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Did you upgrade from an ipad 3 to an ipad 4?

  • No, I kept my ipad 3

    Votes: 54 49.5%
  • Yes, I upgraded to an ipad 4

    Votes: 55 50.5%

  • Total voters
    109

AlanKA

macrumors member
Nov 3, 2012
86
0
I backed out because the iPad 4 just feels like a placeholder for a much better iPad update.

That's exactly why I didn't upgrade my 3. I'm on board for the 5 as soon as it's released. Plus.....the fact that I bought a Mini makes it super easy. I use the 3 much less because the Mini is always in my hands.
 

Medic311

macrumors 68000
Jul 30, 2011
1,659
58
i used to have an iPad 3, which i bought for full price on October 3. apple allowed me to return it and pre-order the iPad 4, which i did. i got the iPad 4 and in all honesty the difference was not very significant. app folders opened up a split second more quickly and web pages loaded maybe 1-2 seconds more quickly. games played exactly the same (Metal Storm) and despite the A6X being twice as fast as the A5X, the A5 on a non-retina display still plays Metal Storm more fluidly. that Retina screen truly is a beast and i still feel that the A6X isn't fully adequate for the Retina. but i digress...that's a topic of discussion for another forum.

i saw that the iPad 3 refurbs substantially dropped in price right when the iPad 4 was announced. the iPad 3/4 64GB LTE that originally was $829 brand new was now $679... talk about a steep price drop ($150). i returned the iPad 4 and bought the iPad 3 version for $679. before i did this though, i thought about what my intentions were with this iPad 3. was i intending to hold onto it for 2-3 years or am i buying it to use for a year and then flip when the redesigned iPad 5 comes out? most likely it will be the latter. thus i concluded that going with the iPad 3 was the better way to go. an analogy to this situation would be trying to decide to buy a used car or a brand new car if you knew you would be selling it soon. most logical people would buy the used vehicle since after 1 year of ownership it will not have depreciated from the purchase price as much as the brand new one. going back to the iPad, the $679 iPad 3 64GB LTE iPad a year from now when the iPad 5 comes out, will probably have a resale dip to $600. the iPad 4 64GB LTE on the other hand, will likely drop from $829 down to the $679 price that the refurb iPad 3 used to be at. in my situation, after doing the simple math, the iPad 3 is the better way to go. however, not everyone's situation is the same as mine as they might not be planning to upgrade to the iPad 5. this scenario also doesn't end up being as extreme if you are comparing base model 16GB wifi models and you throw in Black Friday pricing too. that gap ends up being more narrow and then i might say just go with the iPad 4.


moving onto the other new features of the iPad 4. i have an iPhone 4S and i've owned iPods since 2005 so to be honest i won't miss the Lightning port - i'm too entrenched in 30-pin cables and accessories for the benefits of the new port (reversible) to negate the inconveniences. i have about a dozen 30-pin cables - several throughout the house, car, office, several at the lake house, briefcase, backpack, etc just to name a few. while wifi sync is great, it's not ideal for transferring 15GB of Season 2 of Game of Thrones to my iPad. i know eventually the Lightning cables will be generic, but they're not now and they won't be $0.99 probably for 2 more years. again like i said above, i am thinking about the now and for the next year.

not having a Facetime HD camera in the iPad 3 is OK - it's not like 720p will make my face more attractive. if anything it'll make it uglier lol. my girlfriend has the Mini so i at least get to see her in 720p when we occasionally Facetime which is maybe once every 2 months when i am on a business trip. if i was in a long distance relationship though, then i could see the 720p Facetime HD camera being a must.



so yeah, that's pretty much my reasoning why i went from and iPad 3, to and iPad 4, back to and iPad 3. i'm sure many will disagree with my logic and that's OK - that's why we're consumers...we each have our own opinion
 

MacDadd3

macrumors newbie
Jul 29, 2011
28
6
I debated and debated but I found a 32gb open box ipad 3 mint condition for 390 at microcenter.com and that sold me. Better than paying over 500 for 16gb and the speed and processor is negligible to me. The screen is what makes the 3 and 4 IMHO.
 

Steevie

macrumors regular
Nov 27, 2012
111
0
sold my 3 just decided to wait. with an iphone 5 and mba the ipad wasnt getting much use. I want the mini but cant jusitfy the price...
 

Booji

macrumors 6502a
Nov 17, 2011
790
516
Tokyo
I'm really surprised at the share of respondents who have upgraded.

