With the iPhone 5’s announcement on the horizon there is some question as to whether Apple can meet the expected demand.
About a year ago the iPhone 4S was being stockpiled at a rate of 150,000 units a day in the run up to the phone’s release in anticipation of the high demand. Even with the high sales of the 4S model it was able to keep up. Now a shortage of in-cell touch panels from manufacturers Japan Display, G Display and Sharp could jeopardize a similar stockpile needed to meet the expected demand for the new iPhone.
At present a report from Digitimes of rumors circulating around the touchscreen industry says that only 4-5 million of the panels were shipped in total well below Apple’s target of 20-25 million for the third quarter. Apple is trying to encourage further production by subsidizing the panels at $10-15 a piece and to ensure the stability of shipments after the initial launch.
Another possibility industry sources say is that Apple could go back to the full lamentation display of previous iPhone models, but sources say this is unlikely because it would take more than a quarter to go through the verification process and the product should be in the Production Verification Testing (PVT) stage at this point.