LG Chem has reportedly won a battery order from Apple, which will power the company's 2018 iPhone 9 model.
LG Chem has invested hundreds of billions of won in a dedicated line for the purpose and will produce "L-shaped" batteries for next year's iPhone, the Korea Economic Daily reported citing an unnamed chemical industry source.
The deal between Apple and LG Chem is said to be exclusive - an unusual move given Apple's multi-vendor strategy to get supplies from as many suppliers as possible to bring cost down.
A chemical industry official said on July 20, "LG Chem will supply all the batteries needed for the iPhone 9 to be launched in the second half of next year. For this purpose, the Korean company already invested 100 billions of won and started producing the batteries from early next year."
L-shaped batteries are customized only for Apple. They are designed likewhise in order to be compact in size, and save space on the phone's internal.
Until recently, Apple has received supplies from China's ATL, Japan's Murata Manufacturing, as well as LG Chem and Samsung SDI.