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Consumer Reports Finds New iPad Gets Warm, Can't Charge Under Heavy Loads

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MacRumors

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Following up on reports from earlier today that the outer shell of the iPad 3 gets warmer than the iPad 2, Consumer Reports found that their iPad 3 reached temperatures up to 116 degrees after running Infinity Blade II for 45 minutes.

The piece did note that the iPad felt "very warm but not especially uncomfortable if held for a brief period" during the testing process. In a statement earlier today, Apple said that the iPad was "operating well within our thermal specifications."

ipadthermal.jpg


We ran our test while the new iPad was propped on the iPad Smart Cover, plugged in, and after it had run Infinity Blade II uninterrupted for about 45 minutes. The device's 4G connection was not turned on, though its Wi-fi link was. The ambient room temperature was about 72 degrees. (Apple recommends not using the iPad in environments over 95 degrees.)

When unplugged, the back of the new iPad reached temperatures as high as 113 degrees Fahrenheit. It was only when plugged in that it hit 116 degrees. The hottest areas weren't evenly distributed throughout the iPad's back, but were concentrated near one corner of the display as shown in the images taken from the rear of the device above.
Click to expand...
Potentially more interesting is Consumer Reports' note that their new iPad didn't charge at all when the game was running. In fact, the battery continued to drain slightly under the extremely heavy CPU and GPU load from Infinity Blade II.

It seems that under extremely heavy processor usage, the iPad is unable to draw sufficient power from its USB connection to both power the device and charge the battery simultaneously.

Article Link: Consumer Reports Finds New iPad Gets Warm, Can't Charge Under Heavy Loads
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/03/20/consumer-reports-finds-new-ipad-gets-warm-cant-charge-under-heavy-loads/
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slrandall

macrumors 6502
Jun 15, 2011
412
0
*sigh*
So this is the new antennagate. As many people here have already stated, it gets warm but not anywhere close to unbearably hot. All I can do is confirm this through personal experience.

EDIT: For the guy below me, my MacBook Pro doesn't charge up under a heavy load either, but it maintains the current battery level. This is done to help preserve the battery and avoid additional heat output. As iPads become more on par with traditional computers, expect them to have to deal with the same limitations on things like battery technology.
 
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Konrad9

macrumors 6502a
Feb 23, 2012
575
64
"Can't charge under heavy loads" sounds like more than people conjuring up ideas about how to dis Apple and the new iPad.

Phenomenal device, but did they really not know this could be a problem?

----------
slrandall said:
*sigh*
So this is the new antennagate. As many people here have already stated, it gets warm but not anywhere close to unbearably hot. All I can do is confirm this through personal experience.
Click to expand...

Really? CR saying it can't charge under heavy loads is a non-issue to you?

Edit: For the guy above me.

I've never owned a device that wouldn't charge while I was using it, it's inexcusable no matter the manufacturer.

Love the fanboy voting, Apple am perfect!
 
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theheadguy

macrumors 65816
Apr 26, 2005
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Getting warm is nowhere close to the problem of being unable to charge under a heavy load. If this is true, it's the only thing so far that has made me second-guess a purchase of the new ipad.
MacRumors said:
Potentially more interesting is Consumer Reports' note that their new iPad didn't charge at all when the game was running. In fact, the battery continued to drain slightly under the extremely heavy CPU and GPU load from Infinity Blade II. It's seems that under extremely heavy processor usage, the iPad is unable to draw sufficient power from its USB connection to both power the device and charge the battery simultaneously.
Click to expand...
It's quotes like this that make some MR articles annoying to read. "Extremely heavy CPU and GPU load" and "extremely heavy processor usage" cause the iPad to be unable to charge during use. I think the real news here is there are findings that allege it cannot successfully run an extremely popular game and charge at the same time (actually, it's worse than that). I guess it's which way you want to spin it, really. Like reading about the same event on MSNBC vs Fox News. The same news, spun totally different ways.
 
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Richdmoore

Richdmoore

macrumors 68000
Jul 24, 2007
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That's kind of disappointing that it won't charge under a heavy load. Hopefully apple can come up with some way to fix this issue, such as a more robust charger.

At the end of the day, I guess it still isn't too big an issue because of the large battery already in the iPad, and the fact that most of use it untethered and just recharge when not in use.
 
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lhotka

macrumors regular
Jun 9, 2008
212
0
I saw the charging issue when using a 5w supply, but the 10w supply seems to always be able to charge it, though it is very slow to charge when running.

I wonder if CR had it plugged into a PC (most are only 5w ports), or had accidentally used an old 5w ipod charger (they look the same) like I did.

Even on a 10w supply though, the charging time is significantly longer. You won't be 'topping off' in between plane flights, particularly if you have it turned on.
 
Macopotamus

Macopotamus

macrumors regular
Jun 22, 2010
186
0
The heat thing isn't surprising but I bet Apple will work it out within a month or two and nobody will notice it anymore.

