Samsung Securities says 7" 'iPad mini' coming in Q3 2012, Apple investigating flexible panels
A leaked document from Samsung's investment bank has revealed that the firm believes Apple is planning to release a 7-inch "iPad mini" device in the third quarter of 2012 and is interested in flexible AMOLED panels for future generations of its tablets.
OLED-Display.net claims to have obtained the official document, which is dated December 2011, from "an anonymous user" at Samsung.
According to the research note, which discusses the state of AMOLED in the industry, analyst JungHoon Chang predicted Apple will release the third-generation iPad in the first quarter of 2012 and "a new 7-inch product temporarily referred to as the iPad mini" in the third quarter of this year. Chang also appeared to confirm the use of "higher-resolution IPS panels" in the next-generation iPad.
Chang added that Sharp is "trying to produce" IGZO LCD panels for the iPad at its 8G lab, but may not have been successful in mass producing the screens in time for the so-called "iPad 3," which is expected to be unveiled at an Apple media event next week.
The analyst went on to note that Apple "may yet decide" to incorporate flexible panels into future iPad models, if panel makers such as Samsung Mobile Display (SMD) can increase yields of flexible AMOLED panels and improve resolution. Currently, SMD can produce just 54 million AMOLED panels annually, even if it converted its 5.5G line for tablet production, Chang said.
Samsung Mobile Display showing off a flexible display at CES 2011. Source: OLED-Display.net
As such, Samsung's AMOLED production is likely not yet ready to meet Apple's demands for iPad orders. For instance, another analyst predicted this week that Apple will sell 55 million third-generation iPad units in 2012 due to "significant" hardware improvements such as the expected Retina Display, rumored support for Siri voice recognition and possible 4G LTE connectivity.
Samsung itself has been a major proponent of AMOLED screens and has made use of the technology in its Galaxy S and Galaxy S II smartphones and its Galaxy Tab 7.7 tablet. Though Apple CEO Tim Cook was said to have met with Samsung executives to discuss using AMOLED for the iPad, Apple is believed to have passed on the displays for its third-generation iPad, in part because of concerns over production volume and pixel density and quality.
Samsung Galaxy S II. Source: Cnet.
The South Korean company announced last month that it will spin off its LCD manufacturing business into a separate company later this spring. The move is expected to allow the resulting LCD business to merge with SMD into a new company tentatively named Samsung Display Co., Ltd. One reported reason for the spin-off is to alleviate concerns from clients, such as Apple, who are purchasing components from the LCD side while simultaneously competing with products coming out of the company's consumer electronics arm.
The leaked Samsung Securities document emerges just days after a separate rumor claimed Apple's supply chain partners are likely to begin volume production of a 7.85-inch iPad as early as the third quarter of 2012. Last month, The Wall Street Journal lent credence to claims that Apple is working on a smaller iPad with a report claiming that Apple was testing 8-inch form factor devices with a similar screen resolution as the iPad 2.
However, talk of a smaller-sized iPad has drawn skeptical looks from some who cite comments from late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs dismissing the possibility of a 7-inch tablet. "The reason we [won't] make a 7-inch tablet isn't because we don't want to hit that price point, it's because we think the screen is too small to express the software," Jobs said during a conference call in 2010.
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Comments
Samsung Mobile Display showing off a flexible display at CES 2011. Source: OLED-Display.net
Samsung is so cool! Apple is lucky that such an innovative company is willing to work with them.
Edit: Why do the four people in the background look like they are fixing to assault the photographer? The Korean woman on the left is looking at the Korean guy like "So you gonna do something about this?" and the guy looks VERY uncomfortable. The gray haired gent on the right looks like a 1960's secret agent who might pull a silenced semi-auto pistol from his shoulder holster.
I want a larger iPad that can roll up!
Why? No real-life advantage at all. You can roll up paper but people still don't.
Why? No real-life advantage at all. You can roll up paper but people still don't.
How about a 15 inch tablet that rolls up into an 8 inch cylinder? How about a wall-sized TV that rolls up like a window shade when not in use?
Might be handy for some stuff.
Why? No real-life advantage at all. You can roll up paper but people still don't.
I was more serious about the 'larger iPad' to be honest than the rolling part, but I'd point out we have had roll up projector screens for decades, why do you have to use paper as your only analogy. Try the think outside the box
Samsung expect to focus all its AMOLED production for SMD division.
I want a larger iPad that can roll up!
That would be the iScroll.
I was more serious about the 'larger iPad' to be honest than the rolling part, but I'd point out we have had roll up projector screens for decades, ...
