Chinese panel makers could eye OLED supply to flagships if successful
BOE, CSOT and Samsung Display were all developing the OLED panel that Samsung Electronics plans to use on its Galaxy A73 smartphone launching next year, TheElec has learned.
The mobile business of Samsung Electronics will evaluate the OLED panels made by these three display panel makers and decide how many orders to give to each, people with direct knowledge of the matter told TheElec.
Galaxy A7 is of the higher-tier in Samsung Electronics’ mid-tier smartphone brands.
The series is right under Galaxy S and Note series in terms of price and specs.
Next year’s version will have a 108MP camera on its rear, the first for the series.
If BOE and CSOT succeed in winning the order from Samsung Electronics, the Chinese companies can eye supplying OLED panels for the South Korean company’s flagships afterward.
CSOT had supplied Samsung Electronics with its OLED panels this year, but it was for the low-tier Galaxy M brand, and a legacy model at that. The volume was also very small.
Sources said Samsung Electronics is having the Chinese companies develop its OLED panels as it is trying to use them as leverage to cut the unit prices of Samsung Display.
Samsung Display is the world’s largest mobile OLED panel producer and had supplied nearly all the OLED panels used by Samsung Electronics for the past ten years.
BOE had developed the OLED panel for Galaxy S21 but the deal was canceled. Samsung Electronics had sent a quotation to BOE __ sources said this was considered an action to keep Samsung Display in check.
CSOT had also attempted to develop the OLED panel that Samsung Electronics planned for Galaxy M41 that was supposed to launch last year, Galaxy M41 was scrapped, and its replacement model, Galaxy M51, used OLED panels from Samsung Display.
