Samsung signs exclusive deal with Ultra Thin Glass supplier for future foldables

2021-06-01

Samsung has secured an exclusive deal with Dowoo Insis for Ultra Thing Glass (UTG), which will be used in future foldable phones. The exclusivity means that Dowoo will only sell UTG to Samsung and no one else.

Currently, the company can produce an estimated 500,000 units per month. The glass is believed is less than 100µm thick, perhaps as thin as 30µm (that’s less than a human hair). Still, it is much more resilient than the polyamide plastic used in the current Galaxy Fold, at least when it comes to scratches.

Dowoo Insis has received a KRW 12 billion investment from Samsung Venture Investment as part of the exclusive deal. The contract is believed to be mid- to long-term and Samsung is looking into injecting even more cash into Dowoo so that it can expand its production capacity (by beefing up its existing Korean facilities and building new ones in Vietnam).

Samsung is reportedly planning to sell 5-6 million foldable phones next year, so the Dowoo should be able to supply enough UTG panels. But if the foldable form factor takes off the way Samsung hopes it will, it will need much higher supply for the coming years, especially when building up inventory for the launch of a new model. At least it won’t have to worry about other companies buying up Dowoo’s panels.

Source (in Korean)