Apple Inc. has been scaling back purchases of liquid crystal display panels for tablet computers from Samsung Display Co., data showed Friday, amid speculation the iPhone maker is trying to rely less on the affiliate of its archrival Samsung Electronics Co.

Samsung Display’s shipments of 9.7-inch LCD panels, which are only used in Apple’s iPad tablets, claimed 13 percent of total August shipments, plunging from 41.3 percent in May, according to data by market researcher DisplaySearch.

Samsung Display, the No. 2 affiliate of South Korea’s top conglomerate Samsung, encompasses Samsung Mobile Display Co., S-LCD Corp. and a LCD business that was spun off from Samsung Electronics Co. in April.

The slump in supply to Apple, the world’s top tablet maker, dragged on Samsung’s overall market share in the tablet LCD panel segment. Samsung’s market share reached 20.4 percent in August, more than halving from 41.2 percent in March, according to the data.

The decline comes amid growing market views that Apple is moving to eliminate Samsung components from its devices amid their intensifying patent battle in four continents.

The Cupertino, California company reportedly ditched some Samsung components for the first time from its first batch of the iPhone 5.

Meanwhile, some said shipments by Japanese and Taiwanese panel makers also fell in the cited period amid an entrance of new suppliers in line with Apple’s strategy to diversify its supply chain.

Shipments of 9.7-inch LCD panels also fell roughly 30 percent over the last two months as consumers delayed purchases ahead of the new iPad mini tablet release. (Yonhap News)