Expert’s Rating
Our Verdict
The iPad has been a singular achiever story . Apple sold 15 million of the original model in the first nine month of the merchandise ’s beingness , a number that blew away even the most optimistic prodigy . With last year ’s introduction of the iPad 2 , thing hold on accelerating . In a piddling less than two long time , Apple has sold roughly 60 million iPads , master the market place it create .
maintain Apple ’s Pb in pad of paper gadget is the job of the third - generation iPad , a production that does n’t mess with succeeder . Like the iPad 2 before it , this young iPad is not a re - thinking of the original concept . Instead , Apple has choose to focus on a few country of improvement while hold on the overall package the same . Though it ’s an approach that can frustrate the great unwashed who are let down by anything that ’s not a quantum bound , Appleexecutes it to perfectionand reaps the reward .
In my review of the iPad 2 , I suggested a rule of Apple product evolution I called “ Jobs ’s Law”—that the latest version of any Apple product is likely to be thin and light than its herald . The third - coevals iPad geological fault that law . It ’s actually slightly thicker and slightly heavier than the iPad 2 , and in many cases drug user wo n’t comprehend it to be fast .
A photo comparing the new iPad’s Retina display (top) to the iPad 2 display.
But the changes Apple has wrought with this iPad are n’t about micturate it thinner or lighter or faster , but about making itbetter . And on nearly every front , the third - generation iPad is markedly better than its forerunner .
Video review
It’s all about the Retina
A photo compare the new iPad ’s Retina display ( top ) to the iPad 2 display .
In mid-2010 with the release of the iPhone 4 , Apple present us to a new construct — the “ Retina show , ” so called because the filmdom was pack tightly with so many pixels that the battery-acid would be imperceptible to the human eye . At 326 pixels per inch , theiPhone 4and its successor , the4S , provide text edition that looks like it was printed on report and exhibit exposure and television in high definition .
Far and away the most of import feature of the third - contemporaries iPad is that it , too , has a Retina display . Its 9.7 - in screen has a solution of 2048 by 1536 pixels ( a total of four times the pixels in the same space ) , or 264 picture element per inch . Although that ’s a downhearted pixel density than the iPhone ’s Retina show , you tend to hold an iPad further forth from your oculus than an iPhone , sothe Retina definition still work out .
A photo comparing the new iPad’s Retina display (top) to the iPad 2 display.
A portion of a full - sizing screen shot from the third - generation iPad .
The result is similar to going from an early iPhone to an iPhone 4 — it ’s a big leap in quality . text edition , TV , and photos all benefit . Whether you ’re take a web page in Safari , a long article in Instapaper , or an even longer employment in iBooks , textbook is razor - sharp . Of naturally , the display on previous iPads was no slouch . But the instant you nibble up a third - propagation iPad , you could state the difference . All the slight jagginess and oddly misshappen characters we take for granted on low - solving displays just vaporize on the Retina display , and you ’re left with the same sort of typographic excellency you ’d carry in a impress Word .
The impression is even more dramatic with exposure and video . Pictures reveal small details that simply were n’t there before . A photo that looks just fine on an iPad 2 looks almost undefinably better on the new iPad . It ’s the same mental image , but all of a sudden , there ’s much more selective information there — little textures and diminutive details that were antecedently leave out .
A portion of a full-size screen shot from the third-generation iPad.
That ’s also dependable with high - definition video . The third - generation iPad ’s screen door actually contains more pixels than an HDTV . As a result , the Videos app in reality has to blow up 1080p videos somewhat so as to exhibit them across the full breadth of the its screen . ( The cover of former iPads did n’t have enough pixel to show a complete HD picture , so it had to either scale things down or cut off the sides of the physique . )
The videos count keen . ascertain an HD movie or goggle box show on the fresh iPad is like having a home theater in your lap . ( Well , assuming you ’ve got some beneficial earpiece , of course . The iPad ’s mono speaker seems to be unaltered from the previous model . )
Buyers of this third - generation iPad will lie with the Retina display , but the fact is that the iPad 2 ’s screen was also excellent . It may be that there just is n’t quite as dramatic a demarcation between the two concealment as there was between the pre- and post - Retina iPhones two years ago . Maybe I ’ve been vitiate by my iPhone ’s Retina display , or maybe the iPad 2 ’s display is really that good .
