Samsung is reportedly planning to expand its display panel suppliers by working with BOE, the Chinese manufacturer, to supply both OLED and LCD panels. BOE is said to provide small-sized OLED screens for Samsung Galaxy smartphones and large LCD panels for smart TVs. This move could mark a renewal of the partnership between the two companies after a previous legal dispute over patents and a year-long cooling of relations.
Industry sources report that BOE Chairman Chen Yanshun recently met with Samsung executives, including TM Roh, President of Samsung’s DX Division and MX Business. Discussions focused on supplying both high-end and entry-level OLED panels for smartphones and increasing the number of LCD panels for Samsung smart TVs. BOE previously supplied about 10 million LCD panels annually to Samsung, which dropped to around 1 million after the dispute.
The timing of this partnership comes amid rising global memory prices, prompting Samsung to diversify suppliers and potentially reduce production costs. BOE already supplies OLED panels to brands such as Oppo, Huawei, Vivo, and some iPhone models, making it a significant player in the display panel market. While there’s no official confirmation regarding higher-end Samsung smartphones, BOE is reportedly keen to re-enter Samsung’s supply chain beyond entry-level models.