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KenAFSPC

macrumors 6502a
Sep 12, 2012
626
26
it depends on your router...
With my Asus RT-N66U router, the iPad 4 produces Speedtest results of 80-85Mbps with my FiOS Service (and 92Mbps when transferring files over the network). My iPad 3 maxes out at 35-40Mbps.

The experience, at least with my Internet connection and router, is very different from that shown in the video earlier in the thread. All the sites I use load noticeably faster on the iPad 4.

One's Internet connection speed should be one factor (among many) in the decision of the iPad 4. If you only have 5Mbps Internet service, I suspect you will be constrained on most Internet sites by your Internet connection speed, rather than the processor on the iPad 3. Based on my router's performance monitoring graph, most web sites will load in the 40-50Mbps range if you have the ISP to support it.
 

emgoodman

macrumors regular
Mar 18, 2011
126
0
Coming from the original iPad I gotta say the iPad 4 is like going from a ****** car to a Rolls Royce!

And for those interested, the iPad 4 Cellular is just awesome, I know they are not supposed to sell them until end of November, but I don't think the guy in my local electronics store knew this :)

Sounds to me like you purchased the 3rd gen, given there are no LTE 4th gen out yet.
 

haruhiko

macrumors 604
Sep 29, 2009
6,529
5,875
I went to the Apple Store this morning to check out the iPad Mini (no lines, no madness). I absolutely loved the look, feel, design, build, size and everything about the little tablet - except for one thing. The display. Pixel density and slightly jagged fonts aside, it was just dull and not very vibrant (very much like the iPad 2 display, which I've always hated). The floor manager agreed as he confessed that he is a picky display snob like me.

So, I headed over to the iPad 4's to see what this upgrade was all about. I immediately noticed the speed difference when launching apps as well as the peppier Safari browsing experience while using the store's WiFi. So, since my iPad 3 has issues (a display only a Jailbreak calibration app could remedy, takes forever to charge, overheating, burning hot back, losing charge rapidly while sleeping, etc.), I decided to 'upgrade' and take my chances.

Imagine my surprise when I got home and took the iPad 4 out of the box to find that the display was gorgeous, vibrant, color-rich and evenly lit without the need for a calibration app. The contrast and color saturation is so much better than my iPad 3 (uncalibrated). Not sure who the LCD supplier is in this particular iPad, but it's definitely not a supplier who was making panels during the iPad 3 display lottery. Or, maybe it was and and I just didn't receive a panel from this supplier when I was playing the iPad 3 exchange game.

Aside from the speed (app launching and WiFi browsing - not placebo since my iPad 3 is sitting right next to it), I also noticed that the iPad 4 runs VERY cool. This thing never gets hot! It's always cool to the touch and at worst, only very slightly warm (while charging and or gaming). I loaded 20GBs of music, 12GBs of movies, 175 apps and several hundred pictures and the device was cool to the touch when the content was done loading. Something an iPad 3 user is not used to (at least I wasn't).

So Apple is clearly using a faster, more powerful processor that actually runs cooler than the processor in the iPad 3. For me, this alone justifies upgrading. Also, when you plug it in it actually charges like it's supposed to without getting hot and taking forever to fill up.

So for me, the iPad 4 has a much improved display (even though they are probably using the same display suppliers and I just got lucky this time), is much faster, has faster WiFi, charges quicker and runs VERY cool without any heating up at all.

I had no intentions of getting the iPad 4 today, but I am so glad that I went to the Apple Store and decided to check out this 'small upgrade'. I can't help but think that the iPad 4 is probably what the iPad 3 should have been when it was first released, but the technology just wasn't there yet.

This iPad 4 will hold me over nicely until Apple releases the iPad Mini Retina with more ram and processing power (that is, if they ever release such a device). I hope they do, that little tablet would be amazing with a retina-like display.
This is the magic of Apple. You paid for a flawed product (which you didn't exchange) and then you bought another "should've been" product in the same year. You paid twice.
:eek:
 

Broadus

macrumors 65816
Oct 26, 2011
1,108
649
Upstate SC
This video actually blew my mind. Only a 1 to 2 second difference in everyday real world usage? Apple should be ashamed to call this iPad 4. More like iPad 3.5.