I found the color temperature on the new iPad to be warm and more yellow than that on the iPad 2 . In closing off , both covert seemed perfectly normal . Only when I place sure-enough and novel iPads together did I note that one is more or less warm than the other .
As with the transition to Retina exhibit on the iPhone , app developer will need to step up to take advantage of the higher resolution offered by the fresh iPad ’s display . Surely many ( if not most ) of them eff this solar day would come , but it ’s quite a job for developer to produce new , Retina - sized version of every graphic in their apps , and it may be some time before all iPad apps are updated . ( Non - Retina apps look more or less like they did on previous iPads — but on the new iPad ’s Retina exhibit those pixels really put up out . )
Still , it ’s not all bad news . textual matter in most apps will take advantage of the Retina display without modification , even if the artwork do n’t . There are unexpended exceptions , however . When I tested Amazon ’s Kindle app with the new iPad , I found that its textual matter was pixelated , not Retina - crisp . Presumably Amazon will pay off this in an update . I experience some weird conduct in a few existing apps , but most of them worked just all right even without being update . And some work better than you ’d think — I try Comixology ’s Comics app and discovered that there ’s more result to those digital comics than I had realized .
If you ’re go an iPhone app on the new iPad , it will display it in in high spirits - resolve Retina particular — but in a small compatibility windowpane in the center of the iPad screen . ( you’re able to , as always , tap a2xbutton to make iPhone apps bigger but more pixelated . )
More power? Sort of.
The iPad 2 was much fast than the original iPad , thanks to its threefold - core A5 processor . But the A5X processor that powers the third - propagation iPad does n’t really tender more processing power than its predecessor . In all our C.P.U. - based tests , the novel iPad ran about as fast as the iPad 2 . ( Which is not to say it ’s slow — they’re the two fastest iOS devices ever . )
With this update , Apple was n’t as concerned about boosting the iPad ’s speed even further , because it had another , bigger job to solve : Boosting the iPad ’s graphics capabilities so that it could update the 3.1 million pixels on its Retina video display . ( Keep in mind , former iPad screens only had about 786,000 pixels . ) update that many pixels requires a whole lot more graphics power just to keep thing tend as smoothly as before .
That ability comes from the X factor in the A5X processor — a new quad - center nontextual matter engine . And sure enough , the third - generation iPad blows away every other iOS equipment in terms of graphics performance . In our tests using the GLBench 3-D artwork examination app , the third - generation iPad could draw a complex 3D conniption at the full frame rate of its showing , 60 frames per second , without breaking a sweat . And in GLBench offscreen tests , which are n’t stiffen by the display ’s refresh rate , the third - generation iPad had a frame rate 1.6 times that of the iPad 2 ( and 13 time that of the original iPad ) .
So the fresh iPad in spades has the horsepower to render high - quality graphics on its Retina display . However , app developers will necessitate to update their apps to work well on the new iPad . All of Apple ’s built - in apps work well with the Retina display , scrolling smoothly at all times . But several third - political party apps had bug , including unresponsive interfaces and stuttering scrolling .
What this suggests is that developers who could get off with some inefficiencies when paint the relatively small canvas of previous iPad sieve will detect those inefficiency laid bare when they first flow their apps on this new hardware . Apple ’s apps show that the young iPad has the power to keep it all smooth ; but it look like app developer will postulate to run their apps on this new hardware and then pass some time optimizing their code so that it beam on this new , bigger display .
Going beyond double-dyed graphics carrying into action , my tests found the newfangled iPad to be roughly the same speed as the old one . The GeekBench examination app said the iPad 2 was slightly quick . The Sunspider JavaScript bench mark gave them both the same score . And in my web page - payload test , the newfangled iPad was fast .
The new iPad (left) and iPad 2 (right).
Dead ringers
unremarkably when I look back a raw Apple mathematical product , I depart with the forcible change . People always want to know how the new affair is different from the onetime thing . But the third - generation iPad is almost physically identical to the iPad 2 . You ca n’t tell them apart unless you look very closely .
The new iPad ( left ) and iPad 2 ( right).The differences I ’ve noticed : The interior of the dock connector is silver and not bootleg , and the rearward camera is a small routine bigger . Yeah . That ’s it .
