iPhone 5 shortage reportedly a result of Apple's in-cell displays
Apple's adoption of in-cell touchscreen panels for the iPhone 5 is the primary reason supplies of the new smartphone are constrained, according to a new report.
Analyst Ben A. Reitzes with Barlcays said in an note to investors that constraints on in-cell touch displays have been the "key issue" with iPhone 5 shipments. He said that iPhone 5 display supply is estimated to be just 10 million screens for the current, September quarter, while a "significant ramp" is expected to begin in the next, December quarter.
"We still believe Apple is facing significant production constraints due to a move toward in-cell display technology, which pushes a significant amount of units into the December and March quarters â a factor which limited sales this past weekend according to our checks," Reitzes wrote.
When production of in-cell displays does pick up in the fourth quarter, Reitzes believes Apple will sell more than 45 million iPhones, resulting in 22 percent year over year growth.
The in-cell touch panels used in the iPhone 5 are believed to be manufactured by LG Display Co. and Japan Display Inc. Bloomberg reached out to those two companies, as well as Apple, but all of them declined to comment.
Apple announced on Monday that sales of the iPhone 5 exceeded 5 million in its first three days of availability. That represented a new record for the company, but also came in below Wall Street expectations.
In a statement, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook acknowledged that demand for the iPhone 5 is outstripping supply, and that his company is working to catch up with demand. Apple's sales figures also do not take into consideration orders that are en route to customers, as Apple must deliver an iPhone before it can be counted as a sale.
The new iPhone 5 is thinner and lighter than its predecessor thanks in part to the in-cell touch display that Apple has adopted. Previous versions of the iPhone relied on glass-on-glass solutions that were thicker and heavier.
27 Comments
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Why haven't we heard any rumors of Apple deliberately constraining supply to artificially create the appearance of high demand? Come on people, there has to be SOMEBODY out there who has absolutely no idea how complex it is to manage a global supply chain with dozens of intricate parts all while trying (and ultimately failing) to keep it all a secret until day of announce. Oh yeah, and what happened to those folks who were convinced the iPhone5 would have curved sides like the iPod Touch? In fact, from the pics, it looks like the new iPod Touch has less curve overall that the previous iPod Touch, although perhaps still too much to allow it to stand up on an edge unaided.
Conscript more iSlaves into the factories to increase supply.
New troll talking point. See screaming headline article at C|net. Apple is the root of all evil in this world. If only Apple could be destroyed and wiped out all will be well in the universe. Peace and prosperity will reign. Unicorns will be safe.
Why haven't we heard any rumors of Apple deliberately constraining supply to artificially create the appearance of high demand?
We already have, and it has a name. It's called sell-out-gate.
http://www.macworld.com/article/2010287/macalope-sell-out-gate.html
[quote name="lilgto64" url="/t/152873/iphone-5-shortage-reportedly-a-result-of-apples-in-cell-displays#post_2197887"]Why haven't we heard any rumors of Apple deliberately constraining supply to artificially create the appearance of high demand? [/quote] I called it weeks ago. It was obvious that Apple would not possibly be able to make enough to meet demand and equally obvious that the trolls would accuse them of artificially constraining supply - even though the demand is truly unprecedented. [quote name="lilgto64" url="/t/152873/iphone-5-shortage-reportedly-a-result-of-apples-in-cell-displays#post_2197887"]Come on people, there has to be SOMEBODY out there who has absolutely no idea how complex it is to manage a global supply chain with dozens of intricate parts all while trying (and ultimately failing) to keep it all a secret until day of announce..[/quote] That's not the hard part. The hard part is trying to figure out how many to have available on launch day. If they had too many, the stock would really have cratered ("Apple can't sell iPhones"). In addition, doing all of this while ramping up new technologies from new suppliers is doubly difficult.