iPad 5 & iPad Mini 2 Reportedly Skipping Samsung Displays

The iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 will reportedly not feature Samsung displays, a prospect that doesn’t worry Samsung.

Apple and Samsung are bitter rivals, but Apple routinely relies on Samsung for parts for the iPhone and iPad. It appears that Apple is actively moving away from Samsung for the next generation of mobile products.

A new rumor from etnews claims that Apple sent requests for parts estimates for the iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 to suppliers and did not include Samsung on the list.

While Apple rarely addresses such rumors, it appears that Vice Chairman Oh-hyun Kwon of Samsung Electronics is comfortable speaking on the subject, telling press at a recent event that, ” the orders can go up and down in the course of any business – some are sensitive about the issue, but I am not worried about it.”

If true this news doesn’t signal major changes to the iPad 5 display or point towards or away from an iPad mini 2 with a Retina Display.

Apple is also rumored to be shifting Apple A7 processor production away from Samsung. There are reports that Apple is testing out Intel production for 10% of the chips and working to move most of the production from Samsung to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company by 2014.

Apple routinely sources displays from a number of manufacturers. We’ve heard rumors that Apple is planning an iPad mini 2 with a Retina Display and that AU Optronics is already working on the Retina Display panels for the iPad mini 2.

If Apple is still sorting out the display parts components for the iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 it could put a damper on rumors of an April iPad 5 release date. It feels very late in the game to be sorting out display suppliers for an April iPad 5 release date.

We’ve also heard that Apple is planning a special iPhone 5S  and iPad 5 launch for June, but that is likely not the actual launch.

It’s quite possible that Apple is shifting the iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 release to this fall, closer to a year from the iPad 4 release. We’ve heard rumors of an iPad 5 release for Q3, which times up with the latest iPhone 5S rumors.

The iPad 5 is said to look similar to the iPad mini with a new design that will arrive in a narrower, thinner body style. A leak claims to show an iPad 5 back with the new look. Apple is expected to keep the same Retina Display, but could add an upgraded processor.