Asian trade publicationDigiTimesreported this morning that both Sharp and LG Display are set to increase their respective manufacturing output of Retina displays for the new iPad. The news follows a recent report by the same publication thatSharp shipped 2.71 million iPad Retina panelsto Apple.
This might mean that production issues have finally been sorted out after both firms had reportedly failed to meet Apple’s exact quality requirements. Something tells me Samsung won’t like this. As you know, Apple is clever enough not to put all eggs in one basket, so to speak.
As a result of LG Display and Sharp jumping on the Retina bandwagon, Apple should be able to achieve a significant increase in iPad shipments for the next quarter and onwards…
Bloomberghas Samsung as Apple’s primary supplier of high-resolution 2,048-by-1,536 pixel resolution panels for the new iPad. Last week’s report by The Wall Street Journal quoted a manufacturing source suggesting suggestingSharp may be the firstto offer backup for Samsung. Reuters thinks LG Display is alsofilling some iPad Retina displaypanel orders and Sharp .
According to the DigiTimes story:
Sharp and LG Display both have begun small-volume shipments of flat panels for Apple’s new iPad recently after they had failed to meet the requirements previously. However, the supply of panels for the new iPad has improved recently, with LG Display and Sharp to ramp up their shipments in the second quarter, which will also result in a significant increase in shipments of the new iPads in the quarter and onwards, the sources indicated.
Having such a high-resolution display on a 9.7-inch mobile device – provided apps are updated with Retina graphics and UI – apparently feels like putting on a pair of glasses,TechCrunchopined.
Experts agree: the iPad’s Retina display meansless eye strain. On the other hand, some people think it’s not as notable a jump as from the 320-by-480 pixel display on the iPhone 3GS to the 960-by-640 pixel Retina display on the iPhone 4/4S.
Twice the LEDs needed to push light through the denser pixels on the new iPad are also causingminor issues with run timecompared to the iPad 2.
What’s your call, is the Retina display the reason enough to upgrade to the third-gen iPad?
