Rumor: Apple cutting iPad 2 parts orders, beginning iPad 3 orders

By Rick Marshall November 17, 2011

It’s not a normal three-day span without some sort of Apple-related rumor hitting the wire, and this time around that rumor concerns the arrival of the iPad 3.

A report at DigiTimes has Apple moving into inventory-control mode with the iPad 2, and increasing shipments of parts — specifically, the higher-resolution touch panels — for the iPad 3.

The report indicates that Apple has reduced its fourth-quarter shipments of iPad 2 panels from suppliers LG Display, Samsung, and Chimei Innolux, while increasing its order of iPad 3 panels from Samsung and Sharp. According to the report, third-quarter sales of the iPad 2 left the company with a surplus of panels, so the cut-back in orders is aimed at controlling iPad 2 inventory before the iPad 3 hits the market.

The report — which remains entirely unofficial, keep in mind — also indicates that several Taiwan-based panel manufacturers will begin shipping parts for the new iPad between now and December.

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