Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg in Samsung smartphone talks
Top Facebook executives met with the Samsung vice president at the electronics firm's Seoul headquarters earlier this week reportedly to discuss the social network’s first entry into the smartphone market.
Zuckerberg and Sandberg met with Samsung
Facebook’s founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, met with Samsung’s vice chairman Lee Jay-Yong to discuss a possible exclusive Facebook smartphone, according to reports in the Korean media first picked up by 9to5Google.
The social network has previously flirted with releasing a smartphone before, engaging in failed talks with technology firms HTC and Cha Cha.
However, the latest partnership may emerge more fruitful as Samsung already works with Facebook on virtual reality projects where the Korean firm provides displays for the Oculus Rift headset - which the social network purchased for $2bn in March this year.
Furthermore, before the acquisition, Oculus provided software for Samsung’s Gear VR headset, perhaps showing the companies could work closer together on a smartphone project in future.
As the owner of WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, the social network already owns a substantial share of the mobile comms market with any move into smartphone hardware also increasing that.
This follows news that the firm will offer to freeze the eggs of female staff members to delay parenthood, giving them the ability to focus on their careers.
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Samsung is a South Korean multinational conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the Samsung brand, and is the largest South Korean chaebol.
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