Samsung
Samsung wants to acquire Corephotonics but we've yet to know the smartphone giant's full plan here. Pictured: The logo of Samsung Electronics is seen outside the Samsung building in Seoul on January 8, 2019. - Tech giant Samsung Electronics on January 8 flagged its first quarterly profit drop in two years, painting a grim outlook amid mounting competition from Chinese smartphone makers and declining chip prices. Getty Images/Jung Yeon-Je

Samsung has reportedly shown interest in buying Israeli firm Corephotonics. So far, the firm is known for designing smartphone cameras and made headlines after suing Samsung’s rival, Apple. Here’s what we know about this issue.

According to Globes, Samsung is planning to acquire Corephotonics for $150 million. The interest for the buyout seems to be for the firm’s dual-lens cameras and its steady success which nets it around $50 million. For now, Samsung and the firm have yet to shake hands on the deal. However, the odds seem to be in favor of Samsung as Corephotonics’ main investors is Samsung’s investment arm, Samsung Ventures.

Corephotonics chief development officer Dr. Gal Shabtay told “TheMarker” that, "There are several large gaps, above all an optical zoom lens. Real zoom does not exist in a smartphone camera, which only has a digital zoom that is actually a manipulation of the image."

Potentially, Samsung would want their camera technology for their newer phones. If the real zoom feature comes to Samsung phones, many photo-op-loving users would appreciate the new features for cameras.

Previously, the Corephotonics vs Apple lawsuit happened as Apple supposedly used a technology for their phones without consent when the firm had already patented it. However, the ruling for this case hasn’t been made. At best, Samsung and Corephotonics working together would heat up the rivalry further against Apple.

As of now, Samsung seems to be entering the foldable display smartphone market with its reveals last CES 2019. However, Apple doesn’t seem to have any new device announcements yet. Apple focused more on improving and releasing services to its users rather than showing a new device.

Potentially, Samsung may have a headstart with the new devices this 2019 with the foldable display smartphone and the potential buyout of Corephotonics. Meanwhile, Apple has yet to announce the next generation iPhone and has not revealed official details about the AirPods 2 speculated to be released in the first half of 2019.

RELATED STORIES
Smartphone Samsung Best buy Apple inc.