With a new Kindle Fire 2 expected from Amazon next week, Apple's suppliers are busy putting the finishing touches on a seven-inch iPad - the iPad Mini - said to debut in October.
According to a Bloomberg report, four sources have confirmed that Apple is using displays from AU Optronics Corp. and LG Display Co. for its highly anticipated mini tablet.
Expected to measure 7.85 inches diagonally compared to the current iPad 3's 9.7 inches, the smaller tablet will also include screen lamination coating supplied by TPK Holding Co. and Yeh Cheng Technology, a subsidiary of Apple favored supplier Foxconn, Bloomberg discovered.
AUO is making its debut with Apple mobile devices on the diminutive iPad after supplying panels for Cupertino's MacBook line as well as television screens for Sony.
Sharp behind schedule
Meanwhile, a separate report from Reuters claims that Sharp Corp. has fallen behind schedule on their own production of screens intended for the sixth-generation iPhone, which is widely expected to be unveiled Sept.12.
According to one source, the Japanese firm is "struggling with high costs that have cut into its margins on the screens" and could be looking for "financial incentives" from Apple to step up production.
The report gives no indication of how far behind Sharp might be at this late stage, with production rumored to be taking place at its Kameyama LCD plant in central Japan.
The same plant reportedly produced other Apple screens in the past, although Sharp has never publicly acknowledged that the iPhone maker is even a customer.
Sharp, if it's indeed experiencing production delays, could hold up filling orders of the highly anticipated phone, which some experts say could sell more than 250 million copies in the course of its lifespan.
Stay tuned to TechRadar for the latest iPad Mini and iPhone 5 news.
