In October, Apple puzzled the media and consumers alike when it released the iPhone 4S instead of the long awaited iPhone 5. So why the delay, most people would ask? Industry rumors have emerged that the reason Apple hasnt been able to release the iPhone 5 was due to a problem with the stability of a key, whose production has been awarded to a Taiwanese company called Wintek. Wintek has its chain in India, China and Japan. So the story goes that a Taiwanese component does not meet the standards necessary for stability tests before mass production of the iPhone 5, which is inevitably delaying its release. In the current situation when Samsung Electronics has been rapidly flooding the market with products like Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note, Apple cant afford to delay the launch much longer.
Wintek responded to the accusation by saying that all its components are being delivered on time, however other parties in the iPhone 5 supply chains maintained that the defect, called a delayed bubble, was not something that Wintek could detect. In fact, the fault only became evident once the components were assembled, the sources told Digitimes. In addition to the delay report, sources also said that Winteks touchscreens make up between one fifth and one quarter of the touchscreens used in iPhone 5 production. Other touchscreens are said to be coming from TPK Holding and Chimei Innolux, both based in Taiwan. They also stated that Apple is preparing to ship around 25 million iPhone 5 units before the end of the year.
Source: hani
