Samsung Sources OLED Panels from Chinese Firm for Midrange Phones

Samsung Electronics has begun sourcing OLED display panels from a Chinese supplier for its upcoming midrange smartphones, marking a departure from its long-standing reliance on in-house production. The move, reported by industry sources, involves an order of approximately 15 million panels from China Star Optoelectronics Technology, a subsidiary of TCL, for devices including the Galaxy A57 and the Galaxy S26 FE, with production expected to start as early as next month.

The decision stems from escalating costs in the smartphone manufacturing sector, particularly for memory components. Demand for high-bandwidth memory used in AI data centers has driven up prices for consumer-grade RAM and storage, squeezing profit margins across the industry. Samsung's Mobile Experience division, responsible for its Galaxy lineup, identified displays as one area where costs could be reduced. Panels from China Star Optoelectronics Technology are at least 20 percent cheaper than those produced by Samsung Display, the company's internal supplier, according to reports from The Elec. This cost-saving measure aims to offset the memory price increases without fully passing them on to consumers, helping...