Samsung holding talks with Japan's Murata on procuring batteries for Galaxy S8 – Report

Samsung is reportedly holding talks on a supply deal with Japan's Murata Manufacturing for batteries to be used in its upcoming Galaxy S series flagship smartphone.

Last July, Murata and Sony announced they had entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the transfer of the Sony's Group's battery business to Murata. The companies had planned to execute the MoU by mid-October last year and to complete the transfer by the end of March this year. The complete transfer is expected to be over by early April 2017.

The transfer includes the battery business by Sony Energy Device Corporation, Sony's subsidiary in Japan, its battery-related manufacturing operations located in China and Singapore and assets and personnel assigned to the battery businesses at the Sony Group's sales and R&D sites in Japan and elsewhere.

According to the Nikkei Asian Review, Samsung is apparently impressed with the performance and reliability of Sony's lithium-ion batteries.

Samsung was even planning to use batteries manufactured by LG Chemical (LG Chem). The company was said to be in talks with LG Chem for a possible partnership to supply batteries. But that does not seem to be happening, at least with the S8.

The Galaxy S8 will replace the Galaxy Note 7, which was pulled from the market last year after incidents of the phones overheating and catching fire.

Samsung's official probe into the Note 7 fire incidents concluded that two distinct battery flaws caused the fire.

Samsung used batteries from two sources: Samsung SDI and Hong Kong's Amperex technology - a unit of Japan's TDK. Samsung said the fire was due to various design and manufacturing failures at both companies.

The latest disclosure suggests Murata might replace Amperex as one of the battery suppliers for the S8, but that depends on the outcome of the talks.