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New iPad Runs About 10 Degrees (F) Hotter than iPad 2 [Updated]

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MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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30,727



Both in our forums and Apple's Discussions, there have been observations and complaints that the new iPad runs warmer than the previous generation. The phenomenon was noticed in TechCrunch's review of the new iPad where they said:
One other slight downside which I have to assume is related to either the battery or the LTE functionality is that unlike previous iPad models, the new iPad does get noticeably warm in the lower left corner after prolonged use. It's never hot, just warm. But again, I never noticed this on other models.
Click to expand...
To investigate further, Tweakers.net (via Engadget) took thermal images with an infrared camera of both the iPad 2 and new iPad. After running GLBenchmark for 5 minutes, the hottest point was measured.

ipad1332166924.jpg



The hottest point on the new iPad was the lower right corner which measured a temperature of 33.6° C (or 92.5° F). The iPad 2, meanwhile, topped out at 28.3° C (or 82.9° F). The difference between the two was 5° C (or ~10° F).

There seems to be a mix of responses from end users, with some not noticing any extra warmth at all, while others claim it gets uncomfortably hot to handle. It seems that the use of heavy GPU apps such as games may be a factor. The added heat seems not to affect the functionality of the new iPad.

Update: Apple released a statement to The Loop about the heat complaints.
"The new iPad delivers a stunning Retina display, A5X chip, support for 4G LTE plus 10 hours of battery life, all while operating well within our thermal specifications," Apple representative Trudy Muller, told The Loop. "If customers have any concerns they should contact AppleCare."
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Article Link: New iPad Runs About 10 Degrees (F) Hotter than iPad 2 [Updated]
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/03/20/new-ipad-runs-about-10-degrees-f-hotter-than-ipad-2/
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dopeytree

macrumors regular
Jan 9, 2007
149
16
UK
It'd be interesting to know if this was with the screen at full brightness and what apps were running etc
 
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duffer6

macrumors 6502
Feb 13, 2011
273
13
So how does this impact skins and case. Should we be concerned about covering up the back of the new iPad. I would venture to guess that at least 50% of iPad owners either put their iPad in a case or skin the back which I would assume could impact the ability for the iPad to evenly distribute the increase heat away from the new iPad. Thoughts?
 
I

imgonephishin

macrumors regular
Jan 3, 2003
141
0
Oh joy, here comes the requisite controversy with every new Apple launch that we'll hear about for the coming months.

If it's not the battery life, or the antenna, or the screen color, or an easily breakable screen, or....
 
Kaibelf

Kaibelf

Suspended
Apr 29, 2009
2,445
7,444
Silicon Valley, CA
Heavy tech runs hot. This is nothing new. But of course, people will complain that something that is warm (though still much cooler than an actual human being) is somehow too much to handle, and whine about how Apple should have invented cold fusion power cells.
 
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macintologist

macrumors 6502a
May 3, 2004
637
878
duffer6 said:
So how does this impact skins and case. Should we be concerned about covering up the back of the new iPad. I would venture to guess that at least 50% of iPad owners either put their iPad in a case or skin the back which I would assume could impact the ability for the iPad to evenly distribute the increase heat away from the new iPad. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Then don't use a case. It's not necessary. I only use a cheap sleeve for storing the iPad in between use.
 
nwcs

nwcs

macrumors 68030
Sep 21, 2009
2,722
5,262
Tennessee
I've noticed the heat increase on mine in that exact corner they refer to. I figure it is probably the result of the battery change and A5X processor. Not like there's a vent or anything on the iPad. Still, it isn't uncomfortable to hold. Some people, like my boss (who is older), actually like that it's warmer.

I can deal with the increase of heat since I don't use the iPad for hours at a time. But I wonder if it will turn out to be something that can be affected to a small degree by future firmware changes?
 
S

samcraig

macrumors P6
Jun 22, 2009
16,779
41,982
USA
Kaibelf said:
(though still much cooler than an actual human being) is somehow too much to handle,
Click to expand...

Actually 92.5° F isn't "much cooler" than 98.6F.

And 10 degrees is pretty significant with external temperatures. Don't believe me? Ask any scuba diver the difference in 10 degrees. Or for that matter - anyone who lives in Vegas, etc.

I'm not saying it a problem or complaint "worthy." I'm just saying that 10 degrees is significant at those temps.
 
T

TheBronx

macrumors regular
Mar 12, 2012
236
0
imgonephishin said:
Oh joy, here comes the requisite controversy with every new Apple launch that we'll hear about for the coming months.

If it's not the battery life, or the antenna, or the screen color, or an easily breakable screen, or....
Click to expand...

Hehe yep the haters will soon be referring to heater-gate and try to act like it had a huge impact on Apple...oh the lengths they'll go! :D
 
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binarymelon

macrumors member
Jul 27, 2007
36
0
People they're not called laplets, it's TABLEt for a reason. Seriously though, are we going to get to a point where we can't hold our handheld devices any more?
 
BeamWalker

BeamWalker

macrumors 6502a
Dec 18, 2009
531
285
This would only be an issue for me when the battery time would be affected by this - more heat-more power-more power usage.

Other than that it is not a big deal - and it is not an ambient temperature which is something completely different for your organism.
 
spiderman0616

spiderman0616

macrumors 603
Aug 1, 2010
5,668
7,490
imgonephishin said:
Oh joy, here comes the requisite controversy with every new Apple launch that we'll hear about for the coming months.

If it's not the battery life, or the antenna, or the screen color, or an easily breakable screen, or....
Click to expand...

Yeah, it will be heatgate or something stupid like that. I get really sick of this too. I think it goes with the territory though. No other company moves units like Apple does, and when you sell this many of something all at one time, you're going to deal with some whining, unnecessary as it may be. People love to complain.

But to be on topic, I have never noticed my new iPad getting warmer, even while playing Infinity Blade 2 or Real Racing 2
 
H

hamean

macrumors member
Dec 16, 2010
66
0
Jarra said:
Has been discussed at length on the Aussie forum:
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1884556

This adds to my research on whether I will get it. Although I don't think its a big deal. Computers get hot. Just remember though, more energy on creating heat means less energy for the intended purpose. Means less battery life.
Click to expand...

The ipad (3rd Gen) has a 42.5-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
the ipad 2 has a 25-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery

Both the ipad 3rd Gen and ipad 2 last the same amount of time on a charge. the ipad 3 would HAVE to get hotter, because it's burning through power at a higher rate. It HAS to run hotter with the same heat dissipation mechanism. iPad 3rd gen uses 70% more power than the ipad 2.
 
impulse462

impulse462

macrumors 68020
Jun 3, 2009
2,085
2,872
I really only experienced this when I played Modern Combat 3 (which is quite fun I might add, even more so than MW3 which I'm already thoroughly sick of) an obvious GPU-intensive application.

It makes sense though. If you guys noticed from the ifixit teardown, the A5X cover is used as a heatsink for that quad-core GPU. The iPad 2 didn't have something like that, so this isn't surprising in the least to me. As long as it doesn't affect the functionality, I'm fine with it.

And yes this might be because I'm used to all the previous MacBook Pro's I owned. :rolleyes:
 
S

shiseiryu1

macrumors 6502a
Sep 30, 2007
534
294
It is warm to the touch

When I went to my local Best Buy to check out the new iPad the heat was the fastest way I could tell the different between the iPad2 and iPad3. The display had a mix of iPad2 and 3 and by touch you could tell which one was the new iPad because it is noticeably warm. It didn't appear to be uncomfortably warm, but you could tell a difference from the iPad2.
 
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