I suspect that small but somewhat significant improvements is what we can expect from Apple with the iPad. It is a great tablet. Other manufacturers are applauded when they get close to the iPad, e.g. the Nexus 10, though Google Play has a lot of catching up when it comes to apps made for tablets.

BTW--great last name!
 

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,666
5,879
This video actually blew my mind. Only a 1 to 2 second difference in everyday real world usage? Apple should be ashamed to call this iPad 4. More like iPad 3.5.

You also have to take into consideration nothing is pushing it. Wait a year until iOS 7...I bet the differences are more noticeable.
 

D.T.

macrumors G4
Sep 15, 2011
11,050
12,460
Vilano Beach, FL
With my Asus RT-N66U router, the iPad 4 produces Speedtest results of 80-85Mbps with my FiOS Service (and 92Mbps when transferring files over the network). My iPad 3 maxes out at 35-40Mbps.

Same here, definitely seeing better Internet speeds , also using the same router. FYI, I switched to a custom firmware and it makes an outstanding product even better. :)
 

prism

macrumors 65816
Dec 6, 2006
1,060
389
I have to agree with the OP, my 4th gen is flawless compared to the 3 which I got rid of a week before the 4 was announced. With the 3 I had screen tint issues, had to go thru 3 of them before getting one with a decent screen. Also mine just got warm to the touch (bottom left) as soon as I cranked up the screen brightness.
Maybe it's placebo but the 4 does feel more fluid, the screen is perfect, and it doesn't get warm. I'm a happy camper!
 

Tezcatlipoca

macrumors regular
May 23, 2012
214
6
Cambridge, UK
Re. the iPad 4 charging faster...

Isn't this just down to it coming with a 12W charger instead of a 10W charger, given that it has the same battery as the iPad 3?

Nope it's the 4th it has the Lightning port on the bottom :)

That's odd, given that you can't even buy a "Cellular" iPad 4 from Apple yet. How would a 3rd party supplier have any?

----------------------


As it is, although I'm tempted to get an iPad 4 to replace my iPad 3, I just can't justify the cost of upgrading so soon. If it had come out at the "normal" time, then yeah... But not after only half a year. I think I'll just wait for the iPad 5 (which, with any luck, will be thinner and have an IGZO display).
 

Mike in Kansas

macrumors 6502a
Sep 2, 2008
962
74
Metro Kansas City
This video actually blew my mind. Only a 1 to 2 second difference in everyday real world usage? Apple should be ashamed to call this iPad 4. More like iPad 3.5.

And that pretty much is what it is. It's the iPad 3 that they couldn't deliver in time to meet the product cycle. That's why the new iPad (iPad 3) doesn't exist anymore now that the Retina iPad (iPad 4) is out, but the iPad 2 still does. It's basically a mid-cycle refresh to get Lightning port in there, throw in the new camera, and get it on the same processor as the iPhone 5.

I upgraded from the 3 to the 4 only because I bought the 3 ~20 days ago and Apple extended the return period to 30 days, so it was free and a no-brainer. If you have the 3, I don't see why you'd want the 4 unless you just HAVE to have the most recent device. But to each their own...
 

Awakener

macrumors 6502
Mar 28, 2011
345
0
Apple originally called the iPad 3 the "new iPad".

The iPad 4 is the "iPad with Retina Display". No mention of it being "the new iPad" on the Apple website or anywhere else.

Since people keep mincing this ridiculous naming scheme to pieces, at the Keynote the "iPad with Retina Display" was clearly referred to as "iPad 4th Generation," making it the de facto "iPad 4".
 

Tezcatlipoca

macrumors regular
May 23, 2012
214
6
Cambridge, UK
Since people keep mincing this ridiculous naming scheme to pieces, at the Keynote the "iPad with Retina Display" was clearly referred to as "iPad 4th Generation," making it the de facto "iPad 4".

