Apple may delay the launch of the iPad 2 tablet computer from April to June due to production bottlenecks at Hon Hai, a Taipei-based contract manufacturer for Apple.
The delay is attributed to design changes made at the beginning of February.
Taiwanese brokerage Yuanta Securities in a note said that their checks suggest new issues are being encountered with the new production process and it is taking time to resolve them.
The note also cautioned that the delay could lower expected shipments of the device from forecasts of 30.6 million down to 23 million units this year.
June launch could also clash with the release of the iPhone 5.
The iPad faces intensifying competition from Android tablets made by Samsung, Motorola Mobility and Acer.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that Apple started producing an updated version of the iPad.
The new version is thinner, lighter, has more memory and uses faster chips than its predecessor, the Journal said.
It also has a front-facing camera that would enable videoconferencing, the newspaper said.
