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Suppliers to ship Apple 5M iPad 2 touch sensors in July as demand continues

Consumer demand for the iPad 2 has shown no signs of slowing down, as component suppliers are reportedly set to ship 5 million touch sensors to Apple this month.

That number would match the total number of touch sensors suppliers shipped to Apple in June, according to DigiTimes. The Taiwanese industry publication reported the number on Tuesday, citing sources in Apple's supply chain.

In June, TPK Holding and Wintek were said to have each shipped between 1.4 million and 1.6 million touch panel units to Apple. The remaining supply reportedly came from Cando, Sintek Photronic and Chimei Innolux.

Chimei Innolux first began supplying touch sensors to Apple in June after it recently began the development of such hardware. Chimei is now a one-stop shop for panel production and touchscreen components, even offering assembly through a partnership with Foxonn.

Apple struggled to meet demand for the iPad 2 when it first went on sale in March. But in the subsequent months, Apple has added a number of additional component suppliers and constraints have been minimized.

With enough touch panels to build 5 million iPad 2 units this month, Apple would be well on its way to shipping a forecasted 14 million units of it touchscreen tablet next quarter. Last week, DigiTimes said suppliers believed Apple would ship between 7 million and 9 million iPad 2 units this quarter, increasing to between 12 million and 14 million next quarter.

For comparison, Apple shipped 4.69 million total iPads in the March quarter. That number, affected by constraints during the launch window, was considered by Wall Street to be a mild disappointment.