CSOT supplies Samsung with OLED for Galaxy M legacy models
Chinese company’s first OLED deal with Korean tech giant
CSOT had supplied some of the OLED panels Samsung used for its low-end Galaxy M smartphones sold in India, TheElec has learned.
The Chinese display panel maker supplied a small batch for 2020 model legacy M smartphone that is still being sold there.
Smartphone makers conventionally start using new suppliers for phones, three months after their launch to control cost.
This provides suppliers like CSOT an opportunity to increase its share in their supply chain.
The Chinese company’s supply to Samsung, though it was for a legacy model, is meaningful as it successfully met the spec required by the South Korean tech giant.
CSOT had developed the OLED panel for use in Galaxy M41 but the phone was scrapped and the deal canceled.
CSOT’s rival BOE is yet to supply its OLED panel for Samsung’s legacy smartphone model.
CSOT was also currently developing an OLED panel that Samsung plans to use in a new Galaxy smartphone launching in the first quarter, people familiar with the matter said.
BOE was currently also developing an OLED panel that will be used in newer Galaxy M models.
If both Chinese companies succeed in supplying their OLED panels to Samsung, this could potential impact the sales of Samsung Display, which has been the dominant supplier of OLED panels for Galaxy smartphones so far.
Samsung orders millions of units of panels for its individual Galaxy smartphone brands.
As the company is competing fiercely in the low- to mid-end sector with Chinese rivals such as Xiaomi, it could increase its panel orders from BOE and CSOT to control cost.