Apple is facing Iphone 5 delays due to thinner LCD panel

GADGET DESIGNER Apple is facing shortages of the Iphone 5 due to its decision to specify a thinner display.

Barclays claims that Apple's decision to go for a thinner Iphone 5 display has left its two display manufacturers, LG and Japan Display, struggling to meet demand. Bloomberg reports that the two display firms have been facing manufacturing difficulties and that led to a shortfall in Iphone 5 devices available at launch.

Ben Reitzes, an analyst at Barclays wrote in a research note, "Apple is facing significant production constraints due to a move toward in-cell display technology. Apple is struggling to keep up with demand." Reitzes added that 10 million or so panels will be available in the calendar third quarter, meaning there are about five million Iphone 5 devices left to snap up around the world before next month.

If Reitzes' figures are correct then Apple shouldn't be too worried, as the third quarter will end in less than a week and it is highly unlikely even Apple can keep Iphone 5 sales up at the rate seen over the weekend. Apple was expected to shift somewhere around six million units over the weekend, however it is hard to see how even investment bankers can be anything less than impressed with five million sales over the course of 72 hours, given Reitzes' claims of supply shortages.

Apple has already increased the lead times on Iphone 5 online orders to three to four weeks and with the device being launched in other countries, that figure could get higher unless LG and Japan Display can ramp up display production. µ