Apple chooses 3 companies to meet production needs for iPad 3 Retina Display

Apple has been stymied this year in its efforts to produce a Retina Display for its next-gen iPad (presumed to be named iPad 3). Test panels have met expectations, but ramping up production volume has been a slower-than-expected process, leading Apple to delay the iPad 3 until 2012.

The solution, according to industry supply-chain observer DigiTimes, was to bring Sharp in as a new partner to supplement the displays being produced by LG and Samsung. According to reports a million of the new high-resolution displays were produced in October, with the number expected to climb to 2 million units a month in November.

If all goes as expected, assembly of the final iPads could begin in Foxconn factories in January 2012, which could mean we’ll see an iPad 3 announcement around the end of Q1, the same time frame as the first two iPad models were announced.

It is expected that the iPad 3’s Retina Display will allow the device to be used in industrial fields where a higher level of visual precision is necessary. It is expected to appeal to consumers as well, enabling higher definition movie watching and gaming.

Are any of you out there planning to pick an iPad 3 up when it ships?

source: DigiTimes via electronista