14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung SDI remains the main supplier for Samsung's next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S8, or at least that's what previous reports indicate.
Although the South Korean company is said to be in talks with Murata Manufacturing, the Japanese company will be a secondary battery supplier for the Galaxy S8.
After announcing that it will make major investments towards battery safety enhancements, Samsung SDI is in the middle of an incident that happened earlier today.
According to Reuters, a fire broke out at Samsung SDI's factory in China. The good news is there were no victims or significant damage done by the fire. The local fire department confirmed it sent 19 trucks and 110 firefighters at the plant to put out the fire.
The Tianjin Fire Department said that the “material that caught fire was lithium batteries inside the production workshops and some half-finished products.” Basically, faulty batteries and waste products are to blame for the incident that, thankfully, turned out to be a minor nuisance.
Samsung SDI's battery production output hasn't been affected by the incident because the fire broke out in a part of the facility where the company stores waste such as faulty batteries and unfinished products, one of the company's officials confirmed.
Even so, this is just one of the five plants owned by Samsung SDI, but it's one of the largest that produces batteries specifically designed to be used in smartphones.
Samsung SDI is likely to have already started production of batteries for the Galaxy S8, which is expected to be officially unveiled on March 29. Even so, the flagship won't be available for purchase until April 21.
It's unclear whether or not Samsung SDI will remain the sole battery supplier for the Galaxy S8, but it would be very unusual for Samsung not to have a plan B just in case.