iPad 5 Rumors: Pictures of Tablets Front Panel and Digitizer Assembly Leaked
The latest iPad 5 rumors have pointed to this 5th generation model looking a lot like the iPad Mini.
New pictures of parts used for the new iPad have surfaced this week and are said to the actual front panel and digitizer for the device. The part resembles some of the past leaks showing that it will have narrower bezels making it similar to the iPad mini model.
It also features flex cables running along one of the long edges of the panel and ending in connectors in roughly the same location on the current iPad. The connectors themselves are a bit different from what is found on the current model.
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Apple has been making some technological changes to achieve a smaller form factor for the new device. This could be the reason why these parts feature different connectors.
The parts supplier also explained the iPad 5 Screen/Digitizer. It has the same display area as the iPad Retina, the edges of the frame are narrower using the same style as the iPad Mini, the ITO is the same as the mini, it has 2 connectors instead of 1, and they have been changed to FPC (Flexible Printed Circuits) from FFC (Flat Flexible Cable).
The front panel features a part number of 821-1892-02 that matches the format normally used by Apple on many of its iOS device components.
Both the iPad 5 and the iPad Mini 2 will feature retina displays made by Samsung.
Samsung will begin supplying 7.9-inch displays for the next-generation iPad mini in the near future, according to new report from NPD Display Search and a report from The Wall Street Journal last week stated that the company will produce displays for the fifth-generation iPad as well.
Apple was rumored to be lessening its reliance on Samsung as a supplier due to their intense competition in the smartphone market, however, now it seems that tensions have died down a bit and their partnership will continue into this next generation of tablets.
