Suppliers see 'frustrating' yields building Apple's 'iPad mini,' supply constraints expected - Page 2

Good point. It might be frustratingly high yield.

 

I'm totally not sure about any aspect of the device anymore although whatever process they are using it seems overly complex to me.  It also seems like a rushed product with a short development cycle and it seems to me that several changes of direction have occurred during that short run. 

 

It's really easy to play armchair quarterback with this stuff though and we usually don't really know half of what we think we know, so ... who knows?  :)

 

At this point I'm just going to wait and see.  Shouldn't be long now.  

 

I don't quite agree.

 

Extrusion is a process for parts with a uniform cross section along its length. I am not clear on how this would be compatible with the back of this device.

 

Gorilla glass is slightly lower in density than aluminum. We can surmise that on the iPad, the front glass and the aluminum back have roughly the same area. The glass is 1 mm thick. The aluminum back would have to be much thinner to contribute much less weight than the glass.

In-cell has a lot more to its production than an ordinary IPS--many steps to reduce yield.

Hopefully all the extra effort is worth it, if the display isn't retina.

I suppose we'll be blown away by the light weight, as with the iPhone 5.

Speaking of the iPhone 5, part of me wishes it had been made a tad thicker and heavier, to provide for a 50-100% larger battery that would have blown away the competition.

It's not extruded - the shape is all wrong for that. Extruded parts are things like tubes or similar components that have a consistent cross section (think tubes or spaghetti or many other pasta shapes).

If it's aluminum, it's probably stamped from sheet. If it's plastic, it could be stamped, but would more likely be molded. It could also be machined.

 

I still think it's going to simply be iPad, pick your size. (Just like iMac, pick your size, MacBook Air, pick your size, etc). The iPad 2 will be discontinued. If the iPad 2 was going to be an ongoing product, why can you only buy them directly from Apple (other than a few suppliers who still have the the "old" iPad 2 in stock and sell them above retail price), and why are they little more than a footnote on the iPad page on Apple's online store? I think they kept the iPad 2 as a temporary measure until the smaller sized iPad was ready.

Well Jony Ive said the iPhone 5 was the most complex and ambitious manufacturing process Apple has ever done. I'm hoping none of this comes back to bite them. Complex and needing to kick out tens of millions of devices doesn't seem to go together very well.

 

Or even more simply, "I predicted they would come out in Septmeber. I was wrong. I blew it. But to cover up my bad analysis I'm going to make up a ficticious supply chain issue, or exaggerate a minor one, in order to explain why I was wrong. No really, I am a good analyst. I was only wrong because Apple screwed up their ramp up of the production lines. It's all their fault. Really. Trust me (this time)!"
Edited by Wiggin - 10/4/12 at 11:12am

They say that even the stupidest person can have something of value to teach you but I'm highly starting to doubt the validity of that statement...

To ignore, or not to ignore.

That is the question.

Sure I said stamped in a previous thread but since I'm not a machinist I don't have the terminology down. I was thinking sort of like a soda can is struck from a wafer shaped slug. Something similar except with a sheet of aluminum. I imagine that process would be really inexpensive compared to machining it from a solid piece of stock. Clearly the important part of the process is to make the corners nice and smooth not wrinkled or crimped like standard stamping might cause.

I still think this "iPad mini" rumor is just the new iPod touch.

 

Instead of being released immediately, the 5th gen iPod touch is supposed to finally be released "in October," which is the same time this supposed iPad mini was pushed back to.

The 5th gen iPod touch is sharing the same IPS LCD panel as the iPhone. Because there is a high demand for the iPhone, there might not be enough panels for the iPod, especially with suppliers like Sharp having issues.

The 5th gen iPod touch has multiple colors, all of them now with anodized aluminum instead of stainless steel backs, which is also having yield issues. (see iPhone 5 scratching)

The 5th gen iPod touch is selling at $299, the same price point as this "iPad mini"

InCell might make sense for the iPad mini since it is cheaper to make because you do not need the additional layer of glass and touch components. So yields might be down if they are trying to do a lower res screen with the new incell tech.

So, no iPad mini event, and since the iPod touch was already announced that would mean no event at all. Seem kinda odd with the event rumors and supposed iPad mini part leaks

What does iOS 6 and the iPhone 5 have to do with each other? There are several problems with iOS 6 beyond the Maps issue. The  Apple forum is full of battery drain issues which is now typical. Also after years of being on this forum I would love to know what make you think this forum is so important that everyone wants to troll it? I don't even hear that term used anymore on other forums. I don't see this problem on Macrumors. When I had an Android device the Android forums talk about technology I rarely ever see Apple bashing or Apple trolls. 

 

This forum baits these issues. The threads that get the most hits always have to do with Samsung, Google or someone in the news saying something that isn't a glowing comment about Apple. A rapper at a MS store, a NYT article and anything related to legal issues with Samsung by far have more hits than anything simply related to Apple on this forum. I give credit to this forum it can get you dumb ass bags to jump at anything.  Up to 444 comments on the NYT Apple Maps issue. Up to 371 comments on Tim Cook apology for Maps. Up to 270 comments on Google 'iLost" thread. 

 

Any troll on this forum isn't a problems its sensitive school girls like you that are the problem on this forum. Grow up.

Uh, I think "desire" makes supply more limited.

