Apple can’t get iPad mini into the channel

While the Apple hype wagon has cranked up over the iPad Mini, there are going to be few available in the channel.

Displaysearch analyst Richard Shim said that Apple’s latest additions to its iPad and MacBook Pro lines are going to be thin on the ground.

He said that Apple supply, particularly for the iPad mini will be deliberately constrained in a bid to push up demand.

Shim said that the new low price point is expected to appeal to a wider audience and drive up demand. However, panel supply chain indications point to an even more than typical tightness.

He suggests that Apple has problems with its supply chain even though it has been desperately trying to expand its supplier base with new partners for the iPad Mini.

Apple is working with LG Display which is supplying panels to Foxconn for the finished product, and is adding AUO, who will supply panels to Pegatron.

Shim said that AUO is having yield problems with the 7.9” panel which is limiting their supply to Pegatron, and in September, AUO shipped just over 100,000 units.

While the company planned production to reach 400,000 units in October, 800,000 units November and 1 million in December, it is still a long way from getting iPads into the channel.

LG Display shipped 300,000 panels in September, and plans to ship 1 million in October, 2.5 million in November, and 3 million in December.

Part of the problem is that Samsung and Apple appear to be winding down their relationship most likely due to the legal conflicts and the supply has not been fixed with new partners.