The majority of iPad mini screens are made by LG Display, not Samsung

The vast majority of iPad mini units incorporate a 7.9-inch screen manufactured by LG Display, a report out of Asia claims. AU Optronics, another Apple supplier, is said to be responsible for a much smaller portion of orders as it reportedly continues to suffer from poor yields in the production of panels.

The news is another indication of Apple distancing itself from Samsung. Remember, Samsung was originally the primary supplier of Retina screens for the third-generation iPad, until LG Display stole the Apple account in August. The Galaxy maker also lost out on the iPhone 5 front to rival panel makers, although the company still manufactures chips for Apple devices…

The hit-and-miss DigiTimes wrote Saturday that LG Display and AU Optronics shipped about four million panels for the iPad mini in November, per industry sources:

LG Display and AU Optronics have both been pinpointed as the main display suppliers for Apple’s iPad mini. And judging from shipments thus far, LG Display is still supplying most of the panels for the iPad mini.

Screens from LG Display use In-Plane Switch (IPS) technology while those AU Optronics makes are being built with AHVA technology, sources claim. The report goes on to note that Apple sources backlight units for the device from Radiant Opto-Electronics and Coretronic.

Both LG Display and AU Optronics were previously outed as suppliers of iPad mini screens, with China Economic News Service reporting mid-October that AU Optronics was working on fixing manufacturing issues with 7.9-inch panels ahead of September’s iPad mini launch.

Industry observers expect the cumulative shipments of AU Optronics panels for the iPad mini to reach between six and eight million units by the end of 2012 versus the original estimate of about ten million units.

With news of Apple replacing Samsung SDI with alternative suppliers for batteries amid the ongoing legal spat with the Galaxy maker, rumors of Samsung losing Apple chip business in 2014 and talk of Samsung becoming more assertive in Apple price negotiations, it’s clear the iPhone maker no longer wants to fill the pockets of its chief rival in mobile.

Is that a good thing?

Has Apple become too reliant on Samsung technology?

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