Market research firm Counterpoint Research said in its report on Dec. 14 that Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics increased their ODM manufacturing ratios in the smartphone industry from 7 percent to at least 30 percent and to 70 percent or more this year, respectively.

At present, ODM manufacturing is applied to most mass-market smartphones, such as Galaxy A, in the case of Samsung Electronics. This manufacturing method can lead to production cost reduction and a decline in product quality at the same time. In the smartphone industry, Wingtech, Hwaqin, Longcheer and CNCE are well-known as original design manufacturers.

Wingtech and Hwaqin, the bigger two of the four Chinese manufacturers, are producing Samsung and LG phones and the other two are manufacturing LG phones on an ODM basis. Chinese smartphone manufacturers, including Xiaomi and Lenovo, are employing ODM on a large scale, too.