Apple May Have Switched iPad Touch Screen Suppliers

Apple reportedly switched iPad touch screen suppliers from TPK to Wintek over parts delivery delays, according to DigiTimes.

While the report seems to indicate that Apple may have been experiencing touch screen parts delays, it looks like those issues have been resolved — assuming they ever existed. DigiTimes previously reported that Wintek was responsible for iPad touch screen delays, but the parts supplier denied that it was behind on parts shipments.

Apple originally said it would ship the iPad in March, but missed that self imposed deadline by three days. Instead, the company will be rolling out the multimedia tablet and ebook reader on April 3.

Reports that Apple was experiencing parts delays also came from Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek. Mr. Misek said prior to Apple’s official launch date announcement that supply bottlenecks could delay the launch by a full month.

“An unspecified production problem at the iPad’s manufacturer, Hon Hai Precision, will likely limit the launch region to the US and the number of units available to roughly 300K in the month of March, far lower than the company’s initial estimate of 1,000K units,’ he said. “It is also possible that, given the limited number of units available in March, the launch will be delayed for a month.”

In the end, the launch was set for April 3, and Apple hasn’t hinted that there may be limited product availability.

WinTek isn’t commenting on whether or not it has taken over TPK touch screen orders, so for now the DigiTimes report should be taken with an appropriately dosed grain of salt.