The real winner in the ongoing strife between Samsung and Apple may be Innolux Corp. Apple is said to be ready to drop Samsung in favor of Innolux as the supplier of touch displays for its iPad mini.
David Hsieh, NPD DisplaySearch Greater China region vice president, reportedly said on Thursday that Apple will rely at least in part on Innolux for touch panels in the next iPad mini.
“Innolux and China’s Century Display will receive certificates for product qualification [from Apple] to supply [touch panels] for the iPad mini,” Taipei Times quoted Hsieh as saying.
The head of Innolux’s touch panel division, Yan Chiu-lien, said earlier this week that the company will be focusing on smartphones and tablets this year, with a goal of shipping 7-inch screens within the year. Innolux has been a supplier of touch panels for Apple’s full-sized iPads since 2008. The company’s components are expected to feature its touch-on-display technology.
Apple is reported to not have yet submitted a request for quotation to Samsung for display components. Speculation is that Apple will instead opt to source components from LG Display, Sharp, Japan Display, and AU Optronics for the iPad mini.
Apple has been relying on Samsung as a supplier of a number of components for its best selling products, even as the two companies have competed both in court and the market. Recently, Apple has sought to diversify its legion of suppliers in order to reduce its contribution to Samsung’s bottom line, and to keep Samsung from learning of Apple’s plans.