All I was doing was correcting the person who said that it was called "The New iPad".
 

MrXiro

macrumors 68040
Nov 2, 2007
3,850
599
Los Angeles
Apple originally called the iPad 3 the "new iPad".

The iPad 4 is the "iPad with Retina Display". No mention of it being "the new iPad" on the Apple website or anywhere else.

The new iPad is always going to be the new iPad. But it was never called the iPad 4.
 

jbachandouris

macrumors 603
Aug 18, 2009
5,778
2,905
Upstate NY
My iPad 4 is waiting for me at Best Buy :D (ship to store) as I just returned my iPad mini.

Its too small and my eyes are too old. :(

It was pretty though...
 

comatose81

macrumors 6502a
Dec 17, 2009
585
0
I tried out the iPad 4 today as well. I honestly didn't see much performance difference from the 3. I loaded up Pages and opened one of the demo documents... I wasn't impressed by the app load time or the doc load time, and there was major stuttering when big images came on to the screen as I was scrolling.

It might be awesome for games, but I see no reason to upgrade if you have a 3. Just my opinion.
 

Tezcatlipoca

macrumors regular
May 23, 2012
214
6
Cambridge, UK
The new iPad is always going to be the new iPad. But it was never called the iPad 4.

.. only the third generation iPad was specifically called "the new iPad" by Apple. It was called "the new iPad" when announced, and called "the new iPad" on the Apple website.

The fourth generation iPad, however, was not and is not called "the new iPad". Apple refers to it as the "iPad with Retina Display", not "the new iPad". Only the previous one was marketed as "the new iPad".

The only other official names for the 3rd and 4th iPads are "iPad 3rd generation" and "iPad 4th generation".

Although, of course, plenty of people simply call it the "iPad 4", just as they called the previous one the "iPad 3". Neither name was ever official, but that's how many refer to them... and it's more fitting than "the new iPad", which was only ever a marketing description for the third one.
 

Tree2u

macrumors newbie
Nov 3, 2012
18
0
I bought a iPad mini yesterday but took it back and I picked up a iPad 4 instead, which is a upgrade from my iPad 2. I can see a BIG difference between the two! It's like night and day.... I did notice the bottom left corner was a little warm also.... All in all I'm very happy with my purchase.
 

WeegieMac

Guest
Jan 29, 2008
3,274
1
Glasgow, UK
Used a 4 side by side with my 3 in the Apple store and iOS navigation is identical. The 4 is no smoother or faster in swiping between pages and menus, etc.

The true power of the A6X will not be seen until games are updated and new titles utilise that extra power. The iPad 3 will no doubt continue to run games at 1440 x 1080 with AA like Galaxy on Fire 2 HD and NFS Most Wanted, fine by me.

As I said elsewhere though, the nature of iOS development (gaming wise) has proven that due to older devices being supported (3GS is STILL catered for on the iPhone platform) it takes a little more time for the latest device/chip to peak.

Look at Infinity Blade II on iPhone 4 and 4S. That game was supposed to be the 4S showpiece, but other than a smoother frame rate and some "God ray" lighting effects, both versions looked identical to the naked eye. Fast forward to now, a year later, and compare the recent releases like NFS Most Wanted on the 4 and 4S and the difference is night and day in terms of visual effects.

In basic iOS navigation though, other than stock apps opening a half second or so sooner, there's zero difference. iOS 7 though will no doubt change things on that count.

What I don't get is that the some of the very same people who slate those who moan about not having "the latest and greatest" turn into condescending, elitist, placebo ridden fools the second they get the latest and greatest themselves.

End of the day, there's people out there without homes, power, and loved ones due to a superstorm and we're here debating the frame rate of a tablet. :rolleyes:
 

Awakener

macrumors 6502
Mar 28, 2011
345
0
All I was doing was correcting the person who said that it was called "The New iPad".

Yeah, see your point..wasn't so much about your comment as Apple creating this whole "wtf are we supposed to call it" situation. Seriously, Apple needs to properly name new iPad models!
 
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