One might think that most of Samsung's smartphones are made in South Korea, the company's home country, but this assumption is incorrect. The second guess is China, considered the "world's factory" and specialized in smartphone manufacturing, but this is also false.
This does not mean that Samsung phones are not made in both countries; they are, but the details are decisive; Samsung focuses in one on flagship phones, and in the other on low-cost phones, and it does not even own factories in either of them.
Phone Manufacturing Mechanism
Most smartphone companies do not manufacture their phones themselves; these companies design the devices and their integrated systems—like Apple and Google—then the unique parts are manufactured by a variety of production partners, according to a report by the "Android Authority" tech news site, which was reviewed by "Arabiya Business".
Electronics manufacturing services companies like Foxconn handle the final assembly process for smartphones. Both Pixel phones and iPhones are good examples, where they are actually manufactured by the company itself.
Samsung, however, is different; it is the most vertically integrated company in this sector, meaning that it participates in almost all manufacturing stages. It does not just design the phones—as most companies do—but also manufactures many of the essential components that go into them.
Samsung manufactures some of the best displays on the market, if not the best overall. It also produces memory chips like DRAM and NAND, Exynos processors, camera sensors, and batteries. The company also sells all these products to its competitors. For example, both the latest iPhone and Pixel phones use displays made by Samsung.
However, Samsung does not manufacture all the components of its smartphones itself; some of its phones use Snapdragon processors from Qualcomm, and most models feature Gorilla Glass from Corning. But Samsung handles the bulk of the manufacturing process, producing the most expensive and important components internally.
Samsung Manufacturing Locations
Samsung manufactures and sells about 230 million phones annually, making it the largest Android smartphone brand in the world. But where do these millions of devices come from? The map might look different than you expect.
Vietnam (Global Powerhouse): About half of Galaxy phones are manufactured in Vietnam, where Samsung runs massive complexes in Thai Nguyen and Bac Ninh provinces. These facilities are Samsung's main manufacturing hubs, supplying the majority of phones sold in North America and Europe. In fact, in August 2025, Samsung achieved a historic milestone in the country: its Vietnamese factories produced more than two billion phones since their initial opening in 2009.
India (Largest Factory in the World): India comes in second, home to the largest smartphone manufacturing plant globally, located in Noida. This factory alone can produce up to 120 million units annually. Although the original aim was to serve the huge local Indian market, it has become a major export hub, shipping phones to Western markets.
South Korea (Focus on Flagship Phones): Samsung also maintains its production in South Korea, its homeland, but it is said that the production volume is surprisingly small, producing about 20 million units annually in the country, less than 10% of the total production. Manufacturing there focuses primarily on the latest flagship phones like the "Galaxy Z Fold 7" and devices for the local Korean market.
Brazil and Indonesia (Local Specialists): Samsung has a strong presence in Brazil through its factories in Campinas and Manaus. Given the high import fees in Brazil, it makes sense for Samsung to establish its factories in the country. Likewise, in Indonesia—a huge market with more than 285 million people—Samsung operates a local factory to overcome high import fees and other restrictions, and to meet regional demand.
China (Outsourced Production): Then there's China. Samsung officially withdrew from the Chinese manufacturing market in 2019 by closing its last factory in Huizhou. And considering that Samsung's market share in China had long remained barely above 2%, owning its factories there became a burden.
However, Samsung phones are still made in China, but they are no longer manufactured by Samsung itself. Like Apple and Google, Samsung delegates a significant part of its production to external partners. It is estimated that about 25% (more than 60 million units) of its annual production is done by Chinese companies known as Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs), like Wingtech.
Unlike traditional outsourcing, where the partner's role is limited to assembling the phone, these Original Design Manufacturers conduct a more precise manufacturing process.
Original Design Manufacturers also take on the design of the device both inside and out. Samsung provides the specifications, while the manufacturers supply the components, design the device, and manufacture it. Afterward, Samsung conducts an audit of the final product to ensure it meets its own standards for appearance and feel before shipping it to stores.
This strategy is often used with budget models like the "Galaxy M" series and certain "Galaxy A" models. It allows Samsung to maintain competitive prices against its strong Chinese competitors by leveraging the economies of scale provided by companies like Wingtech, specialized in manufacturing inexpensive devices for multiple brands.
Why Are Phones Manufactured in Many Countries?
There are several strategic reasons for this global spread of manufacturing. The first is risk avoidance; relying on one location, or even one factory, is risky. A massive natural disaster like a huge flood or human error causing damage to the facility could completely halt production.
The same applies to labor strikes. By spreading geographically, Samsung ensures the rest of the world continues to receive its phones in case one of the factories stops.
The second reason is purely financial. Many countries impose high import duties on finished electronics to encourage local job growth. By establishing factories in countries like Brazil and Indonesia, Samsung avoids these fees, allowing it to sell phones at very competitive prices.
This also contributes to getting products to local consumers faster. Some countries even offer incentives for local manufacturing that benefit companies, such as the "Make in India" initiative, for example.
The third reason is linked to the first two, considering risk avoidance and sound business logic. Manufacturing in different countries helps companies reduce their involvement in trade wars. If a country or region imposes steep tariffs on imports from a specific country (like China), it poses a problem for companies that produce all or most of their products in that country. By manufacturing in several countries, companies can shift some production to other locations to minimize losses when a trade war breaks out.
