Report: Retina Display Issues Push iPad 3 Launch to 2012

Last month the CEO of LG confirmed the iPad 3 would arrive with a retina display, but the release date of the device was still up in the air. Digitimes is now reporting that the iPad 3 will not be released until 2012 due to Apple’s dissatisfaction with the Retina display of the device.


Digitimes indicates Apple has canceled the iPad 3 supply schedule for the second half of 2011, and therefore no iPad 3 will be made available until 2012:

“Apple was originally set to launch its iPad 3 in the second half of 2011 with a supply volume of 1.5-2 million units in the third quarter and 5-6 million in the fourth quarter, but Apple’s supply chain partners have recently discovered that the related figures have all already been deleted, the sources pointed out.”

The reason behind the delay is due to the belief that poor yields of the new 9.7″ 2,048 by 1,536 pixel Retina display fail to live up to Apple’s standards:

“Sources from panel players also pointed out that the 9.7-inch panel with high resolution requires a much larger backlight source and a single edge light bar is hardly able to reach satisfaction levels. Due to iPad 3′s requirements over the physical thinness, rich color support and toughness will all conflict with the panel’s technology restrictions; therefore, this could cause a delay in the launch.”

If these sources are accurate, and there’s no strong reason to believe they are not, the iPad 3 will more than likely be released around the same date as the iPad 1 and iPad 2.

Posted in: Apple,gadget,iPad