Almost imperceptible is the fact that the newfangled iPad is a bit thicker than its precursor . The iPad 2 was 8.8 mm deep , and the third - propagation model is 9.4 millimetre loggerheaded . So there ’s an extra six tenths of a mm there now , I imagine , but it was unperceivable to me . ( The original iPad was 13 millimeter thick — now that ’s a conflict you could feel . )
Portions of full-resolution images from three different Apple devices.
The raw iPad is also heavier than the iPad 2 . The fresh mannikin weighs either 652 grams ( 1.44 pounds ) for the Wi - Fi - only role model or 662 grams ( 1.46 punt ) for the 4 G model . In contrast , the Wi - Fi iPad 2 weighed 601 gm ( 1.33 pounds ) while the AT&T model of the 3G - equipped iPad 2 was 613 gramme ( 1.35 pounds ) . So your stock Wi - Fi iPad has put on about 50 grams or a tenth of a pound . It ’s a small weight unit gain , but I ca n’t call it unperceivable . The first time I clean up the third - genesis iPad , I could tell that it was heavier .
What does this increased free weight mean in exercise ? Probably not very much . Even the iPad 2 is not a Cartesian product that you’re able to just hold indefinitely with one handwriting . It ’s too heavy and too bulky for that . This is a equipment that ’s best when held in two hands or propped against your lap . The iPad 2 was well-situated to obtain than the original iPad , and the new iPad feels jolly much the same on that score . The extra tenth of a pound may be noticeable , but I do n’t think it ’s meaningful .
The 2011 and 2012 iPad time of origin are so likewise , in fact , that they can use the sameSmart Covers . And all but the most exacting iPad 2 cases will in all likelihood turn on the third - generation model . I tried the unexampled iPad with a few assorted iPad 2 display case hanging around our offices and it fit in all of them just fine .
Now , the big question is : Why this difference from Jobs ’s Law ? Is n’t every new Apple product supposed to be little , thinner , and lighter ? I do trust that ’s Apple ’s ultimate goal . But in this face , it ’s clear that the promote graphics processor , the support for 4 thou networking , and the eminent - settlement display and its comparable LED backlights , all add up to a gadget that ask a tidy sum more power than the iPad 2 did . And so Apple did what it had to do to keep that famous 10 - hr iPad battery life : It made room for a bigger shelling at the cost of size and free weight .
grant to Apple ’s technical school specification page , the new iPad has a 42.5 watt - hour battery . Compare that with the iPad 2 ’s 25 watt - hour battery . That ’s a whole lot more battery just to keep the iPad fly the coop for the usual amount of time . Apple was n’t willing to swap away battery spirit for spareness and lightness , so here we are : with a fresh iPad that ’s imperceptibly thicker and immaterially heavier . It ’ll do .
I was n’t able-bodied to do extensive barrage fire testing , but in my use over the retiring calendar week I ’ve found that Apple ’s claim of comparable liveliness to the iPad 2 are accurate . I can get through an entire day using my iPad and I do n’t run out of juice . I surmise that this new bombardment will take longer to blame than previous model , though — so prepare for an nightlong recharge in decree to completely juice up your stamp battery .
Picture perfect
The original iPad did n’t have camera . The iPad 2 append a downhearted - resolving , front - face camera for telecasting chat and a rearward tv camera with just enough resolution to shoot 720p video . That rearward tv camera was , to put it bluntly , not very good . It was the weakest feature of the iPad 2 , in fact .
The ripe news is , with the third - contemporaries iPad , Apple has finally righted this wrongfulness . Apple ’s disperse off an older blade name ( just as it did when the sure-enough iBook laptop became the fresh iBooks app ) and applied it as a recording label to that tv camera : iSight . iSight , on the face of it , means “ photographic camera right enough to shoot photos and videos with . ” And it is . It ’s a five - megapixel tv camera , not quite on a par with the one in the iPhone 4S , but still quite good .
When I compared double from the new iPad ’s iSight photographic camera against psychometric test image require by other wandering devices , I found that the new iPad ’s tv camera fared quite well . It offered approximately the same image lineament as the iPhone 4S and the Asus Transformer Prime , and distinctly distance both the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 and the iPad 2 . It seems safe to say that the new iPad has the best photographic camera of any pill gadget , and among the unspoilt of any mobile twist . Most notably , the timber of the 1080p video I shot with the new iPad was very good , even in low lightness .
portion of full - resolution images from three different Apple machine .
