On the heels of the announcement that Korean powerhouse Samsung has acquired US-based audio giant Harman, of course this will led to speculation that upcoming mobile devices may be using their audio solutions. But don’t hold your breath just yet because if that will happen (and let’s face it, it will eventually), the first model may be by 2018, according to Park Jong-hwan, Samsung’s senior vice president and head of their car parts division (which of course has nothing to do with the mobile division).
The recent acquisition of Harman is actually Samsung’s biggest ever purchase (to date) at $8 billion. This has also led to some rumors that the latter may be looking to build its own cars, since the former is actually big on in-car solutions. But Samsung executives clarified that they are looking at connected car solutions rather than actual cars, especially now that the Internet of Things wants to connect everything online.
But when it comes to adapting their audio solutions to Samsung mobile devices, it will take time to actually do anything with that, probably by year 2018. The acquisition process is long and arduous, and includes shareholders votes and then ramping up business synergies. As next year’s flagship is probably already in production, then we might not see Harman audio for the supposedly upcoming Galaxy S8.
As for what happens to Harman now that they’re part of the Samsung family, Park said that they will technically not become part of the supply chain system of affiliates but will instead continue to operate independently. Let’s see what will happen in the next few months or so.
VIA: The Investor
I know it on LG TVs.