It is no surprise at this point that 2026 is shaping up to be the year of pricier smartphones and electronics. It's not just existing phones that have received steep price hikes, but new phones are also launching with compromises. Now, it looks like Samsung is set to adopt a similar strategy with the TCL CSOT displays for some of its upcoming Galaxy phones.
Galaxy "A" and "FE" Phones to Swap Samsung Display for TCL CSOT-Made Panels
As per a new report shared by South Korean tech publication The ELEC, Samsung is looking to equip several of its upcoming Galaxy phones with CSOT-made OLED panels over the Samsung Display-made sAMOLED displays. The brand has reportedly placed an order for 15 million units of OLED panels for phones like the Samsung Galaxy A57 and the upcoming Galaxy S26 FE.
For context, since 2020, ever since the Samsung Galaxy A3 debuted, the South Korean brand has been using its own S-AMOLED display for all phones that cost above Rs 20,000. It had only reserved third-party vendors until now to supply displays for phones in the entry-level and budget smartphone categories.
Now, with the ongoing RAM crisis, the South Korean brand is switching to the TCL CSOT display primarily for the price. CSOT displays are cheaper to manufacture and use compared to Samsung-made AMOLED displays. Besides, CSOT manufactures rigid OLED panels, which means that it will be impossible for phones with this display to feature even and uniform bezels, something that the flexible sAMOLED panels could achieve. Well, looks like bezels are going to get ugly on some Galaxy phones pretty soon.
That said, at the time of writing, there is no official confirmation from Samsung regarding this switch. However, given the current RAM crisis climate, we won't be surprised if Galaxy phones costing as much as Rs 40,000 to 50,000 will launch in India with low-quality OLED displays in 2026.
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