New ipad is what we all wanted. (for the most part)

[Oyeve]

You guys are over analyzing this. It's a freaking tablet with a nice screen. It is what it is.

 

[kami]

Is this a stop gap product for a few months and before the end of the year the real ipad3 will be launched, one with more RAM, USB, HDMI, etc? Dont want to fork out my money if so.

People said the exact same thing about ipad 2 and claimed a "real" ipad 2 would be out in around September 2011.

For the forseeable future we will see an updated iPad every March with varying degrees of of improvement. Usually you can stay 1 generation behind and still run all the latest apps/games and thats only a small minority of cutting edge stuff like that new diablo-esque Infinity Blade which looks pretty cool but I am sure will require ipad2/iphone4 minimum.

 

[Steelbom]

So a few questions which I am guessing we dont know some / all of yet:

1. Does it have an HDMI out socket so I can play movies etc on my HDTV through it?
2. Does it have USB or micro USB ports?
3. Its got 4G. I'm in the UK and 4G wont really be available until 2013 and even then its going to be rip off priced until at the earliest 2014. Can you use 3G with it ok?
4. The RAM is apparently 1gb ? Given what the new xbox / playstation replacements coming out this year have this seems really low. I take it that it doesnt matter as Apple apps dont need to use any more? Seems like its going to be a bit limited on the new games front though.
5. Is this a stop gap product for a few months and before the end of the year the real ipad3 will be launched, one with more RAM, USB, HDMI, etc? Dont want to fork out my money if so.

Anyway thanks if anyone knows. Cheers!

1) You can wirelessly stream 1080p movies to an Apple TV 3, or you can buy an HDMI accessory which lets you mirror your screen (and apps) to your HDTV. Supported apps render on the TV natively (16:9) and some games up to 1080p. (The videos app is a supported app, of course, so you see your movies full screen like when wirelessly streaming them.)

2) No.

3) According to them, yes.

4) It's 1GB yes, and it'll be plenty.

5) Nope.

It's thicker and heavier, and sucks 70% more battery juice per hour of use than the previous version. For a mobile device, these are not good trends.

It's necessary for the higher resolution display, and that aside, it'll be corrected next year with PowerVR SGX 600 series GPU(s).

Battery is 70% bigger, lasts same 10hrs on WiFi model. LTE only takes 1 hr off, so I don't think the bigger battery was for the LTE. That new display is the power hog.

It's not the display directly, it's the two additional GPUs and of course the additional power required (from the GPUs) to power the display.

 

[TheStu]

1) You can wirelessly stream 1080p movies to an Apple TV 3, or you can buy an HDMI accessory which lets you mirror your screen (and apps) to your HDTV. Supported apps render on the TV natively (16:9) and some games up to 1080p. (The videos app is a supported app, of course, so you see your movies full screen like when wirelessly streaming them.)

2) No.

3) According to them, yes.

4) It's 1GB yes, and it'll be plenty.

5) Nope.

It's necessary for the higher resolution display, and that aside, it'll be corrected next year with PowerVR SGX 600 series GPU(s).

It's not the display directly, it's the two additional GPUs and of course the additional power required (from the GPUs) to power the display.

They may have had to put in a stronger backlight to properly illuminate those denser pixels. In fact, I would wager that they definitely did have to, and that certainly contributes to the power drain. There is also the issue that there are 4 times as many pixels as there were before. That is 4 times as many transistors to flip for an image.

 

[Steelbom]

They may have had to put in a stronger backlight to properly illuminate those denser pixels. In fact, I would wager that they definitely did have to, and that certainly contributes to the power drain. There is also the issue that there are 4 times as many pixels as there were before. That is 4 times as many transistors to flip for an image.

That's true... but two additional GPUs are definitely a factor as well.

 

[TheStu]

That's true... but two additional GPUs are definitely a factor as well.

No absolutely it is, and those additional GPUs are probably going to be used most of the time even if you aren't doing much, just to populate the display, but that doesn't negate that the actual panel and backlight is also a power drain. The new iPad is drawing about 60% more power* now, so the larger battery was a must. However, it is possible that the 10hr estimate is off as it is a 70% larger battery.

However, if my math is right (and I am not saying it is) then they actually probably could have dropped the 4G modem into the iPad 2 (assuming that it wouldn't have required a COMPLETE redesign of the logic board and whatnot) and only taken a 30 minute hit to data battery life. Again, if my math is right, the 4G modem uses .45W in use, the 3G used .28W. Not a huge difference.



*iPad 2 has a 25Whr battery and gets 10hrs of use.
New iPad has a 42.5Whr and gets 10hrs of use.

 

[Steelbom]

No absolutely it is, and those additional GPUs are probably going to be used most of the time even if you aren't doing much, just to populate the display, but that doesn't negate that the actual panel and backlight is also a power drain. The new iPad is drawing about 60% more power* now, so the larger battery was a must. However, it is possible that the 10hr estimate is off as it is a 70% larger battery.

I know, I was agreeing with you. I'm quite happy the battery life is still so high. I'm sure we'll see it thoroughly detailed soon enough, I'm looking forward to Anandtech's review of it.

However, if my math is right (and I am not saying it is) then they actually probably could have dropped the 4G modem into the iPad 2 (assuming that it wouldn't have required a COMPLETE redesign of the logic board and whatnot) and only taken a 30 minute hit to data battery life. Again, if my math is right, the 4G modem uses .45W in use, the 3G used .28W. Not a huge difference.

