Last year’s Mobile World Congress went down in the history books as the first major unveiling event during which Samsung took the wraps off two different flagships in the “Galaxy S” lineup: namely the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge. However, judging by the supply issues surrounding the Galaxy S6 Edge shortly after its market debut, it was clear that the Korean tech giant did not expect this particular variant to be as sought-after as it was. This year, Samsung is expected to introduce the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge on February 21st at MWC in Barcelona, and according to fresh reports, the Korean company has decided to ramp up the production of flexible AMOLED displays in order to avoid supply shortages.
One of the reasons why the Galaxy S6 Edge was in short supply after its release was due to the fact that Samsung Display was not able to manufacture enough flexible panels to cover the unexpectedly high demand. However, according to unnamed industry sources cited by BusinessKorea yesterday, Samsung has already begun operating its A2 (5.5-generation) and A3 (6-generation) flexible OLED production lines located in South Chungcheong Province at full capacity, in anticipation of the Galaxy S7 Edge’s market debut. Generally speaking, the company’s A2 line is able to manufacture up to 24,000 sheets of glass per month, with each one of these “mother glass” sheets yielding 220 panels. The A3 6-generation production line can yield 15,000 mother glass sheets per month, with each large panel consisting of 300 smaller displays, each measuring 5-inches diagonally.
It’s worth noting that the aforementioned A2 production line was Samsung’s only plant designated to manufacture flexible OLED panels at the time the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge was released, so in light of these new reports it’s relatively safe to assume that this year the Korean company will be able to avoid running into low-yield issues. Industry insiders claim that both the A2 and A3 plants can produce up to 9 million flexible AMOLED displays per month combined, assuming that they operate at full capacity.
Both the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge are expected to be officially unveiled at MWC 2016 in Barcelona on the 21st day of the month. Based on previous leaks and rumors, the Galaxy S7 should rock a 5.1 or 5.2-inch display whereas the Galaxy S7 Edge will apparently be equipped with a larger 5.5-inch panel.