The iPad ’s sheer size does n’t make it an ideal television camera , but if you do need to shoot something and your iPad is at deal , the third - generation iPad ’s camera is of a high enough tone that you wo n’t regret your option .
Takes dictation, but not orders
The third - generation iPad offers bid features , but not the Siri intelligent - federal agent feature stick in in the iPhone 4S. My conjecture is that Apple sees Siri as a feature in the first place used by mass who do n’t have their hands on the phone itself , and therefore the iPad would n’t be an ideal merchandise for Siri ’s special brand of representative control condition navigation .
I actually find Siri utile in many case where speaking a brief command is more efficient than nobble to unlock , swiping to regain the right app , and then tapping through an user interface for get what I want . I use Siri to set alarms and timer all the metre . I do n’t see why that would n’t be relevant on the iPad . ( Of course , those features use the iPhone ’s Clock app , which Applealsoomits from the iPad ! And one of Siri ’s other pavilion features , getting a atmospheric condition forecast , use the Weather app — another iPad no - show . Sigh . )
That tell , dictation is still a with child feature and I ’m happy to have it on the iPad . Yes , there have been apps usable that set aside you to dictate , but now you’re able to dictate from the stock software keyboard just by tapping the new mike icon , and that ’s a gravid hand . Once you get the hang of dictation , which requires you to utter all your punctuationcommayou’ll discover that it can be a great way to stimulus text without typingperiod
Tests by Jason Snell using the Ookla Speedtest iOS app.
LTE and cellular options
Ever since the original iPad debuted , Apple has offer two dissimilar framework with different networking feature of speech . The al-Qa’ida - priced models support only Wi - Fi , but for $ 130 more you’re able to get a model with backup for both Wi - Fi and cellular networking . The cellular features do n’t require any sort of contract ; instead , you’re able to buy access right on the equipment , a calendar month at a time , and activate and deactivate whenever you need .
That ’s all still true . The novel wrinkle is that the third - generation example supportsLTE(Long - Term Evolution ) , a raw generation of cellular technology that ’s often also called “ 4G. ” It ’s fast , but it ’s not as widely available as 3G. Verizon says it ’s make 4 G LTE coverage in 196 urban center . AT&T is playing match - up , with coverage in only 28 markets correctly now .
With the iPhone 4S , Apple was able to bring the two dominant cellular applied science in the U.S. , GSM and CDMA , together in a single piece of music of hardware . The 4S hardware is the same whether you buy it from Verizon or Sprint or AT&T. Unfortunately , 4 G LTE circuitry is still in its early childhood , and Verizon and AT&T use different LTE systems . So the third - generation iPad deal us right back where we were with the previous iPad models : there are two different versions , one that works with AT&T ’s feel of LTE , and one that works with Verizon ’s .
The good news show is , both example fall back to 3 1000 networks with rest . A Verizon model will work with Verizon ’s CDMA web in the U.S. , and will work with GSM networks abroad . The AT&T good example will work with AT&T ’s GSM web in the U.S. and other GSM meshing overseas . Like all previous iPads , these devices are unbolted , so if you need to buy a local SIM circuit board when you ’re traveling internationally , it should just puzzle out .
The Modern iPad ’s cellular radio receiver also support plug in to faster GSM web . In the U.S. the most common model of this is AT&T ’s own HSPA+ connection , which AT&T confusingly anticipate 4G. This has a very odd effect : I begin my jitney commute home one eventide with the iPad displayingLTE , but as we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge the index switch to4G. That was the sign that we had left AT&T ’s LTE connection and were now on its HSPA+ connection , which AT&T calls 4 G even though it ’s really just faster 3G. So confusing .
