Samsung’s has devoted a team comprised of two-hundred skilled engineers to build mobile displays exclusively for Apple. The move indicates that the two technology giants are strengthening business ties, patent disputes notwithstanding, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
The team formed April 1 and also helps with sales, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. In addition to the improved business relationship, analysts think the exclusivity of the business arrangement might indicate that Samsung Display could win more screen orders from Apple in the near future.
The article goes on to speculate that Samsung could even land screen orders for the Apple Watch. OLED panels for Apple’s wearable device are currently being supplied by rival LG Display, which also has a separate unit focused primarily on business with its biggest U.S. customer.
Samsung Display, a screen-making unit of the South Korean giant, has split its liquid-crystal display (LCD) and organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) units as of April 1, said Kim Ho Jung, a spokesman for the company.
“The team at Samsung Display Co., which provides screens for iPads and MacBooks, helps develop products and is only allowed to share information about Apple business within the group,” sources told Bloomberg.
Sources claim that Apple is once again the biggest external customer for Samsung components. In years past, the California company used to account for about eight percent of the revenue coming from Samsung’s component-making unit.
Moreover, the article claims that the Galaxy maker will also manufacture Apple’s next-generation mobile processor called the A9 at its Giheung plant in South Korea after losing current iPhone and iPad chip orders to rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC).
Source: Bloomberg Businessweek