Manufacturing issues may delay Apple iPad2 launch

"Production bottlenecks" will delay release until June, according to reports

Apple is to delay the launch of the next version of its iPad tablet until June, according to Taiwanese brokerage Yuanta Securities.

The release had originally been planned for April.

The financial services firm said in a note to investors that the delay is due to manufacturer Hon Hai facing production bottlenecks caused by changes to production processes after Apple altered the device's design.

"Our checks suggest there are issues with the new production process and it is taking time to resolve them," Vincent Chen, head of downstream tech equities at Yuanta.

Apple is facing increasing competition in the tablet market with competitors such as Samsung, HTC, Acer, LG and HP all unveiling new tablet devices at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last week.