Apple has selected Sharp and LG Display as the suppliers of 9.7-inch QXGA (2,048 x 1,536) panels for use in a new version of the iPad, reports “DigiTimes” (http://www.digitimes.com), quoting an unnamed “Taiwan-based supply chain manufacturer.”
Shipments of the high-resolution panels will began in the fourth quarter of 2011 and will exceed those of XGA panels used in iPad 2 in the second quarter of 2012, the article says. Apple has downwardly adjusted shipments of iPad 2 panels from the peak of 16.0 million panels in the third quarter to 10.0 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011 and further to 7.0-8.0 million units in the first quarter of 2012, according to the anonymous sources. This means, if “Digitimes” is correct, that the shipment volume of panels for use in next gen iPad willsurpass that of iPad 2 panels in the second quarter of the year.