"New iPad" (iPad 3) reviews are in

[buckshot24]

No HD in netflix? Bummer, my droid razr does netflix in hd, I was hoping the new ipad would play netflix in hd.

I think its "hd" just that the OS screen looks so crisp it makes the video look almost blurry in comparison.

 

[NFS4]

Got mine. Loving' it

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

how close to your face do you have to hold your tablet to be able to see the ipad 2 like that? im cuious, it looks abnormally bad in the picture i think

I'm using my TouchPad which is another 1024x768 device at the same screen size and it's pretty obvious. Even though my Samsung Galaxy S2 with its beautiful screen has decent ppi, even when compared to the iPhone 4, the 4/4s is way sharper. I just like my vibrant colors.

So yeah, I imagine the iPad 3 resolution would be a nice boost even in real world noticeability for sharpness.

 

[TuxDave]

how close to your face do you have to hold your tablet to be able to see the ipad 2 like that? im cuious, it looks abnormally bad in the picture i think

I wish I could see it in person but coming from a person who upgraded from an iPhone 3GS to a 4S, the increase in resolution is absolutely noticable and very good to have.

 

[PrayForDeath]

Just out of curiosity... which of these review sites would be considered the most reliable and unbiased? I'm not familiar with them so I just have to ask.

Macworld

 

[ChronoReverse]

The 1024x768 resolution is really low for a 10" device like the iPad. The new screen is clearly noticeably better.

But that doesn't mean it's a HUGE difference from a 1080p screen for a 10".

 

[speedy2]

My question is, what are all of you doing with this thing? And even the iPhones for that matter? Everyone around me uses these high dollar phones and tablets for maybe 2 or 3 individual functions. Yet somehow, they can't live without it. And, I'm some sort of caveman for not having one.

Yet, I know 10 times more about what it does and how to do it than they do. Is it just the area I'm in? lol

 

[badb0y]

Wow just got mine in and the screen is incredible.

 

[SKORPI0]

Hows the audio quality? Has it been upgraded to two speakers (stereo) or still 1 speaker (mono)?

 

[runawayprisoner]

Hows the audio quality? Has it been upgraded to two speakers (stereo) or still 1 speaker (mono)?

1 speaker. Louder than iPad 2 by a good margin. But audio "quality" in general has seen no improvement from what I can see.

On my scale, I'd rank it at 6/10 in terms of quality since it rolls off high frequency and muds up bass.

 

[Hadsus]

Upgraded from the ipad1. Just the screen clarity and speed make it worth it. On the other hand the UI and OS is very long in the tooth.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[bearxor]

Went by the Apple Store during lunch. There was a line of like 10 people, but they seemed to have plenty of stock.

Played with one. I definitely feel like I notice the extra bulk, but it's still a lot better than an iPad 1. Screen is beautiful. I'm sold.

 

[Destiny]

Got mines today... White 16GB Wifi only... All I did was set it up with my apple ID (I only have an ipod shuffle for gym and marathons) and connect to wifi and my mom is hogging right now - it was a gift for her anyway... the OS and internet browsing is smooth and the screen is INCREDIBLE!

The last Apple OS device I owned was a Power PC 6110, so I'm definately not a normal Apple customer... I have an android 2.2 media player and a T-Mobile G2x.. all I can say is first impressions the Apple OS is better optimized and smooth so far...

 

[Zaap]

Got a hands on with the iPad3 today as a friend at work had one. The things are just amazing. Beautiful piece of technology.

By the way, I don't know how this thread about the iPad three veered off into people yapping about how great they think their iPhones are. The iPad is seriously impressive- your piddly 3.5 inch "iPod-Plus" isn't really.

 

[notposting]

Hmmm. So tempted. Have an iPod Touch 4th gen sitting in a box waiting for my wife to graduate, and an iMac G4 set up for our son, but he's still a bit...violent for it (18 months). Considering a used older iPad, but this thing is so tempting. Nom nom nom.

 

[Anubis]

I'm using my TouchPad which is another 1024x768 device at the same screen size and it's pretty obvious. Even though my Samsung Galaxy S2 with its beautiful screen has decent ppi, even when compared to the iPhone 4, the 4/4s is way sharper. I just like my vibrant colors.

