This article was published on March 13, 2012

The new iPad’s touch screen is made by Samsung, because LG and Sharp couldn’t hack it


The new iPad’s touch screen is made by Samsung, because LG and Sharp couldn’t hack it

The Retina display featured in the new iPad will come from Samsung, rather than competitors Sharp or LG, reports Bloomberg. According to IHS iSuppli’s Vinita Jakhanwal, the other manufacturers couldn’t meet Apple’s quality control demands.

Samsung already makes Apple’s A-series processors, likely including the new A5X chip, which combines a dual-core processor with a quad-core graphics chip. Providing a significant boost in graphics processing power, if early benchmarks are to be believed.

Jakhanwal told Bloomberg that the resolution was likely behind the issues in production. “Achieving this high resolution without compromising on the power consumption and brightness and maintaining Apple’s quality standards are supposedly proving to be a challenge for LG Display and Sharp.”

LG is known to make the displays used in the iPhone and older versions of the iPad and, along with Sharp, may begin making panels for the latest Apple tablet in April, once they have satisfied Apple’s quality control demands.

The extended reliance on Samsung for parts comes despite a robust history of legal battles. Most recently, Apple has expanded its legal efforts against Samsung in Australia and Samsung flipped its strategy in Korea, suing Apple over patents after saying that it would not.

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