Analyst: Retina display production issues persist for Apple iPad

“Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo with KGI Securities revealed to AppleInsider on Monday that Samsung was the sole supplier of iPad Retina displays to Apple in the first quarter of 2012. That’s consistent with earlier reports, but also reveals that only Samsung was able to provide high-resolution screens to Apple for the entirety of the quarter,” Neil Hughes reports for AppleInsider.

“In fact, it’s likely that Samsung is still the only iPad Retina display supplier,” Hughes reports. “Kuo said LG Display is expected to begin providing screens in the second quarter of calendar 2012, but did not indicate that Sharp has actually begun providing displays.”

Hughes reports, “Even when LG does enter the supply chain, Samsung will remain the main supplier of Retina displays for the new iPad, Kuo said. Companies outside of Samsung have struggled to reliably build the new screens, which pack in more pixels than a 1080p high-definition television.”

Read more in the full article here.

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5 Comments

  1. iPad is now available in over 30 countries a little over a month after its release with only a 1-2 week shipping time – at the most! Doesn’t seem to point to supply issues in my opinion.

    1. Apple’s own this specific Retina process, that is why they say “we” when they talk about the screen. This is how iPhone got 326 dpi screen almost two years before competitors and none of screen manufacturers could produce such screens for their own use. Even Samsung, who was among Retina display manufacturers from day one, could not use this technology for their own devices. So when they used LCD screens on their devices (AMOLED was in deficiency all the way), they could never approach to iPhone’s screens characteristics.

      This is the reason how few screen manufacturers back in 2010 would all of sudden simultaneously develop mass production hi-DPI screen technology exclusively for Apple.

      And this is the reason why Samsung can not produce SGT 10.1 with anywhere near resolution screens. If screen’s manufacturing process would belong to them, then they would use it for their own good. But they can not, since Samsung is contracted manufacturer of screens under technologic process that belongs to Apple — the same as few other manufacturers.

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