So yeah, I imagine the iPad 3 resolution would be a nice boost even in real world noticeability for sharpness.

I wish I could see it in person but coming from a person who upgraded from an iPhone 3GS to a 4S, the increase in resolution is absolutely noticable and very good to have.

neither of these answered my question at all

 

[runawayprisoner]

Here's my mini review compared to the iPad 2 24 hours after. I think you'll find your answer, Anubis.

1) Screen: surprisingly, if I am in the homescreen or if I am not reading texts, the biggest difference is the color and contrast. Other than that, I can't discern whichever one has the Retina Display. My vision is a perfect 20/20 and I don't wear glasses, by the way. If held about 6" away from my face, then I can somewhat discern pixels on the iPad 2. On the new iPad, it's super super super super (repeat that another 1000 times) hard to discern individual pixels. At 3" away, I still can't see pixels on the thing. But the only thing ultra sharp about the new screen are texts. Very small texts. Big texts look about the same as those on the iPad 2. That said, low res photos and especially websites (all of them) look borderline horrible on the new iPad where there is no text. Think trying to play a PS1 game upscaled to a 70" HDTV and imagine it being over two times worse and you're close. Do the boosted gamut and contrast bring this closer to matching AMOLED? Well, I think so. Black level is not quite there yet, but saturation is certainly on the same level as my Samsung Captivate. However, gradations don't have as much banding, and it looks overall more smooth and pleasing.

2) Sound: my assessment yesterday was that the new iPad sounded the same as the iPad 2. That is... until I found out my 3.5mm cable was faulty. So earlier today, I plugged new cable in, connected to amp, turned amp on, connected my trusty Beyerdynamic DT990, and... sure enough, there was a huge difference. The new iPad has more extending high frequency and puchier bass than the iPad 2 out of the headphone port. More over, through LOD, soundstage improves a lot, and it sounds a lot cleaner! I'm truly impressed! It might be the best sounding mobile device I have heard in a long while. I wouldn't mind using this as my main listening device from now on (MBP used to be the one).

3) Performance: this is a mixed bag. If I go into a game and get out, the new iPad behaves like an iPad 1, which is to say... nothing stays loaded in for long. If I don't game, then sure enough, I can keep 5-7 tabs in Safari running while having push email, Yahoo messenger, etc... running in the background without breaking a sweat. I guess gaming does take a huge toll on that RAM. That said, though, the new iPad is generally smoother than the iPad 2 at just about... anything. I wouldn't call it faster, but it does feel a lot smoother than the iPad 2 on average. Heavy web surfers like me would also appreciate that the address bar won't cause lag anymore when it tries to remember all of the addresses that have gone in. Then again, it's only been a day, so I think it's too early for a verdict, but I'm liking it so far.

4) Battery: I used the device up until 8AM this morning, when the battery reported 7% left, and it has been plugged in constantly since. It's 5:40PM now, and the battery reports... 89%. On the plus side, I unwrapped the device at 3:00PM yesterday, when it reported 80%, and used it all the way until 10:30PM, and then from 6:10AM to 8:00AM.

5) Heat: not enough to fry eggs with, or in fact, not even enough to warm my pants, but definitely enough to warm my hands, which is nice. It has been cold out lately.

My conclusion: this sucker needs movies higher res than 1080p. In fact, I think it needs a whole new interface altogether. Current iOS doesn't really show off just how good the screen actually is. Everything seems overly smooth. But I'm definitely keeping it, and I'm dumping my Kindle. It's sooooo awesome at viewing high-res PDFs. There is practically no reason for me to zoom in to any of my books anymore. None. Plus it runs smooth (when games are not involved), and that's all I ask.

 

[Mopetar]

Here's my mini review compared to the iPad 2 24 hours after. I think you'll find your answer, Anubis.

1) Screen: surprisingly, if I am in the homescreen or if I am not reading texts, the biggest difference is the color and contrast. Other than that, I can't discern whichever one has the Retina Display. My vision is a perfect 20/20 and I don't wear glasses, by the way. If held about 6" away from my face, then I can somewhat discern pixels on the iPad 2. On the new iPad, it's super super super super (repeat that another 1000 times) hard to discern individual pixels. At 3" away, I still can't see pixels on the thing.

