Apple consumes 60% of touchscreen panel output leading to tight supply

According to reports from Taiwanese media in China, Apple Computer consumed 60% of the global touchscreen panel production last year, which also caused the competition to have insufficient supply.

Tablet PC makers revealed that the shortage of component supply led to the inability of shipments to keep up with orders, especially for some second-tier vendors. Touch screen panels are currently the most indispensable component, because Apple has firmly occupied most of the major touch screen panels, which also led to the supply of major manufacturers such as RIM, Motorola, and Hewlett-Packard, and second-tier manufacturers are simply being squeezed out of the competition industry.

It is reported that second-tier tablet PC makers still find it difficult to obtain glass capacitive touch screen panels. Although thin film capacitive touch screen panels can already be used on tablet computers, thin film technology still lags behind glass panel technology in terms of ruggedness and texture. Thin film technology is still in demand in mobile phones, but tablet computers tend to use glass capacitive touch screen panels.

iPad distributors revealed that Apple has a large number of orders for OEM partners, but the biggest problem is not the productivity, but the low output rate of touch screen panels. In 2011, Apple will rapidly expand its product sales through the strategy of occupying most of the touch panel's share, which will further reduce the supply to competitors.