reports that IHS iSuppli's Vinita Jakhanwal has said that Samsung is currently the only company supplying the displays to Apple.

"The display specifications on the new iPad are very demanding in terms of the very high resolution. Achieving this high resolution without compromising on the power consumption and brightness and maintaining Apple's quality standards are supposedly proving to be a challenge for LG Display and Sharp," Jakhanwal told Bloomberg.

LG is the largest supplier of displays for Apple's other iOS devices but Samsung's position as the sole supplier for the new iPad's displays emphasises the strange situation that Apple and Samsung currently find themselves in, with Samsung both a vital component supplier and yet an opponent in several courtrooms around the world.

Meanwhile Samsung executives seem to believe that Apple is going to launch a smaller iPad later this year, reports the .

While Apple also relies on Samsung for other components, such as semiconductors, the contract between the two companies, thought to be worth $9.7bn, could rise to $11bn by the end of the year, a Samsung executive said.