*iPad 2 has a 25Whr battery and gets 10hrs of use.
New iPad has a 42.5Whr and gets 10hrs of use.

That's quite possible, I don't think LTE will have too much of an affect on such a larger battery.

 

[runawayprisoner]

From my estimate, the new screen may have doubled power consumption, since denser pixels = smaller opening for light to shine through, thus Apple has to double backlight intensity to achieve the same brightness. (that'll also explain the dual-backlight patent they filed a while ago)

As far as power consumption goes, if I'm not mistaken, that means the new screen alone can account for close to 3W on average, or a max of 6W at max brightness. iPad 2's screen was at 2W -> 4W, which I estimated to be correct based on the fact that it would last 10 hours on a 25WHr battery. That leaves about 1W for CPU, LTE radio, and all of the other things on iPad 3 (and about .5W for iPad 2), which would make perfect sense.

Considering the iPad 2's A5 clocks in at about 500mW on average, I wouldn't doubt that the A5X could knock 700mW easily, or perhaps even 1W if Apple did increase clock frequency. In which case, screen + A5X = 4W already. That leaves only about .5W left for LTE, which would fit nicely with TheStu's LTE radio power consumption.

Ah well, we'll see.

 

[Mopetar]

However, it is possible that the 10hr estimate is off as it is a 70% larger battery.

It may be depending on what it is that you're doing. Apple has been fairly conservative with their battery estimates the past few years and I've managed to get well over 10 hours on my first generation iPad with light usage such as reading books. It also depends on characteristics of the new screen. If it is sufficiently brighter, it makes it easier to run it at a lower brightness level. I really wish that AT would get a review unit so that they could have all of these questions answered on the launch day.

 

[Steelbom]

From my estimate, the new screen may have doubled power consumption, since denser pixels = smaller opening for light to shine through, thus Apple has to double backlight intensity to achieve the same brightness. (that'll also explain the dual-backlight patent they filed a while ago)

As far as power consumption goes, if I'm not mistaken, that means the new screen alone can account for close to 3W on average, or a max of 6W at max brightness. iPad 2's screen was at 2W -> 4W, which I estimated to be correct based on the fact that it would last 10 hours on a 25WHr battery. That leaves about 1W for CPU, LTE radio, and all of the other things on iPad 3 (and about .5W for iPad 2), which would make perfect sense.

Considering the iPad 2's A5 clocks in at about 500mW on average, I wouldn't doubt that the A5X could knock 700mW easily, or perhaps even 1W if Apple did increase clock frequency. In which case, screen + A5X = 4W already. That leaves only about .5W left for LTE, which would fit nicely with TheStu's LTE radio power consumption.

Ah well, we'll see.

Ouch, that's a lot of power consumption!

 

[SickBeast]

Ouch, that's a lot of power consumption!

It's still absolutely nothing compared to a laptop. 10h of battery life is great.

 

[runawayprisoner]

Ouch, that's a lot of power consumption!

There's still the off chance that if you stay indoors a lot, or where you don't have to max out the brightness on the "new iPad", you should be able to squeeze more out of that battery. I don't think the two backlights have to be always on, even though they might need to work harder.

Also I believe standby time of the "new iPad" should be prolonged when it's a WIFI-only model. But eh... I guess Apple didn't want to go out and say it would sit at your house for a whole 3 months while you are away on that trip to Hawaii, and still have enough battery for you to come home and read that your girlfriend tweeted her suspicions of you cheating the day before.

 

[akugami]

I think we're over analyzing things at times. I don't find the slight increase in size between the iPad 2 to the "new" iPad to be that big of a difference. Especially since the first gen iPad is still larger and heavier.

Who cares how they get the long battery life? I mean, as long as the device doesn't weigh a ton and is ergonomic, does it matter how they had to increase battery capacity 70%? If anything I find it amazing they increased battery capacity by 70% in practically the same size packaging.

Bottom line. It's a top of the line tablet device. It has probably the highest pixel density display of any tablet in the near future. It's got a CPU that is competitive to the best out there. It's also got probably the best GPU in any tablet. It has a ton of app support. It has a ton of peripheral support. Does it have flaws? Of course, but so does everything else.

 

[Steelbom]

It's still absolutely nothing compared to a laptop. 10h of battery life is great.

That's true, although interestingly enough, it has a slightly higher watt per hour as one of the old MacBook Pros. (I believe it was a 2006 model.)

There's still the off chance that if you stay indoors a lot, or where you don't have to max out the brightness on the "new iPad", you should be able to squeeze more out of that battery. I don't think the two backlights have to be always on, even though they might need to work harder.

Also I believe standby time of the "new iPad" should be prolonged when it's a WIFI-only model. But eh... I guess Apple didn't want to go out and say it would sit at your house for a whole 3 months while you are away on that trip to Hawaii, and still have enough battery for you to come home and read that your girlfriend tweeted her suspicions of you cheating the day before.

I always keep brightness at full, I do stay in-doors though

 

[justjohnny]

I have both an ipad and a best android tablet and apart from games, the android can do everything the ipad can, at least as well as the ipad does. There are some games, but not nearly as much as on the apple side. That said for general day to day things i use the android tablet much more than the ipad.

 

[TheStu]

I have both an ipad and a Spam Redacted and apart from games, the android can do everything the ipad can, at least as well as the ipad does. There are some games, but not nearly as much as on the apple side. That said for general day to day things i use the android tablet much more than the ipad.

Do not post spam links
Moderator TheStu