April 26, 2024

• 

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics will use ATL’s battery for its upcoming Galaxy Tab S3 that will be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, renewing its commitment to its partnership with the Chinese battery maker after the Note 7 fiasco.

According to industry sources on Feb. 24, the Korean tech giant will continue to use batteries from ATL and Samsung SDI for the newest tablet PC. The two battery makers have supplied Samsung’s Tab Series thus far. 

A leaked image of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab S3

“Samsung will use ATL batteries for the Tab S3. There is no change in their partnership,” an industry source said.

The decision comes after Samsung discontinued the fire-prone Note 7 smartphone last year. In January, the company pinpointed faulty batteries from Samsung SDI and ATL to have caused the phone’s fire and explosion accidents.

But the company made it clear it would not claim compensation from the battery suppliers, saying it should be responsible for the final quality control.

Following the Note 7 fallout, rumors have been circulating that Samsung will ditch the ATL battery for its flagship smartphone Galaxy S8 that comes out in March. The company is expected to use batteries from Samsung SDI and Japan’s Murata Manufacturing.

The Galaxy Tab S3, the successor to the S2 that was launched in 2015, features a 9.7-inch display, the Android 7.0 Nougat operating system, and a 4GB memory capacity.

Samsung declined to confirm the battery supplier.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)