When Apple’s iPhone X is finally released to the world on the 3 November, it won’t just be Apple that’s smiling.
Oddly enough, one of its biggest rivals is going to be pretty happy too.
Samsung’s component division (the part of the company that makes chips, screens etc) might make more money from the iPhone X launch than from its own smartphones according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
You see in addition to its smartphone division, Samsung also makes displays, processors and more for major manufacturers including Apple.
It’s one of the few companies that can make Apple’s OLED display, which means that Samsung has a pretty hefty monopoly on how much it can charge Apple for each component.
It’s not just displays as well, Samsung’s one of the few companies in the world that can produce the storage chips needed for the iPhone X in the vast quantities that Apple requires.
Samsung and Apple’s relationship is fascinating. While rivals in the consumer market, Apple has relied on Samsung’s manufacturing capabilities for years behind the scenes.
To try and break the cycle it’s rumoured that Apple is investing heavily in LG’s manufacturing capabilities in order to make it the company’s second major supplier of OLED displays.
This wouldn’t just benefit Apple of course, OLED displays are notoriously hard to produce in vast quantities and as they become more popular it’s likely Samsung will do everything it can to maintain that monopoly on producing them.
This Nerdwriter visual essay helpfully explains the whole bizarre situation.