Earlier this week we brought you news that Apple was reaching out to major TV component suppliers. Now it seems that Samsung and LG may have been two of those suppliers, and they may not have responded favorably to Apple’s overtures.
According to a new report from DigiTimes today, Apple has been trying to buy OLED panels from Samsung and LG, and have not met with much success. Both companies debuted remarkable new OLED and AMOLED based HDTVs at this year’s CES conference. Though it may be disappointing to Apple, it’s not all that surprising that they wouldn’t be eager to share. Apple’s iTV has been generating massive amounts of buzz despite still being little more than a rumor. If Apple really is working on it, as seems likely, it would be a major competitor to Samsung’s and LG’s newest and best products. It stands to reason that they would want to keep the core technology of those products under wraps, at least for a little while.
While rumors of a release date for an iTV have been vague at best, many have suggested that the device would launch in the second half of 2012. If Apple is indeed having difficulty securing display panels, that could be a significant setback that could push any release date into 2013 or later.