AU Optronics Catches Up with iPad Mini Display Production, Begins Working on Displays for Next Generation Model
According to a report from Digitimes, Apple supplier AU Optronics has managed to improve its poor iPad mini display yields, finally leading to increased availability of the current iPad mini and a solid infrastructure for the production of displays for the next generation mini.
Due to AUO's yield issues throughout the second half of 2012, cumulative shipments of the iPad mini were less than Apple's originally estimated 10 million units. However, the sources said AUO has solidified higher yields as of the first quarter in 2013, which will help keep the iPad mini in supply as well as most likely push up AUO's tablet panel shipments on year in 2013.
The iPad mini has been in short supply since its release in October 2012, after some models sold out just minutes after pre-orders began. Reports cited display production as the limiting factor, which led to ship times of up to two weeks.
Just today, we reported that Apple managed to reach supply-demand balance on the iPad mini. The tablet is now listed as "in stock" for immediate shipment from several online Apple Stores, which confirms the display yield improvements.
Digitimes is also reporting that AU Optronics has begun production of displays for the second generation iPad mini. Rumors have suggested that the next iPad mini will be equipped with a Retina display, and a report from November stated that AU Optronics was gearing up for production.
Retina is widely believed to be the next logical step for the iPad mini, and while there are no concrete hints on when an updated mini will be released, KGI Securities Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently predicted that both the iPad mini and the full sized iPad will be updated in the third quarter of 2013.
Popular Stories
It's now been a few months since the M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pro models launched in October, and MacRumors video editor Dan Barbera has been using one of the new machines since they debuted. Over on the MacRumors YouTube channel, Dan has shared a three month review of his MacBook Pro to see how it has held up over time and how it's changed his workflow.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube ...
Apple's AirPods have been credited with saving a woman's life after a potentially fatal fall, People reports.
When a 60-year-old florist in New Jersey tripped and hit her head in her studio, she lost consciousness and awoke heavily bleeding. With nobody around to call for help, she realized she had her AirPods in, and used a "Hey Siri" command to call 911. An operator was able to stay on the ...
Apple suppliers will begin producing display panels for the third-generation iPhone SE this month, with final assembly of the device likely to start in March, according to information shared by display industry consultant Ross Young.
Based on this production timeframe, Young believes the third-generation iPhone SE is likely to launch in the second half of April, or perhaps in early May at...
Apple will no longer include EarPods with every iPhone sold in France, starting on January 24, according to a notice posted by a French carrier (via iGeneration). Apple was previously required to include EarPods in the box with the iPhone due to a French law that required every smartphone sold in the country to come with a "handsfree kit," but the law has now been changed in favor of reducing the ...
Earlier this week, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman tweeted that Apple "will be holding a spring event" to announce a new iPhone SE and other hardware. In a recent edition of his newsletter, Gurman said the event is likely to occur in March or April.
Gurman did not elaborate on what "other hardware" will be announced at Apple's purported spring event, but rumors suggest at least four products are...
Wednesday January 19, 2022 2:22 am PST by
Sami FathiApple is now requiring that customers in the United States verify that they're active students, teachers, or staff members at an educational institution in order to access education discounts on products.
Previously, little verification was needed for customers to purchase products through Apple's education store in the United States. Apple's education stores offer models of the iPad and Mac ...
Apple today released a new 4C170 firmware update for the AirPods 3, an update from the prior 4C165 that was made available in December.
Apple does not offer details on what's included in new firmware updates for the AirPods, so we don't know what improvements or bug fixes the new firmware brings.
There is no standard way to upgrade the AirPods software, but firmware is...
Thursday January 20, 2022 3:32 am PST by
Sami FathiApple patched two significant security vulnerabilities when it released iOS 15 that could have potentially exposed users' private Apple ID information and in-app search history to malicious third-party apps and allowed apps to override user Privacy preferences, Apple has revealed in a recent support document update.
With most iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS updates, Apple provides a list of...
The watchOS 8.4 release candidate that was seeded to developers and beta testers this morning addresses an ongoing bug that could cause some Apple Watch chargers not to work properly with the Apple Watch.
Back in December, we reported on a growing number of charging issues that Apple Watch Series 7 owners were facing. Since watchOS 8.3, there have been a number of complaints about...
Top Rated Comments
I'm sure Digitimes loves the attention, but disregard this as pure speculation. Not a real "source."
As for retina, all of the following must be solved first:
* Bigger battery to drive that power-hungry display (remember: the iPad 4 is thicker and heavier than the iPad 2 for this reason!)
* Bigger battery to drive the powerful CPU and GPU needed to drive all those pixels.
* Making that extra-powerful battery happen without the device being thicker and heavier
* Fitting the thicker retina display in the same thin case... so maybe the battery has to be... smaller?
* Achieving high enough yields of the new display--and being confident of those yields (why make a better iPad if that means selling fewer?)
Those will be solved... but soon? I'm doubtful. Sounds like 2014 to me.