Quote:

From all the recent threads on the "mini P," guess I'm one of few who seems concerned that if Apple brings out a screen with iPad 1 resolution, older chip, possibly with no LTE (or maybe even 3G) option and maybe a crap cam AND at a higher price than the several much higher res models already released in this space AND prices it above them, it could be a strategic product misstep of Cubian proportions.... ...so let's hope it's because (if the report carries any water) they are speccing it out to be niftier than that (or are at least planning to be very aggressive on pricing if a mass market entry level tablet device, i.e., the iPad nano of tablets, is their goal). 

FYI, it's not an exactly "Apples to Apples" comparison (many of the internals and much of the assembly would cost about the same, e.g.), but if the new geegaw is 60% of the size of the parent (think I read that figure, but whatever, I'm just blue-skying), it's kind of interesting that 60% of the price of the way that one's fitted out is exactly $299.

 

A shame if they aim low - know I'm waiting to see if the product's good before I decide on my EOY Apple purchases....  ...and my entry-level comments notwithstanding, it's also hard to conceive that after the iPad 3, MBPr and recent iPhones that they'd highlight a non-Retina res device as their follow-on brand new SKU.  Feels retrograde to go back to their earlier standards on a new product line and competitors would seize on it in their marketing, which Apple doesn't need.  Their "halo" of being the quality choice is a key to the company's ongoing success.

 

(Historical footnote: I remember when Sony and Panasonic started releasing garbage stereo products [remember those?] at low prices and killed their image in those areas.  Panasonic tried to recover by releasing a new higher-end line called Technics, but it was too late.  To whatever extent they were, neither's ever been taken seriously by medium budget audiophiles again.  Follow ons: 1. Of course, tho' I doubt either knew it, the "stereo" market was dying anyway, and 2. Both did seem to learn and both' companies' newish camera lines and HDTV's have hewed mostly to the highish end of their various niches.) 

Anyway, "Pride [still] goeth before a fall."  And hubris about their cachet could prove a deadly sin....

Edited by bigpics - 10/4/12 at 1:37pm

I think it will be much better resolution than the old iPad. Its DPI will likely be in the middle of both old iPad and new iPad. It will retain the traditional iPad resolution but in a smaller dimension hence higher DPI.

 

I like your analysis, and this could also explain why there was no "iPad 3," only the "New iPad."  The 2 goes away as an older model of the iPad, and we get 2 products: the iPad and the iPad Mini/Air/Light.

 

By god, I believe we've nailed it!  

 

So as long as the iPhone has numbers, regardless of if they're anywhere near right or not, it's a sign that there won't be any other models. 

I'm not sure who is leading you to believe that Apple won't be using bleeding edge technology. Apple best chance in this market is noticeably more advanced tperformance and technology.

What's new. This same story appears a month before (and for a month or two after) every Apple product launch. That's what happens when you're trying to build millions upon millions of the same product in a two month span.

I think you are right, logically, it would make more sense for them to have them separated by a month or so just to deal with supply chain issues as well as things like shipping, Apple store lines, etc.

How do you get that?

For example, the iPhone has the number 5. How does that prove that there will never be an iPhone 6 or 7 or 2000?

I think he is saying that as long as it is called iPhone (N), there will not be some other model of iPhone such as an iPhone mini or iPhone nano or iPhone 4.85" maxi.

 

Bingo, using the same definition as the iPad, should that definition be true.

 

But then again, "what Apple says at any one second is completely meaningless and they can change it later ignoring that they ever did it differently in the past".

That doesn't make sense either.

First, for the iPhone, they have different versions on sale at the same time - iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and iPhone 5. Obviously, there's nothing stopping them from selling more than one version at the same time.

More importantly, look at their other products:

iPod. They have an iPod Touch, iPod Classic, iPod Nano, and iPod Shuffle.

MacBook Air. They have an 11" and 13" models - and both are called MacBook Air.

iMac. They have 21" and 27" models - and both are called iMac.

And so on.

Other than the fact that he's spreading FUD every time he can to try to pooh pooh the idea of a smaller iPad, there's absolutely no reason at all why they can't offer multiple sizes.

So how do you explain the iPod Touch, iPod Nano, iPod Classic, and iPod Shuffle?

 

And those don't fit the description… how? The iPod has no numbers.

 

That would limit the device and the pricing would have to reflect that for sales to be successful.  Apple is supposedly targeting the 7" tablet market, where an e-reader is one of many functions of the device, albeit lacking as a reader in direct sunlight.

That's a silly distinction. So Apple can only have multiple products in a category if they meet your silly, arbitrary naming convention?

 

ARE YOU READING THE THREAD?!

Of course. I enjoy seeing all the ridiculous reasons you keep throwing out as to why Apple can't release an iPad Mini.

 

Then you'd know why what you've said most recently is completely off topic.

You don't. You're not reading the thread. All of your replies are meaningless.

 

 

Ping  .... pong ....

The ball went out of play on his side a while ago. He's just miming swings at this point.

The pricing of this iPad Mini will be most intriguing. With the new iPod Touch price set, they've obviously figured out their pricing scheme. But can they price the iPad Mini cheaper than the iPod Touch? Doesn't make sense. But can they go noticeably higher than $299 when the 32GB version of Nexus 7 is rumored to be priced at $259?

 

If Apple can position this not just as a small iPad but as something with a distinctive purpose. I believe/hope they are launching this as a defensive move but rather as an offensive thrust - as in, this is what a 7" tablet should be about and this is how it should be used. Then price will be irrelevant.

If so, you are miming returns of his phantom shots ;p

 

I'm just standing on the other side asking him to retrieve the ball. If he doesn't go get it in much longer, I'll just set my paddle down and walk away.