It’s early February, and it looks like Samsung has not yet settled exactly on which batteries are going to be used in the upcoming Galaxy S8. Well, Samsung still tapped its subsidiary Samsung SDI to make Galaxy S8 batteries. That’s the same company that made one of the two types of batteries that powered the Galaxy Note 7 — batteries from both Note 7 suppliers had defects that turned the phones into explosive devices, however. This time around, it looks like Samsung wants even more diversity in its battery supply chain for the Galaxy S8 series.
The new flagship handset is supposed to launch in mid-April, which means it should head to mass-production soon if it’s not already there. But Business Korea has learned that the company is considering using batteries from Japanese company Murata Manufacturing Co., which purchased Sony’s battery subsidiary last June. Furthermore, Samsung is considering ATL for Galaxy S8 batteries as well, which is the Chinese battery maker that also provided Galaxy Note 7 batteries last year.
“We are still discussing whether to use Japanese batteries additionally while using Samsung SDI’s batteries first,” an official from Samsung said. “We haven’t still decided yet whether to use batteries from China’s ATL at the same time.”
Samsung is believed to be sourcing Galaxy S8 batteries primarily from Samsung SDI. In case market demand exceeds expectations, then Samsung will use an additional battery provider, the report notes.
A few weeks ago, Samsung explained that battery design flaws were responsible for the Galaxy Note 7 explosions and unveiled a new 8-point testing plan meant to improve quality assurance — that plan is expected to be used to make sure the Galaxy S8’s batteries are safe.
The Galaxy S8 will be unveiled during a special Unpacked press conference in late March, and the phone will then be released in various markets in mid-April.
