Every company with a tablet on the market wants its product to be the “iPad Killer.” Unfortunately for its competitors, Apple has a tendency of killing its own products and bringing them back to life with improvements that leapfrog the last benchmark. In its nearly regular refresh — the fourth in two years — to the iPad, Apple is making some small changes. Visually, nothing changes as the device holds steady at the same dimensions and identical Retina display that was introduced on the iPad 3. The processor got a slight boost to a 1.3GHz A6X dual-core and the front-facing camera gets clearer with a 1.3-megapixel lens. The charging port is also changed out for the new Lightning Connector. Take a look at the full side-by-side spec breakdown below.
It doesn’t seem like Apple will be chasing too many current iPad owners with the iPad 4. The upgrades are fairly minimal from what the 3rd generation offered and likely won’t convert iPad 3 owners. More than likely, the iPad 4′s market will be for folks that are still without a tablet in their possession or for people who passed on the last two refreshes and still own the original iPad or the iPad 2. Assuming the price for the iPad 3 drops similarly to how the iPad 2 did (currently $400 in the Apple Store), it may become an attractive entry level tablet for people that prefer the Apple brand. The iPad 4 feels like it got pushed out to market to make the Lightning connector the universal offering in Apple’s mobile line. It may still be an option for hold outs, but iPad 3 owners may be wise to skip this generation.
(*A quick note: We use the words iPad 3 and iPad 4 to mean 3rd generation and 4th generation iPad.)
Glad I just bought my iPad 3 a few months ago and it’s already outdated. Since when did Apple jump to Motorola’s release schedule of screwing people a month after they bought their product?
The only good part here is that Apple products hold their resale value *really* well. Check CL, most iPad 3s in the Portland area are still going for pretty high prices. I was looking at the iPad 3 16GB wifi and they’re all still around $400 which is only $100 less than retail
I’m not sure how long that will last, but not too bad of a deal while it does if you can manage to sell it!
This is true. I sold my iPhone 4 (not 4S) on Amazon and got $214 for it which blew me away. (Thanks Greg for helping me sell it!!)
Why would you say the iPad 3 is outdated? That is simply not true. I don’t understand this, some of you complain that Apple does not innovate while on the other hands some of you complain that this upgrade makes your device outdated. This is bonkers. Apple deliberatly makes upgrades in carefully tought steps so that you don’t find yourself in the situation that the device you bought last year is struggling to work with the new OS (this only happens after 3 generations) or that the new hardware is so much faster that yours simply cannot compete.
Why does a minor few changes (your words) render the ipad 3 obsolete (again your words)??
Control+F for obsolete. Only your post comes up. Control+F for minor or few. Your post again. None of those are my words. Here are my words:
“The upgrades are fairly minimal from what the 3rd generation offered and likely won’t convert iPad 3 owners. More than likely, the iPad 4′s market will be for folks that are still without a tablet in their possession or for people who passed on the last two refreshes and still own the original iPad or the iPad 2… It may still be an option for hold outs, but iPad 3 owners may be wise to skip this generation.”
I said nearly the exact opposite of what you say I said. I encourage iPad 3 owners to stick with their current tablet because the iPad 4 isn’t a major upgrade. That’s far from obsolete.
In some countries you can replace your product at the Apple store in 14 days and it has now been extended to 30 days. Give them a call to find out more.
i think this release of the new 4th Generation ipAd is a ploy to compete with the windows surface tablet. i mean, c’mon, the new iPad was released this year and now 7 months after their releasing a new one? apple is really out to bleed the people off their money, they couldn’t care less of their customers.
I bought iPad3 jus 2 weeks bak…can’t I replace it…it feels so unfare
If it’s been within 30 days, take it back!
It does suck if you just bought the iPad 3, but this also means that Apple’s development cycle just sped up by 6 months so next time you get a tablet, it will be even faster…. maybe.
I had my iPad 3 about the same time, bought it at Best buy I traded it in for a iPad 4 straight across today. You have 30 days unless your with the premium reward then you have 60 days.
I kind of hate Apple for this upgrade, mostly because now I want this new device even though it’s not all that much better than the current one =/
You really would be wise to hold out. A faster processor, better front facing camera and a new charging connector? Those aren’t really worth the price tag in my opinion. That’s not even worth calling it a “next generation” iPad in my eyes, but whatever helps sells product I suppose.
Is it true that ipad3 is defected thats why it became low price in the market now.almost 50% off of the original price.?