Josh OngChief executive Kwon Young-soo explained that LG was currently running "at full capacity," but still experiencing production shortages of the iPad display. "Demand (from Apple) keeps growing and we can't meet it all."
LG is considering increased production for iPad products, but "overall supply is likely to remain tight until early next year," Kwon said. He then set a target of second quarter 2011 for LG to meet orders for the displays.
iPad demand has surpassed even Apple's own expectations. Tim Cook, Apple's Chief Operating Officer, admitted Tuesday that the company had been caught off guard by the high demand for the iPad. 3.27 million iPads were sold through the end of Apple's most recent financial quarter.
In spite of a backlog of iPad orders, Apple announced Monday that it would release the iPad in 9 more countries this Friday, fulfilling its goal to launch in these countries by the end of July.
In April, Apple announced that the international launch of the iPad would be delayed by one month. The Cupertino, Calif., company cited surprisingly strong demand as the cause of the delay. However, some analysts have pointed to LG's display shortages as a limiting factor in the production of the device.
According to Reuters' coverage of the LG executives' comments, "Apple may have to delay launches of the iPad for some countries due to tight component supplies and strong demand."
LG also announced Thursday that it was investing over $500 million in production of mobile phone and tablet sized displays. Last year, Apple prepaid $500 million to LG for a guaranteed 5-year supply of LCD screens for Macs and handheld products.
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
Charles Martin
Christine McKee
42 Comments
Demand = Desirability... (almost) Everyone Wins with a little bit of waiting.
Chief executive Kwon Young-soo explained that LG was currently running "at full capacity," but still experiencing production shortages of the iPad display. "Demand (from Apple) keeps growing and we can't meet it all."
Sometimes it makes you wonder if you can trust anything these Asian suppliers say. They are competing with Apple and also a vendor. With the leaks and the knock offs, stealing IP and everything else, how long can these relationships last? It is definitely the Achilles' heel for Apple.
Sometimes it makes you wonder if you can trust anything these Asian suppliers say. They are competing with Apple and also a vendor. With the leaks and the knock offs, stealing IP and everything else, how long can these relationships last? It is definitely the Achilles' heel for Apple.
But without the controller software/OS to drive these displays and the associated chips and other bits of hardware, a single manufacturer would be hard-pressed to create and market a competitive product.
Sadly, I guess that means we will NOT see the same "Retina Display" in the next update to the iPad then. If LG is saying they won't even catch up on current IPS display production at this size, it would seem to indicate that the next refresh (assuming Apple sticks with an annual update cycle for iPad) will see the iPad v2 continue to use the same display until a higher density display can be manufactured en masse.
That's too bad because I'm really really liking my iPhone 4's display. Going back to 3GS displays and even my computer display, I can really feel the difference that a high pixel density screen brings.
But without the controller software/OS to drive these displays and the associated chips and other bits of hardware, a single manufacturer would be hard-pressed to create and market a competitive product.
Sure but they make displays for anyone who wants one, passing on whatever they learn from Apple.