell well and for a long time to come, preparing the back-end process for the two stack structure would be very costly.

Samsung Display is right to be concerned about its profitability in the face of such uncertainty. Apple has had to pay the company penalties in the past for not buying as many displays as it was supposed to.

Apple could get the panel from LG Display that’s making two stack OLEDs for its automotive clients. However, its production capacity is limited and may not be able to provide the kind of numbers Apple would need for a new iPad.

It remains unclear what will become of the OLED iPad in the face of these supply chain issues. Perhaps the two companies will work something out that will enable the device to hit the market in 2023.

Apple is quite late to the OLED tablet game. Some of the best Samsung tablets have OLED displays, they’ve actually had them since 2011, when Samsung’s first OLED tablet was released.

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Galaxy Z Flip 3’s biggest advantage could soon be killed by Huawei

Back in 2019, it felt that the only company that could go toe-to-toe with Samsung in the foldables market was Huawei. Samsung was showing off the first Galaxy Z Fold at the event. Not far from its booth, Huawei had the Mate X foldable on display.

A lot changed in the coming months. Huawei’s troubles with the US government dented its ability to compete. It even had trouble securing vital components made by its suppliers that needed to seek US approval. The company has continued to work on foldable smartphones, though. It now has the Galaxy Z Flip 3 in its sights.

Huawei has a Galaxy Z Flip 3 competitor in the works

Rumors out of China suggest that the Huawei Mate V foldable might be unveiled this year. This is said to be a clamshell foldable like the Galaxy Z Flip series. The first rumors about the Mate V can actually be traced as far back as early 2020. That’s when it first emerged that Huawei might have a competitor for Samsung’s clamshell foldable.

Details on the specs of this device remain slim at this point in time. It’s believed that the Huawei Mate V will use the company’s latest and most powerful Kirin 9000 chipset. No details about the display size, cover display, batter, 5G support, etc are available right now.

The biggest advantage of the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is that it has no real competitor. The reincarnated Moto Razr could barely keep up with the original Galaxy Z Flip. It’s no match for Samsung’s latest clamshell.

Could the Huawei Mate V threaten that advantage? Huawei still faces significant hurdles in selling phones outside of China. It also remains cut off from Google Play Services. Unless those issues are resolved, the Mate V is really only going to threaten the Galaxy Z Flip 3 on Huawei’s home soil.

Huawei does have an event lined up next month where it’s expected to unveil new devices. Perhaps it may show off a glimpse of the new foldable at the event.

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Galaxy S22 battery capacity confirmed, get ready for disappointment

The Galaxy S22 series could be unveiled in January 2022. However, months ahead of its release, the phone’s design and almost all of its specifications have been leaked. The Galaxy S22’s battery capacity was reported two weeks ago, and now, the battery capacity has been confirmed.

A Samsung battery with model number EB-BS901ABY has been certified by the South Korean certification agency. Going by its model number, it will be used in the Galaxy S22, which has model number SM-S901B. The battery has a rated capacity of 3,590mAh, and its typical capacity is 3,700mAh. This is a 300mAh downgrade compared to the Galaxy S21’s 4,000mAh battery.

It is being rumored that the Galaxy S22 will sport a 6.06-inch display that is smaller than the Galaxy S21’s 6.2-inch display. It could also use a more power-efficient Exynos 2200 processor. However, despite a more power-efficient display and processor, a 3,700mAh battery might not be enough, and the battery life may be shorter than the Galaxy S21. If you were thinking of upgrading to the Galaxy S22, you may be disappointed by its battery life.

The upcoming high-end smartphone could have a 10MP selfie camera at the front and a 50MP+12MP+10MP triple-camera setup at the rear. It is expected to feature an in-display fingerprint reader, stereo speakers, an IP68 rating, and wireless charging. The Galaxy S22 will be restricted to 25W fast charging, while the Galaxy S22+ and the Galaxy S22 Ultra will be upgraded to 45W.

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