Even though China is the manufacturing powerhouse of the world, most Chinese companies don’t enjoy a reputation for quality. Chinese firms and products are usually associated with low-cost products that may or may not last too long. However, there has been a gradual improvement in the quality of products coming out from Chinese companies.
Growing competitive edge of the Chinese suppliers
As another example of changing fortunes and perception about Chinese part suppliers, a report in ET News states that Samsung reportedly used Chinese optical parts in its flagship smartphones for the first time. Samsung apparently sourced lenses from Sunny Optical in China for the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+. If true, this is an impressive achievement by a Chinese component supplier as making quality optical parts is deemed to be technically quite challenging compared to other smartphone parts.
The news report quotes an industry representative as saying the “Galaxy S9 uses Sunny Optical’s lenses for its front camera module. Although Sunny’s products have been used for low and medium-priced Smartphones, this is the first time they are used for flagship models.”
Sunny Optical, which makes lenses, camera modules, microscopes, and measuring equipment, is the biggest Chinese optical part manufacturer and already supplies to major Chinese smartphone manufacturers. So far, Samsung has been sourcing lenses from South Korean suppliers such as Kolen, Sekonix, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics for its flagship Galaxy devices. Samsung opting for a Chinese supplier for optical parts for its top-tier smartphones shows its increased confidence in the capabilities of Chinese part suppliers like Sunny Optical.
South Korean component suppliers were relying on quality to compete with the low-cost offerings from China so far. Now with the Chinese firms catching up on quality, it is bound to put more pressure on the South Korean part manufacturers.
