14 DAY TRIAL // Apple’s fifth-generation (full-size) tablet computer is entering “volume” production in the July-August timeframe, but there are some concerns already regarding the yield rates for some components.
Taiwan’s DigiTimes has heard from Apple’s supply chain sources that “Volume production of the fifth-generation 9.7-inch iPad will kick off in July-August 2013.”
The report adds that yield rates for the key components making up the tablet computers “will be a major concern for smooth production,” especially touch panels.
Weighing in on the design of the iPad 5, as the media calls it, the sources said, “the new iPad will be thinner and lighter than the fourth-generation one and will adopt a slim bezel design, similar to that of the iPad mini.”
This tidbit is in line with most rumors regarding the design of the fifth-generation iPad.
Apple is reportedly sourcing Retina screens for the iPad 5 from LG Display and Sharp, “while the touch panel assembly will be conducted by TPK and the ITO thin film supplied by Nitto Denko and Teijin,” according to the same sources.
In a separate report, the Taiwanese trade publication points out that Foxconn, Apple’s biggest assembly partner, is recruiting workers for its plants in Zhengzhou, China.
Although the Chinese conglomerate declined to comment on the matter, “market watchers” are telling DigiTimes that the recruitments are for the company's integrated digital product business group (IDPBG), “which is [in] charge of producing smartphones for a US-based brand vendor.”
If that sounds a bit too vague, here’s what the paper has to say in a subsequent paragraph.
“Since Foxconn will reportedly start supplying a next-generation smartphone and an entry-level model to the client in the second quarter, the company is currently in the process of training workers to avoid poor yield rates.”
In plain English, that’s the iPhone 5S / iPhone 6 and the rumored low-cost iPhone.