Samsung displays are found in a variety of smartphones from competitors. Interestingly, however, they may skip some of the Korean tech giant's future flagship models.

In an effort to keep prices down, The Elec reports (via SamMobile) that Samsung is in talks with Chinese display manufacturer BOE to supply an OLED screen for one of its upcoming devices. Given the timing, it is quite possible that the phone in question is the Samsung Galaxy S30 (or Galaxy S21).

In theory, Samsung would not use BOE panels on all variants of the Galaxy S21 or S30; if the Galaxy S30 Ultra is going to be anything close to the current Galaxy S20 Ultra's $1,399 price tag, it would be natural The Galaxy S30 Ultra will continue to use Samsung screens, as it should.

However, there is no need to worry about this effort affecting the upcoming Galaxy Note 20. At this point, these devices are being finalized and Samsung will embed its own panels into each Note.

The Elec also reports that Samsung's request to the BOE relates only to 90Hz panels, and that Samsung may reserve the smoothest 120Hz refresh rate for its Ultra line. The difference between 90Hz and 120Hz is, depending on who you ask negligible, and higher rates obviously have a negative impact on battery life.

That said, Samsung's willingness to outsource perhaps its most core strength, panels, for major premium products like the Galaxy S30 and S21 is unexpected; SamMobile believes that this is all part of Samsung Display's price-cutting SamMobile even points out that this is most likely a strategy by the company's mobile division to drive down Samsung Display's prices. On the other hand, this news could also be Samsung's first tacit admission that its attempt to go upscale with the Galaxy S20 series did not work and that it intends to revert back to its original prices in the future

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Furthermore, reports surrounding the Pixel 4a and Pixel 5 suggest that Google is considering lowering the price of its own smartphones, and Apple of course announced the $399 iPhone SE 2020 last month. In other words, this trend is not just with Samsung, especially given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and interest in more affordable products.