Samsung is going to outsource the production of Galaxy A series of smartphones to a third-party original device manufacturer (ODM) in China, according to a report by Reuters. A Chinese ODM named Wingtech will take over the production responsibility of Galaxy A series from Samsung. Wingtech and other ODM manufacturers also make devices for several other Chinese tech giants like Huawei and Xiaomi.
Further, the company has planned to ship as many as 300 million smartphones, a fifth of which will be outsourced to Chinese ODMs, next year. That means, as many as 60 million smartphones are going to be outsourced to ODMs in China.
Samsung’s mid-range smartphones that are made by Chinese ODMs are primarily going to be sold in markets in Southeast Asia and Brazil. These smartphones will have the exact same quality and design as the smartphones made by Samsung(via TheIndianExpress).
Outsourcing the production of mid-range Galaxy smartphones to third party ODMs will cut save cost, which in turn will help Samsung increasing profit margins.
Chinese ODMs will have no role to play in manufacturing high end or flagship Samsung smartphones as the company is still going to depend on factories in India and Vietnam to manufacture high-end models.