Tuesday Apple Rumors: In-Cell Screens Limit iPhone 5 Supply

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daily apple rumors AAPLHere are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:

Thin Supplies: Available inventories of Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 5 are dwindling due to the ultra-thin touch screens used in the new phone, Bloomberg notes. The iPhone 5 uses in-cell touchscreens, replacing the traditional LCD touchscreens used in prior iPhone models. The in-cell displays merge the display and touch sensor into a single layer, reducing the screen’s thickness and weight. However, in-cell screens are much harder to manufacture compared to traditional LCD touchscreens. Apple’s manufacturing partners, LG Display (NYSE:LPL) and Japan Display, are producing the new touchscreens, but have encountered production issues, leaving Apple struggling to produce enough iPhone 5’s to meet consumer demand. Sharp was supposed to join them, but could not deliver shipments prior to the iPhone 5’s launch, limiting the number of iPhone 5’s available. In the first three days after it hit stores on Friday, the company sold 5 million iPhone 5’s.

No Alternate App: While iOS 6 users continue to complain about errors and glitches in Apple’s new in-house Maps app, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) has not yet submitted a new Google Maps app for the iPhone 5, Reuters notes. Apple dropped Google’s mapping program from the backend of iOS 6 in favor of its own internally-develop maps app. Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt told reporters in Tokyo that he thought it would have been better for Apple to have kept Google’s map program. He indicated that Google would like to remain Apple’s partner on Internet searches, but that the ultimate decision was up to Apple.  Schmidt also noted that while the media focuses on Apple products like the iPhone 5, Android-based devices have a much higher market share.

Apple Only: AuthenTec has told other companies that its fingerprint security technology will become exclusive to Apple next year, MacRumors notes. Apple purchased AuthenTec for $356 million in July. Other AuthenTec customers include Dell (NASDAQ:DELL), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) and Samsung. AuthenTec holds the patents for much of the major fingerprint recognition technology available, making it hard for its other customers to find alternatives.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.


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