Apple takes a bite out of LCD and OLED supply
An interesting rumor reached the ever alert ears of TG Daily's hacks on the CES showroom floor last week, with word that Apple has snapped up all available supply of 10.1-inch multi-touch display LCD and OLED screens for its upcoming tablet.
Context & Ripple Effects
The CES-floor report follows March 2009 sourcing claims for 10-inch touchscreens tied to an unidentified Apple product. With an Apple tablet also still unconfirmed, the recurrence makes display procurement the most concrete signal in an otherwise rumor-led product narrative.
First-order effects
- If accurate, Apple would reserve the available 10.1-inch multitouch LCD and OLED supply for its anticipated tablet, constraining near-term access for other buyers seeking the same panel format.
Second-order effects
- Display vendors would gain a concentrated, high-volume customer in Apple, while prospective competing tablet makers would need to seek other screen sizes, display technologies, or delivery schedules.
Third-order effects
- The repeated reports point to component commitments becoming a product-gating advantage: in tightly supplied multitouch displays, procurement scale can shape which device makers can launch on a given timetable.
The trend: Tablet competition is beginning to extend beyond device design into advance control of specialized touch-display capacity.