Sources familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal that Apple may start to mass produce a 7-inch tablet this fall. Component suppliers are allegedly prepping to start producing the tablet in September. An earlier report from the Wall Street Journal said Apple was testing a smaller iPad and this latest leak suggests the tablet has received the rubber stamp of approval from Apple. Apple is supposedly working with South Korea’s LG Display and Taiwan-based AU Optronics Co.
Details on a launch date were not provided, but rumors suggest the company may unveil the tablet during its annual fall music-oriented event. Last year, Apple used this event to announce the iPhone 4S. Apple may be targeting the holiday shopping season, but a late fall launch of the tablet may be challenging if the company is only starting production in September. A month of production may not give Apple enough time to produce the million of units the company will need for a launch. It’s also possible Apple may unveil the smaller iPad in early in 2013 as part of its yearly iPad refresh.
[WSJ]