Just to be picky ... the most noticeable feature of roll up projector screens is how almost no one rolls them up most of the time.
No Excel and Power Point
Too large
Without Excel and PP there is no way I could substitute my MBA for the iPad even on short trips, and regarding the size, unlike my wife who carries her iPad in her handbag, I want a device that fits into a large jacket pocket.
I do not care what was Steve Jobs opinions about an ideal size; I want a 7 inch unit, and I am not going to buy a larger one, and there is no way I believe that Apple could not make one that would suit my fingers without sanding. Also the first function I looked for at my wife's iPad was how to get the icons closer to each other, they are using way too much real estate as they are laid out resulting in to many screens too swap between.
However, Apple having the opinion that the size of the iPad is ideal, I don't understand how they can mess up the icons the way they do at the Music app at the iPhone; on several occations I hit the next or previous button instead of the play/stop button because the buttons for no reason at all are spaced to tightly together.
I doubt we will see a 7 inch unit, but it would be about time for Apple to go into this market. There is no way in the world I would buy the current iPad for two reasons:
You can file it for claim chowder but I see absolutely no reason why there should't be a 7.85" iPad. One size does NOT fit all and there are always scenarios where a smaller iPad could excel (Point of Sale, Inventory tracking etc)
It can be the next iPod with 7 inch screen, so not an iPad.
That's semantics. It's not happening. Well, I have my doubts anyway.
That would be the iScroll.
Score: 4 (funny)
I do not care what was Steve Jobs opinions about an ideal size; I want a 7 inch unit, and I am not going to buy a larger one, and there is no way I believe that Apple could not make one that would suit my fingers without sanding. Also the first function I looked for at my wife's iPad was how to get the icons closer to each other, they are using way too much real estate as they are laid out resulting in to many screens too swap between.
It's not simply about what Steve felt. It's about what actually works in practice. Apple likes things to be smaller, if 7" worked they'd be more likely to make it 7" then 10". They made it 10" because it works better. Own an iPad for 6 months and you'll understand. 9.7" at a 4:3 ratio is smaller than you'd think. A DVD is 9" for example. You can only truly understand this having owned and used one for a few months. So I'm not trying to convince you because you don't know you're just going to have to trust me.
However, Apple having the opinion that the size of the iPad is ideal, I don't understand how they can mess up the icons the way they do at the Music app at the iPhone; on several occations I hit the next or previous button instead of the play/stop button because the buttons for no reason at all are spaced to tightly together.
That's fixable. It'll be fixed.
You can file it for claim chowder but I see absolutely no reason why there should't be a 7.85" iPad. One size does NOT fit all and there are always scenarios where a smaller iPad could excel (Point of Sale, Inventory tracking etc)
I have never seen Apple make hardware for vertical markets like Point of sale, inventory tracking etc. Apple designs and sells consumer-oriented products. That doesn't mean of course that there aren't people who want a smaller tablet, just as there exist people who want pen input devices
It's not simply about what Steve felt. It's about what actually works in practice. Apple likes things to be smaller, if 7" worked they'd be more likely to make it 7" then 10". They made it 10" because it works better. Own an iPad for 6 months and you'll understand. 9.7" at a 4:3 ratio is smaller than you'd think. A DVD is 9" for example. You can only truly understand this having owned and used one for a few months. So I'm not trying to convince you because you don't know you're just going to have to trust me.
That's fixable. It'll be fixed.
I know exactly what the current unit is like, after all I gave one to my wife. And I do not believe there is one ideal size and not possible to make a smaller one that I, and many other, would like better. When i only had a MBP 15", I believed that that size was the perfect size and a smaller screen would not work. Having had an 11' MBA for a year I have clearly seen that 11" is a much better size for my use.
I have never seen Apple make hardware for vertical markets like Point of sale, inventory tracking etc. Apple designs and sells consumer-oriented products. That doesn't mean of course that there aren't people who want a smaller tablet, just as there exist people who want pen input devices
I'm not saying that they are making an iPad expressly for vertical markets but trying to get people to understand that 9.7" is fairly large for some vertical application of tablets. Some people only need to do data entry on the road and an iPad today can be a little large for that.
As for profit that's the million dollar question. Should a smaller iPad be delivered in fall it means it has a 6 month advantage in parts sourcing over the iPad 3. Deals for components could be struck now meaning that more integrated solutions can be used to shave pricing.
I also happen to think that 7.85 would make a nice gaming platform. In the end I'd love to get my son an iPad but i'm not entrusting him with $500. I could risk $300 a bit more easily.