LG is reportedly in talks to supply batteries to Samsung in the wake of the Galaxy Note 7 debacle.
Reuters reported that the world’s No. 1 smartphone vendor is looking to LG Chem, a battery-making arm of the larger electronics vendor, to diversify its base of component suppliers. Samsung currently procures batteries for its Note line from China’s Amperex Technology and its own Samsung SDI.
The news was initially reported by the South Korean news outlet Chosun Ilbo. That report cited an unnamed “industry insider” who said the companies had engaged in “very productive talks” but had yet to strike a deal. LG could begin supplying batteries for Samsung phones by the second half of 2017, according to the source.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall of the Note 7 after Samsung received 92 reports of batteries overheating in the U.S., including 26 reports of burns and 55 reports of property damage including fires. Samsung produced a second wave of devices, but issued a second recall after a replacement phone caught fire aboard a Southwest Airlines flight.
The fault in the initial wave of devices was attributed to a defect in the Samsung SDI battery, Reuters reported. The second recall was issued after replacement phones using batteries from Chian’s Amperex also caught fire.
Samsung said recently that it would issue a software update beginning this week to render the Galaxy Note 7 useless in an effort to encourage users to return potentially defective devices. Verizon initially said it wouldn’t push the update to subscribers out of fear of leaving its customers who own the phone without a way to communicate, but the operator reversed course after each of the other major U.S. carriers said they would issue the update.