Apple hires Samsung’s battery executive Soonho Ahn to lead its work

Apple has hired Soonho Ahn executive from Samsung SDI Co., which is the battery making affiliate of Samsung Electronics Co. This move will help Apple lead its own battery department. Soonho Ahn joined Apple in December as global head of battery developments, after working as a senior vice president at Samsung SDI since 2015, according to his LinkedIn profile. At Samsung SDI, Ahn led the development of lithium battery packs and worked on "next-generation" battery technology. Samsung is the largest shareholder of Samsung SDI and the company’s biggest customer. Apple has used batteries from Samsung SDI to power its own products in the past. Apple, on the other hand, is working towards reducing its reliance on third-party components, and the notable battery technology hire suggests it may be doing the same for batteries. The company has been working on its MicroLED display technology for future devices, meaning this would cut off its reliance with Samsung in other areas too. It is also building its own processors and is investigating the development of its own cellular modems. The company has been in talks with Cobalt, a key component of battery packs, directly from miners. Source

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