Samsung to benefit from Qualcomm’s overheating fiasco

Samsung Electronics, which aims to become a powerhouse in the global mobile chip market, is likely to become the biggest beneficiary of the escalating overheating fiasco of its key supplier Qualcomm, industry watchers said Monday.

“The latest thermal issues involving its competitor’s product could be another opportunity for Samsung to increase its presence in the global mobile chip market,” said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst from IBK Securities.

“As a result, Samsung’s next flagship Galaxy S6 equipped with the firm’s own system-on-a-chip Exynos will receive more spotlight than expected.”

Samsung's Exynos will reportedly power around 70 percent of the Galaxy S6 units, which will debut at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in March, aiming to reduce its reliance on the U.S. chipmaker.

Such a move is in line with the Korean tech giant’s efforts to increase its footing in the mobile chip market.

Samsung will also reportedly supply more than 70 percent of the A9 mobile processors which will power Apple’s iPhone 7.

Qualcomm has recently decided to start updating its latest mobile chip Snapdragon 810 in the wake of reports that Samsung Electronics, one of its major customers, would drop the chip from the next flagship smartphone Galaxy S6 due to the chip’s overheating issues, according to news reports.

Analysts said Qualcomm’s latest thermal issues would deal a huge blow to other global smartphone makers who use the mobile chip on their products, or those who plan to install it in their devices.

“Even though LG has dismissed the rumors of the controversial mobile processor, data showed that the G Flex 2 has some glitches caused by the problematic Qualcomm chip,” said an analyst, declining to be named.

LG, which is scheduled to release the curved-screen G Flex 2 at the end of this month, said the rumors about the overheating chip are groundless.

However, with the rumors continuing to gather pace, there is likely to be lingering suspicion on the performance of smartphones sporting Qualcomm’s 64-bit chip, according to market analysts.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)