Samsung SDI is in charge of the batteries you find on Samsung’s flagship smartphones. However, it is quite common for the company to source batteries for its flagships from multiple suppliers. According to recent reports, Samsung’s next flagship will use batteries from China. The upcoming Samsung Galaxy S21 series will use batteries from China’s ATL (Amperex Technology Limited, New Energy Technology Co., Ltd.).
Amperex Technology will make another entry into Samsung’s supply chain after the Samsung Galaxy S9. Samsung had to exclude ATL from its list of premium product line suppliers following the Samsung Galaxy Note7 battery incident in 2016.
In the past few years, ATL supplies batteries for Samsung’s low- and mid-range models such as the Galaxy A and M series. In addition to ATL, BYD is also a supplier of this series. Samsung’s flagship models currently mainly use batteries from Samsung SDI and LG Chem. The stability of the batteries is ensured by a number of packaging companies such as ITM Semiconductor. However, ATL will re-enter its flagship supply chain.
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Galaxy S21 series battery will have a small increase
According to reports, ATL is mass-producing batteries for the Galaxy S21 series. Tentatively, this series will have at least three smartphones. We will have the likes of Samsung Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus, and Galaxy S21 Ultra. ATL is making batteries for all three models. The battery capacity includes 4000mAh, 4800mAh, and 5000mAh. This means that the battery capacity of the Galaxy S21+ model slightly increases.
Industry experts said: “Compared with Samsung SDI and LG Chem, ATL has a higher influence in the global small pouch battery market. If there is no significant difference in product performance, Samsung has no reason to reject ATL batteries”.
According to market research company B3, as of 2019, in the global small battery market, ATL ranks third (17.1%) after Samsung SDI (28.4%) and LG Chem (19.5%). LG Chem mostly supplies top products such as Samsung Galaxy S20 (including low-end products).
Prior certifications show that the Samsung Galaxy S21 series will have Amperex as its battery manufacturer. Obviously, ATL will not be the sole supplier of the Samsung Galaxy S21 batteries. It will have to split the orders. However, exactly how Samsung hopes to split the order remains to be seen. Nevertheless, all batteries will pass through the same verification process. Thus, it will not matter who manufactures the battery in the device.
