iPad 5 production will kick into gear in July or August ahead of an expected September iPad 5 release date, new reports have suggested.
The fifth-generation of Apple’s flagship 9.7-inch tablet device, the iPad 5 is widely expected to land alongside the iPad mini 2, a device that is believed to be heading for a performance enhancing, consumer appeasing Retina display upgrade.
Citing “sources within Taiwan-based supply chain makers,” repeated Apple tipster DigiTimes has hinted that with the iPad 5 to enter high volume production just weeks before it hits retailers’ shelves, the iPhone 5 maker will struggle to hit demand at release.
Suggested that the iPad 5 will be thinner and lighter than the current iPad 4 offering, with a heavily revised form factor seeing it line up with an aesthetic similar to that of the iPad mini, the latest reports have suggested “yield rates for key components, especially touch panels, will be a major concern for smooth production.”
With Apple repeatedly rumoured to be severing component ties with Samsung following the two companies’ increasing rivalry and longstanding legal battles, the Cupertino based tech behemoth is expected to rely solely on LG and Sharp for the iPad 5 screen.
iPad 5 Rumours
Widely expected to be one of the first devices to come pre-installed with iOS 7, the latest Apple mobile OS tipped for a WWDC 2013 unveiling, the iPad 5 has been repeatedly leaked as playing host to a dramatically reassessed design and form factor.
Set to adopt the two-tone brushed metal finish already seen on the iPad mini and iPhone 5, the iPad 5 is also expected to make the usual collection of specs improvements, with a faster processor, higher-resolution cameras and sharper graphics than its previous iterations.
Generating additional buzz around Apple’s next-generation tablet offering, industry sources earlier this year suggested the 9.7-nich offering would feature “virtually no left or right bezels.”
On top of this, industry analyst and frequent Apple rumour monger Gene Munster recently declared that in September 2013 “we get a new iPad,” and that the device will be “totally redesigned to look more like the iPhone 5 and iPad mini.”