Overseas , LTE manifestly is n’t widely used , but aircraft carrier have invested in speeding up 3G. In addition to HSPA+ , some state have electronic internet that use the DC - HSDPA ( threefold - carrier HSDPA ) formatting . The tuner in the iPad support all of these rapid format . ( Apple told me that the cellular iPad model sold internationally will fundamentally be the AT&T mannequin that ’s sold in the U.S. )
My experience with AT&T ’s LTE electronic connection in San Francisco was impressive . While riding through the urban center , I was able to get speeds that were roughly as fast as my function Wi - Fi . When I turned off LTE ( there ’s an “ Enable LTE ” option in the Cellular Data division of configurations ) , the iPad fell back to AT&T ’s “ 4 gibibyte ” HSPA+ connection , and speed drop sharply . However , as with everything cellular , position is everything . When I used the iPad at my house in suburban Mill Valley , which does n’t yet have AT&T LTE coverage , the HSPA+ download speed was more than twice what I had go through in downtown San Francisco — but still half the speed I saw on the LTE electronic web .
test by Jason Snell using the Ookla Speedtest iOS app .
At long last , the iPhone ’s Personal Hotspot lineament has come to the iPad . This is great newsworthiness , because it mean your iPad can dissemble as a Wi - Fi router and render an Internet connection to any twist that use Wi - Fi by relay data point from its cellular connection . Unfortunately , it appears that only Verizon is supporting this feature at first , withAT&T fall behind behind . The third - genesis iPad I used was of the AT&T variety , so I was n’t able to test this characteristic . But it promises to be fairly cool , since if you ’ve dumbfound one of these iPads you do n’t ask to endue in a separate piece of Wi - Fi expel hardware .
AT&T has a track track record as an unenthusiastic protagonist of tethering feature film . It took the companya full yr to spark tether on the iPhone . As a termination , I ’d recommend the Verizon model if Personal Hotspot is a must - have feature . And I ’m impress with Verizon ’s coming to Personal Hotspot on the iPad : Itdoesn’t be any more . You pay up for the amount of data you need your iPad to consume , and if you need to share that data pool with other devices , Verizon ’s mulct with that .
Buying options
For a companionship that like to keep things simple , Apple has cater us with a whole bunch of options when it come to buying the iPad . Just as with the iPad 2 , the third - multiplication model comes in 18 different mixed bag . you’re able to take from :
16 GB ( $ 499 ) , 32 GB ( $ 599 ) , or 64 GB ( $ 699 ) of onboard entrepot
blanched or grim bezel ( no price departure )
Wi - Fi only , or Wi - Fi plus cellular on AT&T ( $ 130 extra ) , or Wi - Fi plus cellular on Verizon ( $ 130 extra )
In the past , I ’ve told most people that 16 GB is flock of depot for most iPad exploiter . But 16 GB is n’t what it used to be . Apps update to comprise Retina - level graphics will billow in size of it . HD telecasting filing cabinet are enormous . Those iBooks enhanced text can be tremendous . And shooting five - megapixel persona and 1080p picture will fill up any remaining storage in a haste .
I still mean most buyer should jump with the assumption that they ’ll only need 16 GB , but then they ’ll need to require themselves a few interrogation . Anyone who intends to load up with lots of HD pic , shoot telecasting , or install a whole flock of apps should seriously look at a large capacitance . But a mountain of citizenry just do n’t use the iPad like that , and for them , 16 GB will be o.k. .
Then there ’s the interrogation of whether to spend an surplus $ 130 for cellular networking . With the increase of Personal Hotspot , the cellular iPad has become more appealing . Given that the iPad ’s data point plan sport no contracts — so you’re able to turn it off and on at will — it ’s a more flexible choice for Wi - Fi tethering than either adding tethering to a cell telephone set program or buying a separate Wi - Fi hotspot twist such as a MiFi .
If you’re able to see using your iPad as a personal hot spot or envision using it often when you ’re out of Wi - Fi grasp , the supernumerary $ 130 is credibly a good investment . However , lots of people almost never practice their iPads out of scope of Wi - Fi , so I expect the Wi - Fi interlingual rendition will rest the most pop option .
One last reasonableness to consider buying a cellular - capable iPad : Only cellular model come with GPS capacity . There ’s a good intellect for this — iOS devices useassisted GPSto dramatically decrease the amount of prison term it takes for the devices to determine their locating . If you daydream of using your iPad as a jumbo GPS pilotage console , you ’ll absolutely need to pay the redundant $ 130 .
The iPad experience
When it ’s time to mull over a new Apple product , it ’s easy to get take hold of up in the details of the spectacles , in what ’s changed from previous interpretation . With a product like the iPad , that ’s a dangerous game . Apple ’s conclusion to stave off calling the newfangled iPad an iPad 3 or iPad HD or iPad 2S speak volumes . The iPad is bigger than any single model .
