Samsung denies shortchanging Apple on LCD panels

In the already strenuous relationship between Apple and Samsung, the Korea Times reports that the Asian smartphone maker will be stopping its shipments of LCD panels, used in the iPhone and iPad, to Apple manufacturers. A spokesman of the Korean giant was very quick to respond, saying that the rumours are “100%” false, as reported by CNET. “Samsung Display has never tried to cut the supply for LCD panels to Apple,” the spokesman said.

Currently, even though the two smartphone companies are embroiled in several legal battles regarding patent infringement, Samsung is the largest supplier of LCD displays to Apple, followed by LG Display and Sharp.

This report from the Korea times comes from quoting a “source” who told them that during the third quarter of 2012 Samsung only shipped three million LCD panels, compared to 15-million panels in the first half of the year. The source was also quoted as saying that “we expect the quarterly shipment in the fourth quarter to fall to some 1.5-million”

The South Korean smartphone maker supplies more than a quarter of the iPhone’s components and processors. With the impending announcement of the new iPad mini today, it is widely expected that LG Display will be supplying most of the display panels from now on. Apple has been reducing its reliance on Samsung for the supply of components, sourcing more readily from LG and Sharp, and is also reported to be looking elsewhere for a chip supplier.

Many see this rumoured report as a sign that the partnership is falling even further apart, and the legal battles are not the only cause. This has been very evident in Samsung’s non-involvement in the iPad mini.