iPad 5 Rumors: Lighter Design, Production Ramping Up in July

The next generation of Apple’s iPad tablet, the iPad 5, may have entered trial production.

That’s according to DigiTimes which cites reports it’s received from Taiwanese device part suppliers. These part suppliers have indicated that monthly shipments of the device will reach 2-3 million by September, possibly hinting at an announcement of the tablet by Apple sometime near or before then.

How the iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 Fit in Apple’s Product Lineup.

A rendering of the iPad 5 and iPad 4 showing a slight reduction in size.

Reportedly, the iPad 5 will feature the same Retina display that was used in the previous generation iPad, however it will evidently make use of new manufacturing techniques to create a glass display that’s 0.2mm thinner that of today’s iPad 4. These manufacturers also believe that the bezel around the iPad’s screen will decrease in size, though they make no exact indication of how smaller this new iPad’s bezel will be.

New manufacturing techniques will include the use of just 1 layer of glass and two layers of ITO film. ITO or Indium Tin Oxide film is used in shielding glass and display panels from electromagnetic interference. The iPad 5 would also make use of just one LED light bar to light its display instead of the two that’s used on today’s iPad.

These reports don’t indicate how the company might plan to offset the brightness difference if these back light change rumors are true. Without some kind of compensation, the iPad 5 would have a darker display than its predecessor.

The iPad 5 would also be “25-33%” lighter than today’s iPad because of these, and possibly other changes.

As for suppliers, DigiTimes sources say that LG, Samsung and Sharp will provide the screens for the device, while other companies like Taiwan Surface Mounting Technology, Coretronic, Radiant Opto-Electronics and TPK Holding will provide different parts of the iPad’s display.

iPad 5 Case Leak Teases iPad mini Design, June 2013 Release

This isn’t the first potential leak of components that will make up Apple’s iPad 5 tablet. This past February potential pictures of both iPad 5 and iPad mini cases leaked on the internet along with a potential release date of June of this year. That source later retracted its story about the potential release date but stood by its pictures of the device’s cases.

These pictures indicated that Apple would only lightly taper the edges of this year’s iPad device giving the device a design that isn’t altogether different from that of today’s iPad mini.