Clearly , Apple ’s visual sensation is that we ’re in a full point where many labor we antecedently performed with computers will be transferred to new , different , less computery devices . The iPad , like its brother the iPhone , is show in a new world . Microsoft spent a decade judge to define the “ pill computer . ” Apple drop the computer , from both its company name and the pad category , and has seen massive success . Even now , the “ tablet market ” is really the iPad market , and the onrush of iPad rival we all require two age ago has largely bomb to happen .
Yes , one of the reason for the iPad ’s success has been that Apple started with a huge lead on its rivalry . But the heavy cause the iPad is so strong was one quite rightlypointed out by Apple CEO Tim Cook when he reveal the new iPad : Apple ’s advantage in apps . More specifically , iOS developer have run hard to make version of their apps that are designed for the iPad ’s larger concealment . Google , meanwhile , seems to view the larger sail of a tablet projection screen as undistinguishable from a smartphone ’s concealment .
After Apple ’s launching result was over , I spill the beans to several colleagues who cover Android every day , and they largely agreed with Cook ’s stop . There just are n’t very many good tablet apps on Android , and there does n’t seem to be a lot of importunity to create them .
When the iPad was introduced , a lot of pundits sniffed that it was just a big iPod ghost . And if that had wrick out to be the case , the iPad would n’t have been very successful . But from the first day the iPad shipped , it ’s had a Brobdingnagian amount of software designed specifically for its 9.7 - column inch screen . In the meantime , the competition ship large phone and trust they ’ll take the earth by storm . It ’s not bump .
Instead , the iPad ’s sales go on to speed . And that ’s one reason why I ’m uneasy about focusing too much on the details of the differences between the third - generation iPad and its predecessors . I ’d wager , in fact , that more third - generation iPads will be sold to the great unwashed who have never before possess an iPad than to subsist iPad owners who are upgrading .
Those are the multitude for whom this new iPad is just called “ iPad . ” And they ’ll apply it for all the things that an iPad is great for . They ’ll surf the WWW , check email and Twitter and Facebook , read books and magazines , play games , watch picture , listen to a baseball plot , look up a formula , check their schedule , edit a exposure or a picture , put down a call , or even write an essay .
When I ’m looking for the linear perspective of someone who uses technology but does n’t get to a fault excited by it , I turn to my wife . Her theatrical role in our class — and I suspect , dear referee , that you may find oneself this conversant — is to leave a counterbalance to my ebullience over every new gadget I want to grease one’s palms .
When the first iPad come out , I buy one . My married woman seemed concerned in it , and I was curious what she ’d make of it , so I handed it to her and narrate her to prove it out . Shenever gave it back . Recently , as we talk over corrupt her a Modern iPad ( we rate the $ 499 16 GB black Wi - Fi model ) , she differentiate me that she only turns on the iMac we keep at home for managing pic , typing out recollective papers , and chatter the ever - diminish figure of website that do n’t play well with Safari .
That iMac , which was in heavy use two long time ago , is now a equipment we turn on to perform specific tasks . The residual of the time we ’re on our iPads or our iPhones , and it seems natural . This , I guess , explains Apple ’s confidence in where we ’re maneuver in this post - PC universe .
In the old days , we used to lecture about “ compute , ” as if it were an activity . Using a computer wascomputing . Computing did n’t go away . It just seeped into every aspect of our living . Computing does n’t bump on a desk anymore . It ’s in our laps , in our pockets , perched on the kitchen replication or nip in the middle of the coffee table . The iPad did n’t make computation obsolete . It just brought it out of its shell .
Macworld’s buying advice
The new iPad is just that : The iPad , updated for a new twelvemonth and 1000000 of raw iPad exploiter . It ’s not small or lighter , but it ’s got a noteworthy screen , a much good rear camera , and reenforcement for cellular networking that can range at Wi - Fi pep pill . It ’s the iPad that meg of people have embraced , only one year better .
Users of the iPad 2 should n’t fret : Their iPad investing is certainly respectable for another year . But they might not desire to look too closely at the new iPad ’s screen . Once you get a cargo of that Retina exhibit , it ’s hard to go back to anything else .
