ManasChawla

What’s in a name? Or, more importantly, what’s in a digit? Would that which we call an iPad by any number less than 2 be less sweet? That’s the question Apple posed for us indirectly when it unveiled the new iPad and relegated its future slates (and, presumably, phones) to a numeral-free future. And that new slate? It’s much the same as the old one, with a slightly more chipper processor at its (quad) core and support for both Verizon and AT&T’s fancy new LTE networks.
But there’s one bigger change here, one that will ripple across the industry as each manufacturer struggles to keep up in this ever-accelerating market. That feature is the iPad’s new 2048 x 1536 Retina display. It’s the best display ever featured on a tablet, probably the best display ever on a mobile device, but is that enough to keep this tablet ahead of the pack? Believe it or not, the answer is yes.
iPad (2012) review.
Ever held an iPad 2? If so, suffice to say this new iPad is a wee bit thicker and a teensy bit heavier. You now have our full blessing to skip down to the display section below, which is what you’re probably truly interested in reading about.

Swing around to the other top corner and you’ll find the door behind which rests the SIM. LTE does need a SIM, even on Verizon, and there are new iPad versions supporting LTE on both AT&T and Verizon. (Rogers, Bell and Telus in Canada, too, though Telstra LTE in Australia is sadly not compatible.) There are different devices here, one for AT&T and another for Verizon, but either offer comprehensive non-LTE wireless connectivity options, including MTS / HSPA / HSPA+ / DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz) and GSM / EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz). That means even if you aren’t in LTE-land you can expect up to 42Mbps download speeds, which is much faster than the iPad 2.

If you’re disappointed Apple didn’t do more with the new iPad, that’s probably because you haven’t seen the new Retina display for yourself yet. Take more than a passing glance and you’ll be a believer. Of course, a cynic would say that it’s really Samsung who’s been doing all the hard work here, as this is (for now, at least) a panel sourced from that company, which should be a strong indicator that Apple’s strongest competition on the Android side won’t be far behind in launching its own high-res wunderslate.

The biggest talking point is, of course, the truly bonkers resolution. 2048 x 1536 means four times the pixels of the previous iPads and, indeed, a full million more than your average 1080p TV. On the 9.7-inch display this works out to a pixel density of 264ppi. That’s considerably lower than the 326ppi the iPhone 4S manages and, indeed, below the magic 300ppi barrier Apple had earlier specified for the “Retina” moniker. But, as you’re expected to hold the new iPad further from your face than your phone, the perceived pixel density is said to be comparable.
We called the cameras on the iPad 2 “pretty bad” and, well, they are. Thankfully Apple has finally raised the game on the rear shooter for the new iPad, but it’s unfortunately left the front-facing VGA FaceTime camera alone. If you’re sick of looking murky when FaceTiming with loved ones from a dimly lit room, we’re sorry to say it might be time to finally invest in that extra lamp.

But, move past megapixels (as we encourage most digital shooters to do) and you’ll find the image quality to be very high here. We found it very easy to take pleasing photos with the new iPad but we didn’t see the drastic increase in shot-to-shot speed that we did on the 4S. That phone wowed us with its rapid-fire prowess, and indeed the iPad 2 is quite snappy moving from picture to picture. The new iPad is much slower. It’s still plenty quick, on the order of two shots per second, but we’d estimate the iPad 2 is roughly twice that fast.

So width and height are the same as the iPad 2, but as we mentioned above thickness is now .6mm greater than before. That’s but a sliver of a difference and difficult to notice unless you stack the two next to each other, but if you’re dealing with a finely-crafted case made to exacting specifications that increase is more than enough to cause issues. Thankfully, most cases aren’t made to such high standards, so there’s a very good chance your old sleeve will do just fine.

We tried a few different sleeves and loose cases and there was no issue with the majority of them. Some plastic-backed cases that clip on refused to hold on very securely, but for the most part this new iPad is backwards compatible. Indeed, Apple’s own Smart Cover clips on to the side magnetically just like on the iPad 2. In fact all the other first-party iPad accessories should be perfectly compatible, thanks in large part to the continuation of the 40-pin dock connector. And, thanks to the hugely useful iOS version of iPhoto, the SD Card Reader and Camera Connector are of particular value now.

But, the best accessory for the iPad will likely prove to be the new Apple TV. This guy features a friendlier UI and, finally, 1080p support. It isn’t the iOS-having, app-running update that we’ve been hoping for, but beaming 1080p content straight to your TV over AirPlay is about as easy as it gets and, for many, worth the $99 price of admission.
The new iPad is priced exactly the same as the old iPad used to be. That is to say, a 16GB model starts at $499. 32GB costs $100 more and 64GB is another $100 on top of that, for a range-topping price of $699. Rather unfortunately there’s still no 128GB option, a particular shame given the size of the textbooks Apple is now hawking. More storage is a must for whatever the next new iPad turns out to be.

The 3G / LTE models, whether you choose AT&T or Verizon, will cost you $130 more. So that’s $629, $729 or $829. Cheap? No, but those are at least off-contract prices. As before, data plans are all month-to-month, so no worries about signing away the next two years of your wireless freedom. You’ll simply buy your data at the beginning of the month and next month, if you want more, you’ll have to pay again.

On AT&T you’re looking at 250MB for $14.99 monthly, but on LTE we could see blowing through that in a day. A more realistic 3GB will cost you $30 while 5GB is $50. AT&T does not offer tethering yet (though it intends to in the future), so if you want your slate to also be a portable hotspot today you’ll need to go to Verizon. There you’ll be paying $20 for 1GB, $30 for 2GB, $50 for 5GB and $80 for 10GB on the top end. If you opt to buy your iPad pre-activated through Verizon they’ll also give you the option of paying $10 for every GB over your allowance.

With the new iPad, Apple has chosen to take small steps in many areas, making a logical upgrade on the camera, a modest improvement in graphics performance and the perfectly natural addition of LTE wireless. Other things have been left the same, like the overall size and form-factor, speed, the selection of capacities and, most importantly, the pricing. It’s only with the display that Apple made a truly big step forward here over the iPad 2, and for many that’s enough to make an upgrade worthwhile.

The new iPad doesn’t do anything substantially better or particularly different than the iPad 2, offering the same rich world of content as before. But, it’s the amazingly high quality window into that world the new iPad offers that is completely unmatched — for the moment. We have no doubt that others will be bringing similarly high-res offerings to market soon, but for now the new iPad takes the cake. Is it worth a purchase if you still have the original iPad? Yes, absolutely. The iPad 2? That, dear readers, largely depends on how much disposable income you’re swinging around, but if you have the means…

Update: We’ve updated the review to include full battery run-down figures. Also, we’ve clarified that there are effectively three worldwide models of the new iPad. To lay things out: there are two LTE-flavors, including the Verizon version which is available only in the US. Then there is the US AT&T LTE version, which is also sold in Canada and abroad. Finally, there is the WiFi-only variety.