14 DAY TRIAL // Sources in the Taiwan area - where Apple has a lot of contract manufacturers as partners - are dishing out news that the California company is trying to expand its horizons from a supplier standpoint.
The news shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, although it’s true that some existing partners probably stand to lose orders and ultimately part of their handsome profits. The reason why Apple is looking to bolster its supplier lineup isn’t stated, but we have a pretty good hunch.
LCD driver suppliers wanted
The sources cited by DigiTimes say that “Apple is looking to diversify its LCD driver IC suppliers and move away from its dependence on Synaptics (formerly Renesas SP Drivers; RSP),” and that several high-profile makers are already waving their hands in the air hoping to get picked by Apple.
These “extras” are Novatek Microelectronics, Himax Technologies and Parade Technologies. Apparently, this isn’t the first time such news broke in the Taiwanese supply chain, as there have been rumors about Apple approaching other driver IC suppliers after Synaptics bought RSA.
All-new products incoming
Apple this year plans to introduce more than one all-new product. In addition to the already confirmed Apple Watch, Tim Cook is also said to have prepared an all-new MacBook Air and an iPad Pro.
Recent rumors also say we could be in for a television announcement as well, but we’ll take a wait-and-see approach on that one.
As you may have already noticed, Apple’s hot sellers all have built-in screens, and these screens need the best driver ICs out there. Like with the A-series processors, Apple prefers to have more than just one or two suppliers for key components. Not to mention that iPhone sales are going through the roof.
With more screens on the way, Apple has no choice but to bolster its supply chain before it can no longer fulfill demand.