It's a 'dog eat dog' world within Samsung's labyrinthine halls right now, with the memory division refusing to offer more-precious-than-gold memory chips to the mobile division on concessionary terms, leading to unprecedented cost pressures for Samsung's Galaxy division. And, in its desperation, Samsung Mobile is now reportedly turning to a major China-based manufacturer of OLED panels to cut down on costs, especially for mid-rangers such as the Galaxy S26 FE and A57 smartphones.
How the mighty have fallen: Samsung Mobile is now turning to China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT) for the OLED panels within the upcoming Galaxy S26 FE and A57 smartphones
We reported recently that Samsung's mobile division (MX) is struggling to post an operating margin of even 1 percent in the ongoing quarter amid the ongoing memory 'chipflation' and the Iran war-driven logistics upheaval.
In response, the division has declared an all-out emergency, barred all executives below the rank of a VP from travelling on business class tickets for trips carrying less than 10 hours of boarding time, and is resorting to voluntary retirements to curtail overall overheads by as much as 30 percent.
Yet, these measures are still not cutting it, apparently. For one, The Elec is now reporting that Samsung's MX division has decided to source 15 million OLED panels, primarily for the Galaxy S26 FE and the Galaxy A57, from China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT). Since these panels entail a substantially lower cost, Samsung Mobile can feasibly reduce the volume of the pricier OLED panels that it would ordinarily purchase from Samsung Display, helping to offset some of the memory-driven cost pressures.
At a deeper level, this situation points to a breakdown of synergies within Samsung's internal structure. After all, what is the benefit of working under a unified corporate structure if each division undertakes purely mercantile business decisions? For Samsung Mobile, however, this situation represents a perfect illustration of the idiomatic expression: "how the mighty have fallen."
About the author: Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur.
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