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The iPad Mini appears to be on its way to eclipsing the Retina iPad, according to NPD DisplaySearch.

Apple had originally expected to sell 6 million iPad Minis in 2012. But that's turning out to be a laughably low forecast, according to DisplaySearch analyst David Hsieh.

Now, Apple is asking display panel makers to "ship more than 12 million" iPad Mini displays in the fourth quarter, Hsieh said in a research note.

"The iPad Mini apparently is selling better" than the new iPad 4, Hsieh said in response to an e-mail query. "It seems … Read more

The iPad mini has arrived -- with supply problems in tow.

"We're now starting to see the issues that [Apple] is having with Samsung," Richard Shim, an analyst at NPD DisplaySearch, told CNET in an interview.

Specifically, Samsung, a traditional Apple display vendor, is not supplying displays for the iPad mini, according to Shim. That leaves two suppliers, LGD and AUO.

"The problem is that AUO is a new supplier, and they're not able to get to the volumes that Apple needs. So, essentially, there's just one supplier," Shim said, who covered the … Read more

Production is under way for a Retina display targeted at a more mainstream MacBook Pro, CNET has learned.

Production has begun of a 2,560-by-1,600 pixel density display that will land on a 13.3-inch MacBook Pro, NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim told CNET.

"The supply chain indications are that it's for a MacBook Pro 13.3 -- not a MacBook Air," said Shim.

Displays are being made by Samsung, LGD, and Sharp, he said.

Shim said that production volume is expected to be substantially higher out of the gate compared to the current 15.4-inch … Read more

LG Display has begun to make a display that could be slated for the iPhone 5, according to a Reuters report.

"We just began mass production and we don't expect any disruption in supplies," Han Sang-beom, chief executive of LG Display, told reporters Wednesday, according to Reuters.

LGD, along with Samsung, are the two principal display suppliers for Apple's marquee products, such as the iPhone and iPad.

Other reports, however, have Sharp making the displays for the iPhone 5. And Toshiba has also been rumored as a display supplier for the iPhone 5.

It's not … Read more

The supply chain--that gaggle of component makers behind the products people actually buy--is talking about a smaller iPad again.

On Tuesday, a report in The Wall Street Journal claimed that suppliers have shown Apple samples of a device with an 8-inch class screen.

Suppliers of the sample 8-inch class panels include AU Optronics and LG Display, according to the Journal.

This follows a CNET report--citing supply-chain sources--back in October when suppliers were yapping about a 7.85-inch screen.

If Apple commits to commercial production of a smaller iPad--which is unknown at this point--it would be a big step in … Read more

Shipments of the iPad 3 are expected to zoom this year, based on orders placed for displays, an Asia-based report said.

Those orders for iPad 3 displays may go as high as 70 million this year, according to a report in the Chinese language Commercial Times.

That would be more than a 60 percent jump over iPad sales in 2011, which were about 40 million.

The Times mentions Samsung and LG Display as suppliers of the iPad 3's Retina 2048x1536 display but does not mention Sharp. Based on separate reports, Sharp is expected to ship an IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) … Read more

Sharp's high-resolution IGZO display technology may not be out of the running for the iPad 3, according an analyst at DisplaySearch.

Though there have been rumors claiming that Sharp's IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) technology did not make the cut for the iPad 3, Charles Annis, a Kyoto, Japan-based analyst at DisplaySearch, thinks Sharp still has a good shot at the iPad 3.

The iPad 3 is expected to sport a 9.7-inch 2048x1536 resolution LCD, a much higher resolution than the iPad 2's 1024-by-768 panel.

Annis spoke with CNET on Monday.

Question: So, what is the … Read more

Updates on the status of the next-generation iPad are becoming more frequent as the Asia-based supply chain gears up for production. That latest report says the next iPad will be available in three to four months.

Why by April? Component manufacturers have already started delivering next-gen iPad parts to original equipment manufacturers, according to a report in Taipei-based Digitimes.

Chinese device manufacturing giant Foxconn will begin to produce the future iPads in January and "ramp up" production volume starting in February, Digitimes said, citing a report in the Chinese-language Commercial Times, which, in turn, cites Kevin Chang, an … Read more

Production has started on the high-resolution displays destined for the next-generation iPad, while Apple eyes a 7.85-inch iPad further down the road, an analyst told CNET today.

"It's happening--QXGA, 2048x1536. Panel production has started [for the next-generation iPad]. There's three suppliers," Richard Shim, an analyst at DisplaySearch, said in an interview today. Shim confirmed other reports that cite three companies, Samsung, Sharp, and LGD.

That Apple is sourcing the display from three suppliers underscores the challenges of manufacturing a 10-inch-class QXGA screen in high volume. "I would imagine there would be concerns about [adequate] supply given the resolution of the display but you've got three different suppliers at this point. They should have enough to launch the product," Shim said. … Read more