Do you want to share?
Do you like this article?
Sharp Corp., a major supplier of display units for Apple’s iPad
tablet line has slowed down production of its 9.7 inch panels. The
displays are used on Apple’s full-sized iPad tablets.
Reuters has
learned that Sharp’s production plants are now churning out only enough
Apple iPad displays to run at minimum operating capacity. The report
suggests that production from Sharp’s Kameyama plant in Japan has
“fallen to the minimal level to keep the line running this month after a
gradual slowdown began at the end of 2012 as Apple manages its
inventory”.
Sharp is refusing to disclose production levels since its business is with Apple and not the general public.
The change in production numbers could be caused by various
variables. For example, a change in buying habits from the busy holiday
shopping season to January could be causing a temporary lack of demand.
Another possibility is that the 7.9-inch Apple Mini is cannibalizing
sales. Some analysts have worried that the cheaper $329 Apple iPad Mini
was eating into Apple profits by stealing away interest from the
company’s larger iPad units.
Another possibility is that Apple is simply preparing to announce its
next generation model which could feature a different display type,
thus slowing production of older iPad screens.
Of course customers could simply be moving away from Apple iPad devices as other offerings from Samsung, Amazon and even Barnes & Noble flood the market.
The report does not take into consideration the production levels for iPad screens at LG Display. LG
is the largest supplier of Apple displays at this time, along with
Samsung Display, and Apple may have shifted more work towards that tech
firm. Apple manufacturers have had issues producing Apple displays as
they have become more complex and thinner. There is the possibility that
Apple is simply giving more work to manufacturers who can sustain high
levels of successful output.
Apple will release its Q1 2013 fiscal report on January 23, at which
time we may have more insight into the Sharp display cutbacks.
