Well well well. If you’d thought it was Microsoft’s time of the year, what with the Surface and Windows 8 simultaneously launching, then you thought wrong! Apparently, Apple refuses to be forgotten, oh no sir, which is why it came up with a special keynote in San Jose just two days before Microsoft was to release Windows 8 and its first ever tablet. The purpose: to announce its latest tablet. Behold, The iPad 4, everybody! Some would say, it’s a bit early for the new iPad, because they’re normally launched in the March-April season. And it seems like just yesterday (metaphorically speaking, okay? -_-), when the third-generation iPad was released. And now, it’s being taken off the shelves to make room for the iPad 4 (not that it needs any, but still), giving the iPad 3 only around 7 full months to sell itself. So what’s new with this latest slate Apple has cooked up?
Basic features
All right, here we begin. If you already own an iPad 3, then you won’t be thrilled with this section, because the basic specs are almost the same for iPad 4 as for iPad 3. Both look the same, with the exact same dimensions, i.e. 241.2 x 185.7 x 9.4 mm. The iPad 4 weighs 652 grams, two more than iPad 3 :). The display is the same 3.2 Megapixel Retina too, with a 9.7 inch display holding in 2048 x 1536 pixels.
You’d think that Apple would upgrade some other basic specs, but mostly, no. Both the iPad 3 and the iPad 4 come with iOS, which is understandable. What isn’t is the ever-existent need for a card slot or a USB port. But Apple says no. Both come with 16/32/64 GB of storage, and 1 GB of main memory (RAM).
As far as connectivity goes, both have Bluetooth, WiFi and 4G LTE. Except this time, Sprint along with AT&T and Verizon, will also be carrying the iPad 4 with support for its LTE network.
The processor
Well, I’d say the processor is the major changing Apple made with the iPad 4. Previously, the iPad 2 was equipped with an A5 chip, which was good. But with iPad 3 came the A5X chip, an enhanced version of the A5, with quad-core graphics for better graphics performance on the new Retina display. That chip was clocked in at 1 GHz. The iPad 4 now comes with a new A6X Chip, clocked in at 1.3 GHz (dual core like the previous iPads). This makes the iPad 4 quite fast, faster than previous iPads at least. And they were no slow lumberjacks either. The iPad 3 and iPad 2 are some of the fastest tablets still.
Camera and other changes
The rear camera of the iPad 4 is much the same 5 MP camera found on previous iPads. But the front-facing camera has been upgraded from 0.3 MP to 1.3 MP, making it HD, and much better for video calling and/or self recording etc.
The next major change is the charging connector, and the iPad 4 has a better designed Lightening Connector. It’s better, but isn’t backwards compatible, so old devices can’t use it without an intermediary connector or adapter of some kind.
Pricing
As far as the pricing goes, there’s nothing different about the prices either. the 16/32/64 GB models cost $499/$599/$699 respectively, with an additional $130 for LTE connectivity.
So to sum up, the only thing worth noticing about the new iPad is the better processor and camera. Heck, even the prices are the same. But while Apple enthusiasts might be disappointed, I say, what the hell, it’s just a better iPad for the same money! Now that’s a deal worth standing up for 🙂
What is the price in India?