Overview
- Recent reporting says negotiations between Samsung and BOE to supply OLED panels for the base Galaxy S27 have collapsed and BOE is no longer expected to supply those displays.
- Samsung explored BOE to cut component costs after memory and storage prices rose, with some reports saying BOE panels could have been roughly $5 cheaper per unit.
- Sources say divisions inside Samsung were divided over the move and that Samsung Display, the company’s majority-owned display unit, urged Samsung to abandon the deal.
- BOE launched a dedicated development project after receiving a Request for Information from Samsung and continued work despite the uncertainty, though past quality concerns have been cited in coverage of BOE’s missed orders.
- Samsung is now likely to revert to panels from Samsung Display for the base S27 and final sourcing is expected to be confirmed closer to Samsung’s Unpacked event early next year.