Samsung Display, Samsung’s display unit and part of the company’s component-making arm, will supply Apple with high-resolution panels for an upcoming second-generation iPad Air and a rumored “iPad Pro”which is understood to feature a 12.9-inch screen, Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes reported Tuesday morning citing Korean-news outlet inews24.
Although the Cupertino firm’s been distancing itself from the South Korean conglomerate amid ad wars and legal spats, the Galaxy maker is still an important supplier for Apple. And with its leading position in mobile screen production, Samsung is best poised to ensure that Apple has ample supply of high-resolution panels for the iPad Air 2 and the rumored iPad Pro.
“Samsung will reportedly dedicate most supply from a 5G Plane to Line Switching (PLS) line to Apple and begin making shipments before the end of 2014,” claims DigiTimes.
The report goes on to note that rival LG Display, also an Apple supplier and an exclusive provider of Apple Watch screens, dedicates about two-thirds of its mobile screen output to Apple’s iPhone 6 and Apple Watch orders.
As a result of the Apple contract, LG Display is expected to see operating profits increase an astounding 292 percent in the second half of 2014 compared to the first.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSDAjwKI8Wo
There’s no point denying that Samsung makes the best mobile screens in the world. Apple’s mobile devices still use LCD technology rather than Samsung’s AMOLED (except for the Apple Watch), the fact the South Korean firm continues to exploit successfully in its tablet advertising centered around the Galaxy Tab S’s and S5’s Super AMOLED screen.
The rumor mill is expecting the iPad Air 2 with a thinner chassis, Touch ID and Apple Pay support and possibly a faster variant of the A8 processor with 2GB of RAM, doubling the 1GB of RAM on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
As for the mythical iPad Pro, that tablet should come with an ultra high-resolution panel, support for split-screen multitasking and a speedier A8X chip to drive those pixels.