AUO shipped just over 100,000 units in September, the analyst estimates. Shim said in his research note: "AUO is having yield issues with the 7.9-inch panel, which is limiting (its) supply."

AUO plans to up this number of units to 400,000 units in October, double that in November, and plans on 1 million in December. Although these numbers look large, they do not appear to be enough to cover the estimated demand for the mini.

Another point: Samsung has been a key supplier for display for iPad. In previous iPad launches, Samsung and LG were the main panel suppliers. However, Shim notes: " most likely due to the legal conflicts the two have been embroiled in recently." Apple recently won a high-profile patent dispute in the U.S., in which a jury ruled that Samsung smartphones and tablets infringed on Apple patents. For its part, .