There has been speculation that Apple will continue to offer the iPad 2 as a lower-cost option along side the upcoming iPad 3. Now, display shipment plans released by DigiTimes back up this suggestion with additional data.
Eric Slivka writes for MacRumors:
According to the report, production of the “Retina” resolution iPad 3 display panels at 2048×1536 pixels will surpass that of the lower-resolution 1024×768 iPad 2 panels by the second quarter of this year, but Apple’s suppliers will still push out approximately 25 million iPad 2 panels in 2012. That will be down from an estimated 48 million panels in 2011, but still a substantial number. Sources suggest that Apple’s suppliers will also be pushing out approximately 40 million iPad 3 panels this year for a total of 65 million iPads between the two models.
With fewer than one million panels shipped in the fourth quarter of 2011, Apple will keep increasing the shipment volume of panels for use in the new version of iPad to 6.0-7.0 million panels in the first quarter and 10.0 million units in the third quarter of 2012, the sources pointed out.
Apple has adjusted shipments of iPad 2 panels from a peak of 16 million panels in the 3rd quarter down to 10 million units in the 4th quarter of 2011, and further down to 7 – 8 million in the 1st quarter of 2012, say sources.
DigiTimes has a spotty record when it comes to Apple’s product plans, but it does sometimes offer reasonably accurate reports on the company’s supply chain. So, it does seem likely that a volume of iPad display panels in an amount suggested by the rumored number would indicate iPad 2 production well past the introduction of the iPad 3.
