iPad 2 Production Damped For iPad 3 Focus

The never clam sea of Apple rumors has kicked up again today. According to sources Apple is now in the inventory control mode for the iPad 2 getting prepped for a new version of the iPad to hit next year. The tightening of inventory by Apple could affect the screen shipment numbers for panel suppliers that make the 9.7-inch screens the iPad 2 uses.

Thos suppliers are Samsung Electronics, LG Display, and CMI. According to DigiTimes there are enough parts in the chain for Apple to build another 15-16 million iPad 2s, which would leave about 4-5 million iPad 2 tablets in the supply chain. In October, Apple reportedly cut the supply of screens ordered from Samsung to 2 million units, CMI went from 700,000 expected to 350,000, and LG went from 3 million expected to 2.5 million.

The sources DigiTimes cites also claim that at the same time supplies for screens on the iPad 2 are being trimmed, the building of panels for the next iPad are ramping up. The availability of those higher resolution iPad 3 panels is said to be a bottleneck in producing the next iPad according to rumors. The new panels for the future iPad are said to start shipping in November or December according to the sources.

[via DigiTimes]