Rumours originating from Korea suggest that Apple’s legal tiff with Samsung might see the Cupertino company choose LG as well Samsung to supply screens for the iPad 3.
According to the The Korea Times, a secret source has told them that the Cupertino-based gadget maker is already in talks with LG which would see both manufacturers making screens for the new tablet.
It had been thought that Samsung would be Apple’s sole supplier, especially since LG hasn’t performed that well with the iPad 2, but ongoing legal battles between the two tech giants has made Apple hedge its bets to avoid a situation where production is held to ramson over the current legal wrangling with Samsung.
Over the last couple of months Apple and Samsung have been slinging tit-for-tat assertions – both accusing one and other of infringing patents for the iPhone and Galaxy models.
According to the KT sources the testing of new panels for a future iPad 3 are already underway with retina resolutions of 2048×1536 and a aspect ratios of 4:3 being tipped.
This follows hot on the heels of new that Apple was said to be looking at moving its production of mobile processors away from Samsung – with Taiwanese firm TSMC muted as a possible partner for Apple.
Samsung is reported to have cut its output of LCD panels by as much as 15 per cent to stop the bottom falling out of the market in the face of reduced demand.
Although the Korean company is one of the biggest manufacturers of electronic components on the planet, losing two major Apple contracts will certainly have a painful impact on its bottom line, and its reputation.