Image credit – iFixit
According to Samsung’s explanation following the first round of recalls of the Note 7, it seems that the Samsung SDI-made batteries could have been the problem. This led to Samsung relying pretty much on Amperex Technology to supply batteries for the Note 7 moving forwards, but we all know how that story ends.
Now according to a report from The Investor, it seems that Samsung has found a new supplier for the Note 8’s batteries, and that is none other than their competitor, LG, or to be more specific, LG Chem which is an arm of the LG Group that makes batteries. It is said that LG Chem will supply batteries to Samsung starting with the Note 8, which means that the Galaxy S8 will get their batteries from somewhere else.
It is unclear why Samsung is switching suppliers. After all given that the explosions happened for handsets that used either battery, it doesn’t seem like it could have been Samsung SDI or Amperex’s fault. In fact some have speculated that Samsung themselves could have been at fault for pursuing an “aggressive design”.
Alternatively it could simply be a business decision in which LG Chem could be offering up a lower price, or they could have better yield rates, and so on. Either way the Note 8 is still about a year or so away from being announced, so take it with a grain of salt for now.
Filed in . Read more about Galaxy Note 8, LG and Samsung.
