NEW YORK: Google will tap Samsung Electronics Co Ltd to supply the 5G modem for its next flagship Pixel smart phone, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, signalling the first win for the Korean firm in a US market dominated by Qualcomm Inc.
Nikkei Asia earlier reported Samsung will manufacture the processor for Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc. Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters Samsung will also supply the 5G modem technology. Samsung widely uses its Exynos modem technology in its own flagship smart phones in Asia and Europe. But it has long relied on Qualcomm to provide modems for US versions.
Samsung told Reuters its new modem technology was capable of millimetre wave networking, and Google said its new phones will support millimetre wave networks as previous versions did, though neither company would comment directly on whether they are working together on the new Pixel.