Apple iPad Mini 2 May Have Retina Display Made by Samsung

Apple is adorning for the mass production of its next-generation iPad mini with high-resolution retina display from Samsung, and is expected to release the device in the fourth quarter of this year, a new report said.

While Apple was rumored to be reducing its dependence on Samsung on Samsung for parts, Cupertino, a California-based tech giant is working with its Asian providers for the production of the new generation iPad mini 2, which will have retina display panels produced by Samsung.

A Wall Street Journal report said that Apple has decided to shift its retina display orders for the new iPad mini to Samsung from the less efficient Au Optronics.

The new generation iPad mini 2 will still have a 7.9-inch screen like the older version, but it could have back covers in multiple colors.

Aside from Samsung, Apple might also order screens for the iPad mini 2 from Sharp Corp. and LG Display Co. According to sources, Apple originally planned to use displays only from the latter, but eventually decided to bring in Samsung, to ensure sufficient supply of screens.

That report came in quickly after rumors about Apple is testing a new iPad mini model for this year with a faster A6 processor, hence the retina display. Given the fact that Apple is known for experimenting on various product designs before settling on a particular one for the ultimate release, it is likely that the non-retina model of the iPad mini was just an internal-only device, which was not meant for shipping.

It is also possible that Apple might have intended a minor update for the current iPad mini by integrating a faster processor to ensure users a better experience with iOS7, but eventually scrapped the plan after Google released its latest Nexus 7 tablet last week with an ultra-high resolution screen.

The new Nexus 7 features a 7.02-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1920x1200 pixels, 2GB of RAM, Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor clocking at 1.5GHz and the latest Android 4.3 Jelly Bean as its key features. On the other hand, the retina iPad mini 2 is rumored to have a display with a higher resolution of 2048x1536 pixels and the re-designed iOS 7 as its operating system.

One of the reasons why Apple might be unable to untangle itself from Samsung is because it is one of the few suppliers that can produce components on time while meeting quality requirements.