Samsung: Harman audio tech could appear in 2018's Galaxy S devices

Samsung recently partnered with audio and auto tech manufacturer Harman, sparking rumors that the South Korean company was gearing up to produce its own cars. Samsung has denied that claim, stating that it’s only automobile interest concerns in-car IoT solutions. However, a Samsung executive has suggested that Harman’s audio technology could feature in its 2018 smartphones.

Speaking at a news conference in Seoul, Jonghwan Park, executive vice president and head of Samsung’s car components division, said: “It will take time for the acquisition process to be completed, including the planned shareholders’ vote. After that, we could ramp up efforts for business synergies. If we are to adopt Harman’s high-end audio technology for the Galaxy S series phone, the first model could come in 2018.”

This indicates that the potential Samsung Galaxy S9 could employ Harman supplied audio solutions and rules out their implementation in the upcoming Galaxy S8, or Galaxy Note 8 (should it keep the “Note” brand name).

Harman has previously provided audio solutions to smartphones, including the 2014 Sprint-exclusive HTC One M8 Harmon Kardon edition and HUAWEI’s MediaPad M3. Samsung announced its Harman acquisition on November 14 for $8 billion.