As per a new report, Samsung might take over Nokia’s mobile network infrastructure business. It was recently reported that Nokia and Samsung are in talks about selling the former’s mobile network business group to the latter. If this turns out to be true, Samsung will become a major player in the global network infrastructure business.
As per a Bloomberg report, Samsung has shown interest in acquiring Nokia’s telecom equipment business. Nokia has struggled to compete with major players, such as Ericsson and Huawei in the last few years. So, the company discussed all the possible options with its advisors, which included selling some or all of the division or merging with one of its competitors.
Also Read: WhatsApp Contact Sync Feature Reportedly In The Works
Is the Samsung Nokia Deal Final?
While Nokia has yet to make a decision, its telecom equipment business is reportedly worth $10 billion. Samsung Electronics has shown interest in the acquisition to boost its Radio Access Network (RAN) segment. RAN helps connect smartphones to the rest of the telecom infrastructure.
Samsung Networks, an arm of Samsung Electronics, is one of the biggest telecom network infrastructure firms but still nowhere near Huawei and Ericsson. If it successfully acquired Nokia’s mobile network business, Samsung’s RAN’s market share would jump from 6.1% last year to 25.6%. That would make Samsung the world’s second-biggest RAM supplier.
The company is already producing 4G and 5G base stations, chipsets, devices, radios, and core equipment. It has supplied equipment to mobile network firms across the world, including Telus in Canada, O2 Telefónica in Germany, Reliance Jio in India, KDDI and NTT DoCoMo in Japan, Dish and Verizon in the US, and Vodafone in the UK.
Also Read: Gmail For Android Gets Gemini AI Chatbot Support
Samsung To Bring Circle To Search For Mid-Range Devices
Last week, there were reports that Galaxy AI might reach select models in the Galaxy A series in August or September. It was pretty much known that this AI exclusivity would end someday, and now, the company has finally made some announcements regarding the same. Samsung has revealed that its advanced AI features will be making way for budget/mid-range phones and tablets.
The popular Circle to Search feature is the first to land on Galaxy A smartphones and Fan Edition tablets. Samsung has announced that it is coming to the Galaxy A54, A34, A55, and A35 this month. Interestingly, even select 2023 Galaxy A phones are also getting this feature. Samsung confirmed Circle to Search for the Galaxy Tab S9 FE and Tab S9 FE+ tablets.
Circle to Search is based on current Google technologies, i.e. Google Lens. However, Samsung brought it into One UI more intuitively with the Galaxy S24 series in early 2024. Lens has been around for years, but it feels like the partnership between Samsung and Google marked the tipping point where the tool became more popular.