BOE is making an aggressive push to break into Samsung's flagship OLED supply chain. The Chinese display maker has reportedly offered to supply OLED panels for the standard Galaxy S27 at a lower price than Samsung Display. And the interesting part is that Samsung has already sent BOE a Request for Information (RFI) and started evaluating samples.
BOE Offers a $5 Discount for the Galaxy S27 Display
According to tipster Ice Universe on X who cited a ZDNET Korea report, BOE is under heavy pressure to ship OLED panels as Chinese smartphone brands cut production. The Chinese panel maker is using aggressive pricing as a way to win Samsung's orders. BOE is offering OLED panels for the standard Galaxy S27 at $5 lower price per unit than Samsung Display.
A $5 price difference may sound tiny, but at a large scale, it adds up to millions of dollars in component costs for Samsung Mobile. In case you are unaware, Samsung Display and Samsung's mobile division (MX) actually operate as separate businesses, just like Samsung Foundry.
Samsung MX pays market price for its own in-house OLED panels and there is no internal discount. If BOE gets the Galaxy S27 contract, Samsung Mobile gets cheaper panels, but Samsung Display will face direct pressure and may reduce its profit margins.
Not to mention, rising DRAM and storage prices due to the AI boom, are squeezing smartphone margins across the board. Samsung needs to cut costs and the display is one of the few areas where it can save big.
By the way, Samsung's mid-range Galaxy A57 already uses OLED panels from China's TCL-owned CSOT along with Samsung Display. In addition, the upcoming Galaxy S26 FE is reportedly getting CSOT screens too. Earlier leaks pointed to BOE being considered for the standard Galaxy S27 while the S27+ and S27 Ultra are still expected to stick with Samsung Display panels.
In related news, Samsung is planning to retire its 3x telephoto camera from the Galaxy S27 Ultra. Not just that, the Galaxy S27 series may get a new "Pro" model in 2027, which will sit between the Plus and UItra models.
