TechRadar rating
/5
For
- Great display
- Easier connector
- Faster innards
Against
- Not much of an update
- Still slightly weighty
- Price too high
The iPad 4th generation has landed - and it's a bit faster
There was much umbrage at the launch of the new iPad 4, as it basically rendered the iPad 3
obsolete mere months after launch. However, with only a minor CPU and
front camera change, is there really any point thinking about upgrading?
The question most people ask us when it comes to the new iPad 4 is: what's different from the old one? Or the iPad 2, for that matter?
Well,
in this case it's pretty easy: there's a Retina Display that makes
everything look superbly crisp, an updated A6X processor with much
superior performance, the same 5MP camera on the rear with a 1.3MP HD
sensor on the front now to replace the VGA effort.
Oh, and the new iPad 4 is now running iOS 6 out of the box (well, it's also on the likes of the iPhone 5 and iPad mini, but hey, we've already reviewed those, and you don't really care unless it's a new iPad, do you?)
The design of the new iPad 4 isn't really
anything different from the original duo from Apple's tablet range.
Actually, while we're thinking about it, it looks almost identical to
the iPad 2 – to the point you'd struggle to tell them apart when turned
off.
However, in the hand, there's a
little bit of a difference, especially when it comes to the weight. The
new iPad is nearly 60g heavier than the second iteration, and while it's
not terrible, it does add a little arm strain during a marathon movie
session.
Sometimes you become accustomed to the
weight of a device if you use it enough, and then the whole debacle
becomes a completely none issue.
However the weight of the iPad 4 is still noticeable even a few months after first get
ting it - pick it up and hold it for the duration of a movie and that unmistakable heft is still there to haunt you.
Retina Display
Before we get onto all the normal insight over the frame of the new iPad 4, it's worth talking about one top feature: the Retina Display.
Apple
has packed a huge amount more pixels into the 9.7-inch screen - 1536 x
2048 to be exact. However, despite the fact that the Cupertino brand
makes a big thing about the 330 PPI density of the iPhone 4S, we're looking at a screen that's technically a lot less sharp than its smartphone brethren - around 264PPI.
Apple
has got around this fact by stating that the screen is meant to be held
15 inches from the face, rather than the 10 inches the iPhone is
supposed to be from your eyes, and as such the sharpness is the same.
Given
the fact the term 'Retina Display' really isn't a legally binding term,
we don't care. What matters is the effect - and it's one of the most
impressive we've seen on a tablet to date. If someone took an iPad,
printed out a really hi-res image of an iOS system and stuck it on the
front, we'd struggle to tell the difference - it's superb, and even
squinting up close you'll be hard pushed to notice any pixelation.
The
colour reproduction will also appeal to many, as it's pretty close to
reality - it lacks the punch of the Super AMOLED HD screens seen on the
likes of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 for instance, but it will depend on personal preference as to whether that's a good thing.
We like the vivid colours of Samsung's screens, but we know plenty of people that loathe them too.
The
main thing is things like internet browsing; photo viewing and movie
sessions are all much, much improved over the iPad 2, and is one of the
main reasons to pick up the new iPad.
Design
The
new iPad, as we said, is only marginally thicker and a little heavier
than the iPad 2, and if you pick it up with no knowledge of the former,
you'll likely be mighty impressed.
The
rest of the design is premium too - given you can be paying nearly £700 /
$AU900 for a top end model, it needs to seem like a worthwhile
investment, and it does.
There's
also the new Lightning connector on offer, which brings the smaller,
faster port for all your needs... unless your need is to use you
recently purchased dock, in which case you'll need to fork out for an
adaptor.
The curved edges, the
oleophobic scratch-proof glass and the aluminium chassis are all the
kind of thing that some Android tablets have tried to ape and failed. Of
course, many will prefer the feather-light frames of some of the
Samsung models but, like the screen, it really comes down to personal
preference.
The buttonry on the new iPad is pretty sparse though - we're talking four buttons and that's your lot.
The iconic home button is back once again, despite rumours of its demise, and is easy to reach and hit within the thick bezel.
The rest of the buttons are all clustered tightly together in the top left-hand corner of the new iPad, with the rocker/volume key, the mute/orientation switch and power/lock key all within an inch of one another.
As
you can see, Apple has been pretty efficient with the button placement,
with all of them performing more than one function. And they say the
iPad can't multi-task... tsk.
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