A new 7.85 inch iPad is set to be launched in September by Apple, it will be thinner than the current 10″ iPad.Apple is expecting to sell between 7 and 10 million in the 12 months following the launch of the new product claim sources.
Called the iPad Mini the device has been pushed by the new management team at Apple following the death of former CEO Steve Jobs who said that Apple would never “do a small iPad”.
The new device will use “G/F2” thin-film touch technology for the new small iPad. The materials will be supplied by Nitto with Nissha Printing and TPK producing the touch screens, sources in Taiwan have said.
Wintek, another touch module supplier for Apple, does not have thin-film touch capacity, sources claimed.
DigitTimes said that using the G/F2 design will help reduce costs and will also make the iPad Mini thinner than previous iPad models since it will have one less layer of film than the G/F/F (glass/film/film) structure, according to sources. The G/F2 structure places the electrode on the top and bottome ends of the ITO film, which will then be laminated onto the cover glass.
The iPad Mini will also be more transparent and will have good sensitivity despite certain skepticism with thin-film touch panels in the industry, added the sources.
