Samsung works with Apple more than you realize and this is everything they do together

Samsung and Apple might be two of the biggest rivals in tech, but the companies work together far more than you probably realize.

Samsung is already a major supplier for Apple’s displays, and it is now reportedly making screens for the company’s first foldable iPhone.

It is also preparing OLED panels for future MacBook Pro models and could soon become an Apple camera supplier too.

Meanwhile, Samsung has even managed to take back the top spot from Apple in the global smartphone market.

Samsung is making Apple’s foldable iPhone and future MacBook screens

One of the strangest examples of the Samsung and Apple relationship is that Samsung Display is reportedly making the screen for Apple’s highly anticipated gadget – the first foldable iPhone.

According to The Elec, Apple agreed to source foldable OLED panels exclusively from Samsung Display for three years, with production expected to start with an initial run of around 3 million panels.

MacRumors later reported that Apple had approved Samsung Display to begin module production, meaning the project had moved well beyond the early rumor stage.

Samsung Display reportedly passed Apple’s production requirements with final yields above 80%, exceeding the 70% threshold Apple reportedly requires before approving a supplier for mass production.

The arrangement is particularly funny considering Samsung has been one of the biggest names in foldable phones for years, with its Galaxy Z Fold range competing directly with the device Apple is preparing.

And the relationship extends beyond the iPhone.

Samsung is also reportedly preparing OLED displays for Apple’s next-generation MacBook Pro.

The Elec reported that Samsung Display would manufacture 14-inch and 16-inch OLED panels for the laptops, while MacRumors reported in July 2026 that Samsung was expected to be the exclusive supplier for the new OLED touch panels.

The panels are being produced using Samsung’s Gen 8.6 OLED manufacturing technology, with mass production reportedly expected to begin around August 2026.

That is a pretty impressive amount of Samsung technology potentially hiding inside future Apple products.

Keep your friends close…

Samsung’s involvement with Apple’s screens is nothing new.

Samsung Display has supplied OLED panels for Apple’s iPhones since the iPhone X, although it has not been the only supplier.

SamMobile notes that Apple has also sourced panels from LG Display and BOE, so it would be wrong to say Samsung makes every OLED screen used by Apple.

But Samsung is a huge part of the supply chain.

According to The Elec, Samsung Display was expected to supply around 146 million OLED panels to Apple in 2026, compared with 82.24 million from LG Display.

And Samsung could soon be moving from Apple’s screens to its cameras.

Apple has traditionally relied on Sony for the image sensors inside its iPhones, but that could change with the iPhone 18.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in 2024 that Samsung could supply Apple with a 48-megapixel ultra-wide camera sensor as early as 2026, potentially breaking Sony’s long-running monopoly over Apple’s iPhone camera sensors and MacRumors reported the claim here.

The rumor became more substantial in 2025, when MacRumors reported that Samsung was developing a three-layer stacked image sensor reportedly targeted at the iPhone 18.

A later report said Samsung was preparing to manufacture advanced iPhone image sensors at its facility in Austin, Texas.

MacRumors reported that the sensors could use a three-layer design intended to improve readout speeds, low-light performance and dynamic range.

It is worth stressing that the camera arrangement is still a reported plan rather than something Apple has officially confirmed.

But while Samsung is busy supplying parts for Apple’s products, it has also managed to beat its rival in another important area.

According to Counterpoint Research’s global smartphone market data, Samsung was the world’s biggest smartphone brand in the second quarter of 2026.

Reports citing Counterpoint put Samsung at around 24% of global smartphone shipments, ahead of Apple.

So Samsung and Apple might spend plenty of time trying to beat each other, but behind the scenes they are also working together on some of the most important pieces of modern tech.

Samsung can sell you the phone, make the screen for your rival’s phone and potentially even make the camera inside it.

Talk about keeping your friends close and your biggest competitor on the supplier list.