Samsung plans battery security chips for Galaxy A series

Samsung is reportedly planning to integrate dedicated security chips into the batteries of its mid-range Galaxy A series smartphones to authenticate components and prevent the use of counterfeit parts. Industry reports suggest that by 2027, approximately 50 million units could feature this hardware-based authentication.

The technology is expected to utilize Physical Unclonable Functions (PUF), which leverage microscopic, unpredictable variations in semiconductors to create a unique, uncopiable cryptographic fingerprint for each battery. Samsung is reportedly in discussions with partners such as Analog Devices and ICTK to develop these security modules, with manufacturing potentially handled by Samsung Foundry using a 28-nanometer process.

While the initiative aims to enhance user safety by preventing overheating or fire risks associated with low-quality third-party batteries, it may also impact the right to repair. In the European Union, strict ecodesign regulations require manufacturers to ensure non-discriminatory access to software tools for maintaining serialized parts, which could influence how Samsung implements these authentication measures.