I was seriously thinking of it, but looking at what I see the 3s going for on eBay, its like a S$350 (USD $280) hit just to get the faster processor, plus all the hassle of selling.
 

nishishei

macrumors regular
Jun 5, 2005
203
0
Yeah I upgraded to iPad 4. It's a lot faster browsing Internet (like desktop speeds) and large picture-heavy PDFs run a lot smoother. My iPad 3 had a bluish screen but the iPad 4 has a yellowish one which I vastly prefer as it is softer on the eyes.

And I actually like the lightning cable. It stays in better when I have it charging.

Not a huge upgrade obviously, but I find myself using the iPad 4 a lot more. This by itself made it worth the $100 hit I took to upgrade.

I don't think the iPad 4 is a placeholder, I thought the iPad 3 was a placeholder while A6x was still not ready.
 

Booji

macrumors 6502a
Nov 17, 2011
790
516
Tokyo
I hear everyone saying it cost only $50 or $100 to upgrade. I'm not sure how that can be - even if you have an new iPad 4 and tried to sell it now, you would at least take a $100 hit, not to mention if it was 7 months old.
 

mcdj

macrumors G3
Jul 10, 2007
8,964
4,214
NYC
I sold my 3 today, along with my unlimited data plan, which I've paid $30/mo for since the iPad 1, and have never gone over 3gb. I switched to a $30/3Gb plan, which is now part of my FAN discount, got $100 off the price of the iPad 4 for signing a 2 yr contract. After the $100 discount, I pocketed $100 cash and got a brand new iPad. Win win.

As for the 4 vs 3, I was skeptical when it came out. Played with it some in the store. Didn't see anything majorly compelling. But now that I have it at home, running MY apps, I'm seeking all kinds of little improvements and surprises. Gaming and video editing aside, the entire experience is just smoother and snappier all around. Quite pleased I must say.
 

Lara F

macrumors 6502a
May 5, 2005
853
10
Montreal, Quebec
The only chance of it not being too expensive to upgrade is if you had the 16GB wifi version that many passed up on for fear of lack of space. Even so, I believe Apple made it a $399 refurb so it'd be hard not to lose over $100.

I don't doubt the 4 is better the same way the iPhone 4S performed better, but calling the 3 a POS is pretty ridiculous IMO.
 

thadoggfather

macrumors P6
Oct 1, 2007
15,548
16,279
Waiting on iPad 5 redesign before considering getting another 9.7". And enjoying jailbreak tremendously.

Playing the panel lottery on 3 sucked.

Hoping but not expecting no QC issues with the 2013 full size
 

Breitling65

macrumors 6502
Mar 3, 2011
320
3
Not sure your meaning, but if you're equating the iPad 3 with Accord and iPad 4 with Mercedes the analogy doesn't work.

Everyone having their own "sense" of upgrade and why we did it, call it senseless is your personal decision and opinion I will not care. That is the point.
 

clyde2801

macrumors 601
Waiting on iPad 5 redesign before considering getting another 9.7". And enjoying jailbreak tremendously.

Playing the panel lottery on 3 sucked.

Hoping but not expecting no QC issues with the 2013 full size

My impression is that QC issues are usually on the first couple of batches of the release of a new product, where Apple's having their suppliers crank them out in bulk in advance of a product release.

I'm thinking if you avoid standing in line for the new release for the first 4-6 weeks, you'll get one of the subsequent batches to come out of the glorious people's paradise.

It's probably a good idea anyway since you can get on MR in the meanwhile to see what the first buyers are saying about it.
 

Macman45

macrumors G5
Jul 29, 2011
13,197
135
Somewhere Back In The Long Ago
I made the change and the 4 is faster...I probably would have stuck with the 3 had it not been for a buddy who gave me a good price for my 3. The 4 is a lot better, and is what the ipad 3 SHOULD have been IMO. I really hope we don't get another one in 7 months though..:eek:
 

Radeon85

macrumors 65816
Mar 16, 2012
1,016
1,883
South Wales, UK
I upgraded from the iPad 3 64gb 4G to the iPad 4 64gb 4G. I upgraded mainly for the faster processor, WiFi Chip and the Lightning Connector.

The speed increase is definitely noticeable, apps launch faster, and games such as NFS Most Wanted run far better. On the iPad 3 when viewing the cars they stuttered when spinning them as if running at 15fps, the iPad 4 is almost fluid (actually racing was fine on both).

My broadband is 100Mbps so the faster WiFi is a huge increase in performance for me, the iPad 3 topped out at 39Mbps on 5Ghz, the 4 tops out at 87Mpbs on 5Ghz, the same speed as my iPhone 5.

As I own an iPhone 5 having an iPad that also had a Lighting Connector was much more convenient.