Definitely agree with you here. Even at 3-4" it's hard to pick out individual pixels, although I suppose it depends on the image. By the time my eyes can start to tell, the device is getting too close to my face for my eyes to be able to properly focus on it.

One thing that's really noticeable though is how much compression artifacts in video stand out on this screen.

 

[runawayprisoner]

Yeah. Compression artifacts and other stuffs stand out like a sore thumb. It's a very analytical screen for sure. I've had to re-rip my Blu-Ray twice now before I got acceptable result.

5.1GB for one concert... huh... I guess I can only lug one along.

 

[PrayForDeath]

Here's my mini review compared to the iPad 2 24 hours after. I think you'll find your answer, Anubis.

1) Screen: surprisingly, if I am in the homescreen or if I am not reading texts, the biggest difference is the color and contrast. Other than that, I can't discern whichever one has the Retina Display. My vision is a perfect 20/20 and I don't wear glasses, by the way. If held about 6" away from my face, then I can somewhat discern pixels on the iPad 2. On the new iPad, it's super super super super (repeat that another 1000 times) hard to discern individual pixels. At 3" away, I still can't see pixels on the thing. But the only thing ultra sharp about the new screen are texts. Very small texts. Big texts look about the same as those on the iPad 2. That said, low res photos and especially websites (all of them) look borderline horrible on the new iPad where there is no text. Think trying to play a PS1 game upscaled to a 70" HDTV and imagine it being over two times worse and you're close. Do the boosted gamut and contrast bring this closer to matching AMOLED? Well, I think so. Black level is not quite there yet, but saturation is certainly on the same level as my Samsung Captivate. However, gradations don't have as much banding, and it looks overall more smooth and pleasing.

I dont really agree with this. I could easily see the pixels on my old ipad's homescreen even before i got my new ipad. I've always felt that the resolution on the old ipad was too low, and it was especially annoying when browsing websites (gotta zoom in to make text legible) or reading books (fuzzy text).

And its not just small text that looks good on the new ipad. Big text also looks gorgeous and extremely sharp, like real ink on paper.

I dont get your ps1 analogy. Websites look great on my device, and low res photos never looked "good".

 

[Mopetar]

I've always felt that the resolution on the old ipad was too low, and it was especially annoying when browsing websites (gotta zoom in to make text legible) or reading books (fuzzy text).

This is also incredibly noticeable. On the first (and second) generation iPads, reading text at the smallest setting in iBooks wasn't enjoyable and took much longer as the letters got muddled. Now it's easy to read at that level and I imagine the text would still be legible at even smaller font sizes.

 

[runawayprisoner]

I dont really agree with this. I could easily see the pixels on my old ipad's homescreen even before i got my new ipad. I've always felt that the resolution on the old ipad was too low, and it was especially annoying when browsing websites (gotta zoom in to make text legible) or reading books (fuzzy text).

And its not just small text that looks good on the new ipad. Big text also looks gorgeous and extremely sharp, like real ink on paper.

I dont get your ps1 analogy. Websites look great on my device, and low res photos never looked "good".

Then I think you are holding your old iPad too close. I always hold mine at least 20" away, or even further.

As far as the PS1 analogy goes, it mostly applies to banners and button graphics. Like the Anandtech forums' "Quote" button for instance. It's a graphic, not text, so not only does it look fuzzy, the edges look like a sprite taken out of a Gameboy Advance game. It's especially noticeable when you double tap to zoom in.

And really, I double tap to zoom in on texts quite often, since my iPad is so far away. But I don't want to hold it any closer, because my eyes get tired really fast.

 

[Anubis]

its not just the ipad non vector based graphics look like crap when blown up on any tablet

 

[runawayprisoner]

its not just the ipad non vector based graphics look like crap when blown up on any tablet

It's not so much a problem in Portrait, but in Landscape, the iPad scales the page to fit its width. So for instance, the AT forums is 800px across (my guess, not a definite number) normally, but when in iPad 3's landscape, that 800px is stretched to 2048px. Obviously everything inside will be scaled up even if I'm not zooming in.

And there is no way to zoom out in Landscape beyond what's already there, so stuffs will get "blown up" anyway.

 

[kyrax12]

So this iPad would be perfect for books? I won't look back and miss my kindle anymore?