Apple expected to increase holiday-quarter iPad screen purchases from Samsung

iPad Air Home screen

SamsungĀ of South Korea may have gotten itself into hot water with Apple over patents and design issues, but its semiconductor unit continues to churn out unabated the Apple-designed engine which powers the iPhone, iPad and iPod devices. As for Retina screens, Apple originally sourced mobile displays from non-Samsung suppliers such as Sharp and LG Display.

Last we heard, recent yield and quality issues have reportedly prompted the iPhone maker to turn to its frenemy for help.Ā Koreaā€™s ETNews last Friday claimed Apple has asked Samsung for help as Sharp struggles to solve burn-in issues with IGZO panels for the iPad Air.

At the heart of the production issues is Japanese giant’s malfunctioning of the thin-film transistor display technology.Ā Corroborating the report, a display research firm on Monday said Apple’s purchase of Samsung-made panels for the iPad is about to skyrocket in the fourth quarter…

Seoul-based Korea Economic DailyĀ newspaper (Google translation)Ā on Monday cited market research firm DisplaySearch which estimated that Samsungā€™s 9.7-inch panel shipments will increase to 7.06 million units in the fourth quarter of this year.

The notable rise in orders is mostly attributed to Apple expectedly increasing its purchases of Samsung-made tablet screens.

This is a notable 2.7-fold increase over just 2.6 million 9.7-inch panels Samsung shipped during the third quarter of 2013. DisplaySearch also estimated that LG Display shipped 5.19 million 9.7-inch tablet panels during the September quarter.

Except for some unnamed Chinese vendors, virtually only Apple is using tablets screens that measure 9.7 inches diagonally. Therefore, the increase in Samsung’s 9.7-inch panel shipments serves as another proof of the Galaxy maker (again) becoming the top iPad screen supplier – or at least until Sharp and LG Display finally fix their production woes.