What IS fascinating is that the iPad won't charge when under heavy use, that seems like a potentially real problem.
 
Caliber26

Caliber26

macrumors 68020
Sep 25, 2009
2,325
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Consumer Reports findings remind me of that nagging advice you got as a teenager. In one ear and out the other. Ultimately, you're going to go with what looks and feels good regardless of what has to be said about it.

Their findings on the last two iPhones and now this new iPad have been less than stellar praise but clearly that has no impact on the masses.
 
iScott428

iScott428

macrumors regular
Feb 23, 2011
230
0
Orlando, FL
While plugged in and running a graphic and processing intensive game our report shows that the iPad gets hot. CR might as well slap this report on any rechargeable device ever made.

I too question their charging method, were they using a 2.1 Amp charger?
Laptops can only output max 1 Amp from USB and you expect to actually get a charge while running it at full power. Understand things people or at least try too.
 
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aka777

macrumors 6502a
Mar 13, 2012
858
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I'd like to hear from all the geniuses who claimed some puny iphone charger will charge it without any issues.
 
Cynicalone

Cynicalone

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Jul 9, 2008
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Okie land
Yes I posted this days ago in the iPad forum.

It will not charge under a heavy load.

The 10W charger is just not powerful enough. The Air uses a charger that is 4 times larger for a battery of near equal size.
 
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carletonguy

macrumors member
Jun 19, 2009
82
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Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9B176 Safari/7534.48.3)

I noticed the charging problem. I'm going to call Ape and see what they say. I plugged my iPad into my computer during initial setup / syncing and noticed I actually lost 2% power in that hour.

If this is the case, I'll be returning mine!
 
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wallysb01

macrumors 68000
Jun 30, 2011
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Apple recommends not using the iPad in environments over 95 degrees.
Click to expand...

Rules out using it outside in the summer months in maybe 1/3 of the country... Certainly here in PHX.
 
Velin

Velin

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Jul 23, 2008
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Concerning the "heat," this is a non-issue. Laptops run warmer than this. I have two iPad 3s, heat simply is not an issue with either of them.

No comment on the charging under load issue.
 
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DTphonehome

macrumors 68000
Apr 4, 2003
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Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9B176 Safari/7534.48.3)

Wtf is CR's beef with Apple?
 
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doboy

macrumors 68040
Jul 6, 2007
3,765
2,932
I guess Consumer Reports won't recommend the new iPad because of this "excessive" heating. :rolleyes:
CR is a joke.
 
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tommy060289

macrumors regular
Jun 20, 2011
146
21
lhotka said:
I saw the charging issue when using a 5w supply, but the 10w supply seems to always be able to charge it, though it is very slow to charge when running.

I wonder if CR had it plugged into a PC (most are only 5w ports), or had accidentally used an old 5w ipod charger (they look the same) like I did.

Even on a 10w supply though, the charging time is significantly longer. You won't be 'topping off' in between plane flights, particularly if you have it turned on.
Click to expand...

Thats what I came here to say. When they say USB are they referring to plugging in to a computer rather than a proper iPad charger.

Ive mentioned before that in some ways I was surprised that apple didn't up the charger from 10 W to say 20 W when it came out that recharge time was about 6 hours, but then again I suspect its Apple not wanting to have multiple chargers seemingly the same but for different devices.

Also, the heating is an absolute non-issue (assuming reliability is unaffected) I have my iPad in a case and it certainly doesn't heat like having a laptop on your lap does so I don't see what the heating issue is!
 
Patriot24

Patriot24

macrumors 68030
Dec 29, 2010
2,813
805
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Quick! Find something wrong with it! We must nitpick some minor detail to show that it isn't perfect!

Oh..what's that? People are still going to buy them in mass quantities anyway? Oh ok.
 
nagromme

nagromme

macrumors G5
May 2, 2002
12,546
1,196
So, if you play Infinity Blade II plugged in, the battery will still drain, but does it still take in power do it does not drain as fast as unplugged? A further test is needed: how many HOURS of Infinity Blade II can I play non-stop? What’s the worst-case maximum? :p Another possibility is that it’s the heat itself that makes charging pause: charging is a heat source of its own.
 
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androiphone

macrumors 65816
Dec 13, 2009
1,000
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the charging thing might be a problem once in a blue moon but most people will just charge it over night or at least won't be playing heavy games for ages while in game.

as for the 'heat' problem, when I read 10 degrees I thought 'that's a lot' until I found out it was in Fahrenheit, which basically translates to about 5 degrees centigrade which is barely nothing.

I mean 33 degrees C that's not exactly a lot, my computer will hit 60 C+ easily and while I understand they are not the 'exact same' as mobile CPU/GPUs get more powerful more heat is to be expected, it's at hotter than body temperature I would draw the line.
 
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nippyjun

macrumors 68000
Jul 26, 2007
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The newer macbook pro's don't charge up while under heavy load.

But keeping it charged while under heavy load, like the ipad 3, prevents the battery's charge from dropping much.

It's a non-issue.
 
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