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Samsung Becomes Apple's Top iPad Display Supplier in Q1 2014

Monday May 12, 2014 1:47 am PDT by Richard Padilla
According to a new report from market research firm DisplaySearch (via CNET and ZDNet Korea), Samsung claimed the top spot as Apple's biggest iPad display panel supplier in the first quarter of 2014, shipping 5.2 million units of the high resolution 9.7-inch panels that were used in the iPad Air and the reintroduced 4th generation iPad.

ipad_air_family_20136
Samsung's panels accounted for 62% of Apple's 9.7-inch displays, while longtime partner LG Display shipped 3.2 million displays to account for 38% of the total. Apple was said to have chosen Samsung as a primary iPad display supplier last August, and reportedly turned to the Korean company in October to produce displays for the Retina iPad mini as Sharp and LG Display struggled with low yields.

Apple has been reported for quite some time to be seeking to reduce its reliance on Samsung as a component supplier due to tensions between the two companies as they have become top competitors in the mobile device market. However, Samsung's technological advantages and production capacity as a display supplier have proven valuable to Apple's needs over the years, as the two companies are likely to continue that partnership for the foreseeable future.

Related Roundup: iPad
Tags: Samsung, cnet.com
Buyer's Guide: iPad (Neutral)
[ 92 comments ]


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roadbloc
59 months ago

This is the last year this is gonna happen.


I bet it isn't.
Rating: 26 Votes
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Acidsplat
59 months ago

This is bad news for consumers who don't enjoy Samsung's inferior technology in their Apple devices. I hope Apple can phase Samsung out of the supply chain entirely within the next 12 months. This has to end for the good of Apple and for consumers who want the very best products money can buy.


Except Samsung's displays, memory, and SSDs used in many generations of Apple products did not cause them to be inferior.

Need we be reminded how many people went on exchange sprees trying to get a Retina MacBook Pro with a Samsung display because LG's screens had problems and were inferior?
Rating: 18 Votes
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Broph
59 months ago
Even though they try and sue the pants off each other, neither one would be as successful as it is without the other.
Rating: 12 Votes
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cdmoore74
59 months ago
I wish I could group all the Samsung haters in a single room and look at their faces. Told them that their still buying Samsung if they like it or not. Nothing but hypocrites here.
Rating: 12 Votes
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Mystic386
59 months ago

This is bad news for consumers who don't enjoy Samsung's inferior technology in their Apple devices. I hope Apple can phase Samsung out of the supply chain entirely within the next 12 months. This has to end for the good of Apple and for consumers who want the very best products money can buy.


I don't have a problem with Apple using Samsung parts as long as those parts have no software in them and don't run Android. Hardware is all good.
Rating: 11 Votes
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macs4nw
59 months ago

This is bad news for consumers who don't enjoy Samsung's inferior technology in their Apple devices. I hope Apple can phase Samsung out of the supply chain entirely within the next 12 months. This has to end for the good of Apple and for consumers who want the very best products money can buy.


There's no problem with the quality of most Samsung components. Also as the article states, it seems they had no problem supplying Apple, while Sharp and LG Display struggled with low yields.

It's Samsung's business MO that many Apple followers have issues with. Face the facts, this is for now, a mutually beneficial business relationship that is unlikely to end within 12 months.
Rating: 9 Votes
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bsolar
59 months ago

Nope. I don't like Samsung and if you think I'm alone in this then you obviously don't read these forums very widely. Having a negative view of Samsung, their practices and their components equalling troll would mean MacRumors has a large number of regular trolls who have posted millions of messages collectively.


I might understand not liking Samsung for their business practices, but I fail to understand how one can claim that the components they manufacture are of inferior quality (excluding ignorace or intellectual dishonesty).
Rating: 8 Votes
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Mr. Retrofire
59 months ago

Nope. I don't like Samsung and if you think I'm alone in this then you obviously don't read these forums very widely.

Your "opinion" regarding Samsung and this forum have zero effect on the business relationship between Apple and Samsung. Any hate against an IT-company is rather pointless. Some people have better things to do.
Rating: 8 Votes
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Lennholm
59 months ago

Nope. I don't like Samsung and if you think I'm alone in this then you obviously don't read these forums very widely. Having a negative view of Samsung, their practices and their components equalling troll would mean MacRumors has a large number of regular trolls who have posted millions of messages collectively.


Many people here dislike Samsung's business practices and their consumer products, but few fail to recognize their importance and expertise when it comes to manufacturing components.
Samsung has a proven track record of consistently delivering the highest quality components and is the only company in the world that can do it in the quantities Apple needs.
For you to call it inferior technology just because you don't like the company means you're either a troll or just biased and ignorant.
Rating: 8 Votes
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apolloa
59 months ago

This is bad news for consumers who don't enjoy Samsung's inferior technology in their Apple devices. I hope Apple can phase Samsung out of the supply chain entirely within the next 12 months. This has to end for the good of Apple and for consumers who want the very best products money can buy.


So what your sating is that every single Apple computer and iPhone and iPad are inferior crap due to the FACT they ALL use Samsung components...

Every single Apple consumer at present does NOT have the very best because of Samsung?

This is why I love Mac Rumors, the ideology's are utterly hilarious :D
Rating: 8 Votes

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