While there seems no end in sight to the courtroom patent battles between Apple and Samsung, that doesn’t seem to be interfering with the business relationship between the two. Korean site ETnews (via G4Games) reports that Apple is bringing Samsung into its manufacturing mix for display panels for the iPad mini.
Apple currently uses a mix of three manufacturers for its iPad mini displays: AUO for the non-Retina model, and LG and Sharp for the Retina displays. The report claims that Apple is dropping AUO altogether, and cutting back its orders with Sharp, giving the resulting business to Samsung.
While media sources in manufacturers’ home markets are not always reliable where supply chain rumors are concerned, this one has enough specifics to seem credible at least – and the quality of the Retina iPad mini screen has been criticized in both reviews and benchtests.
