14 DAY TRIAL // Apple may face shortages of iPhone 5 units around its planned launch event because of a delay in the production of in-cell screens for the next-generation handset, according to people who are familiar with the situation.
A person with knowledge on the matter told the Wall Street Journal that Japan's Sharp Corp. hasn't even begun mass producing the screens for Apple’s next iPhone.
This, of course, is raising concern that the Cupertino giant might not be able to fulfill initial shipments, not to mention potentially skyrocketing demand. The report makes it clear that Sharp is experiencing trouble at its display manufacturing plants (emphasis ours).
"Sharp, a major supplier of liquid crystal displays to Apple, had planned to start shipping iPhone screens by the end of August, the people said, but mass production has been delayed due in part to manufacturing difficulties."
This, of course, doesn’t necessarily mean Apple will postpone its iPhone 5 launch (rumored for September 12), or physical availability of the handset (rumored for September 21). Sharp is one of the three key suppliers of Retina displays for the next-generation iPhone, sources said.
Apple also relies on Japan Display Inc. and South Korea’s LG Display to manufacture the in-cell screens with a reported resolution of 1136 x 640 pixels.
In fact, these two suppliers have reportedly already started shipping their displays to Apple.
Sharp is partially owned by Foxonn Electronics, a subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision.
In related news, Foxonn chairman Terry Gou reportedly played hooky at a scheduled press conference in Japan this week, where he was supposed to announce details of its investment in Sharp.
Gou’s absence at the press event sparked rumors that the cooperation agreement between the two companies was not going as planned.
However, Foxconn quickly poured water over the fire stating that the two companies are “still discussing details of their investments and executives of both companies are scheduled to meet today (August 31),” according to Taiwan’s DigiTimes.