Also out of the box my iPad 4 was flawless, no dead pixels, dust, scratches, the tint is 100% even and there is no backlight bleeding at all :D

This is the first Apple iOS device that has been flawless out of the box in a long time.

Here is my list why. Apple's quality control is the worst of any company I ever seen, I have had 20+ phones over the last 10yrs such as Windows Mobile 5, 6 PDA phones and candy-bars, two Android phones and every one has been flawless except Apple's :mad:

iPad 1 - 1 replacement due to the screen randomly touching itself, the replacement is still flawless today (mum has this one).

iPad 2 - 8 replacement, 5 had major dust issues under the screen the other 3 had half pure white and half nicotine yellow.

The iPad 3 - 4 replacements, 3 having clusters of dead pixels and 1 with a very uneven tint. One of the replacements was flawless from the white box, but before I even left the bar, a massive cluster of dead pixels appeared after 5mins, the Genius was very surprised and replaced it again, that one is still flawless 8 months later (my grandparent now have this one after having the first iPad 1).

iPad 4 - Flawless :D

iPhone 3GS - Flawless

iPhone 4 - Flawless

iPhone 4S - Faulty earpiece that rattled during a call (sounded like a blown speaker) and had 5 LED spotlights beaming down from the top, replacement was flawless.

iPhone 5 - On my 3rd one, 1st one had a stuck red pixel, the 2nd had a big spec of dust that was very visible, 3rd replacement was flawless.
 

Random 995K

macrumors 6502
Nov 3, 2012
295
0
I upgraded from the iPad 3 64gb 4G to the iPad 4 64gb 4G. I upgraded mainly for the faster processor, WiFi Chip and the Lightning Connector.

The speed increase is definitely noticeable, apps launch faster, and games such as NFS Most Wanted run far better. On the iPad 3 when viewing the cars they stuttered when spinning them as if running at 15fps, the iPad 4 is almost fluid (actually racing was fine on both).

My broadband is 100Mbps so the faster WiFi is a huge increase in performance for me, the iPad 3 topped out at 39Mbps on 5Ghz, the 4 tops out at 87Mpbs on 5Ghz, the same speed as my iPhone 5.

As I own an iPhone 5 having an iPad that also had a Lighting Connector was much more convenient.

Also out of the box my iPad 4 was flawless, no dead pixels, dust, scratches, the tint is 100% even and there is no backlight bleeding at all :D

This is the first Apple iOS device that has been flawless out of the box in a long time.

Here is my list why. Apple's quality control is the worst of any company I ever seen, I have had 20+ phones over the last 10yrs such as Windows Mobile 5, 6 PDA phones and candy-bars, two Android phones and every one has been flawless except Apple's :mad:

iPad 1 - 1 replacement due to the screen randomly touching itself, the replacement is still flawless today (mum has this one).

iPad 2 - 8 replacement, 5 had major dust issues under the screen the other 3 had half pure white and half nicotine yellow.

The iPad 3 - 4 replacements, 3 having clusters of dead pixels and 1 with a very uneven tint. One of the replacements was flawless from the white box, but before I even left the bar, a massive cluster of dead pixels appeared after 5mins, the Genius was very surprised and replaced it again, that one is still flawless 8 months later (my grandparent now have this one after having the first iPad 1).

iPad 4 - Flawless :D

iPhone 3GS - Flawless

iPhone 4 - Flawless

iPhone 4S - Faulty earpiece that rattled during a call (sounded like a blown speaker) and had 5 LED spotlights beaming down from the top, replacement was flawless.

iPhone 5 - On my 3rd one, 1st one had a stuck red pixel, the 2nd had a big spec of dust that was very visible, 3rd replacement was flawless.

Wow that is pretty unlucky. However, Apple is known to have some of the best quality control in the world and i can testify to that. Only Apple device i have ever had a problem with was my first ipod mini around 8 years ago lol.
 

Radeon85

macrumors 65816
Mar 16, 2012
1,016
1,883
South Wales, UK
Wow that is pretty unlucky. However, Apple is known to have some of the best quality control in the world and I can testify to that. Only Apple device i have ever had a problem with was my first ipod mini around 8 years ago lol.

I have the 160gb iPod classic, the 1st Gen Nano and the 6th Gen Nano, all three have been flawless. Apple's hardware is very reliable, there major weakness is screens.
 

neutrino23

macrumors 68000
Feb 14, 2003
1,881
391
SF Bay area
I'm really tempted to upgrade but will probably wait for the next version. I tried one out today at the Apple store and was really impressed. I read a lot of PDFs and with the iPad 4 scrolling was much smoother and redraws and resizing were much quicker. I didn't try it but I expect that drawing with a stylus will be smoother.
 
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