Am I the only iPad 3rd Gen owner one who doesn't care about the iPad 4th Gen?

[UmbraDiaboli]

Am I the only iPad 3rd Gen owner one who doesn't care about the iPad 4th Gen?

I upgrade my devices when they change their design (iPhone every 2 years, and Mac every 3.5 - 4 years), because TBH, upgrading for an insignificant speed bump is dumb (for a user like me who just listens to music, watches movies, browses the web, and works on documents).

The iPad 3 is my first iPad and I love it. I bought it because of the retina display, and as soon as I did, I knew I would not buy a new iPad until a significant change in its design was made.

With the iPad 3 I can read books and comics with sharp images and text, I can listen to music, browse the web, etc. And everything is absolutely smooth - So I'm very surprised to see people saying that the iPad 3 is sluggish at times; maybe the performance of games such as Galaxy on Fire 2 which require a lot of power do run at a lower frame rate than the iPad 2 as the machine is rendering double the pixels (I've got no idea, I don't really use it for gaming)... but the simple fun games I download and play run flawlessly.

Back to my main point - This new iPad has the same design as my current 3rd Gen. However, the design of the iPad mini is completely different to that of the iPad, and it resembles the iPhone 5 - So the 4th Gen iPad seems more like an iPad 3S (as I mentioned on another thread) and I think we should expect a refresh in the iPad's design sometime soon. For this reason it isn't worth the upgrade IMO.

If you keep chasing technology you will never catch-up and will always be disappointed (so I see why many of you are raging). If you don't care about these minor speed bumps (as frankly, they are silly for the regular user) and chase design then you'll be fine and happy.

Cheers

 

[mac jones]

No, most people won't care. An upgrade will only make sense from a lower model.

Unless of course you are rich.

 

[Holmes093]

Personally I didn't expect the upgrade to be so good...
2x CPU Speed
2x Graphic Performance (I think was mentioned)
Improved Wireless
Improved Cellular
None of these warrant an upgrade for me though

But hey it has a dock connector that has very little accessories yet, I don't see this as a negative because it will now spark more accessory manufacturers to get some products churning and well LTE in the UK at the moment is just non-existent (yeah EE and all that, it's still not here).

However I really do like the look of the iPad mini and the price point but no retina? After all the retina praise towards the Macbook Pro's.... Hmmm saving features for the next gen me thinks.

 

[HowardSmith]

Most will care

 

[Medic311]

the A6X is badly needed.

the A5X can barely handle the retina screen and other tasks without hiccuping rather frequently

 

[Coasterfanryan]

I love my 3rd gen. I have no reason to upgrade.

 

[ReallyBigFeet]

Of course it matters! Anyone who owns a 3 and says it doesn't matter is just trying to save face and protect their fragile egos. Anyone who owns a 2 or 1 is already an outcast from the Apple community so their feelings are irrelevant, other than those who get with the program and upgrade to the 4th Gen. To those, I say welcome back but you must wear your shame badge for having the momentary lapse of judgement in skipping a generation.

This is seriously important soul-defining stuff here. Its a new Apple product! Making a choice to do anything BUT fork over your credit cards and upgrade immediately is grounds for derision. Don't you realize this?

What a silly, silly thread.

 

[spcdust]

Have had an iPad 3 since launch day and have no regrets. My iPad works extremely well and will be good for another couple of years before it migrates to the children. When that time comes I, once again, will enjoy the pleasure of purchasing the current latest and greatest.

 

[UmbraDiaboli]

the A6X is badly needed.

the A5X can barely handle the retina screen and other tasks without hiccuping rather frequently

See, this is what I don't understand... How can it barely handle it? I haven't experienced a problem so far... I'm trying to understand on what situations have people experienced hiccups, what were they doing with their iPads?

 

[aperry]

I guess you might care if you're really into 3D gaming on the iPad. I there anything else that you need the spec bump for?

The iOS gaming story is kind of a let down IMO. I've tried some of the best 3D games and although I find the graphics quite impressive, the whole experience is ruined by the controls. I find myself playing the simple 2D games, which tend to be much more fun for me.

The iPad 3 feels quite snappy, and its CPU/GPU can easily handle every app that I need.

 

[Liquinn]

Time to buy an iPad 4 and Apple Tv

 

[LostSoul80]

I think the spec bump is totally overkill. The iPad 3 handles everything it does perfectly, I don't see any need of more powerful hardware today.

 

[littleredwagen]

meh, I don't care I bought my iPad 3 for reading books, netflix and surfing the internet. Does the A6X help me read faster no. But I am surrounded by IT stuff all day long so I gave up on having the latest and greatest. Two things happen when you chase that either you spend way more than you should or two you never get anything because you are waiting for the "next version"

 

[silverblack]

@OP, the only point I take away is you cared enough to write a very long post about it.

 

[ActionableMango]

Didn't you get the memo? Your iPad 3 was working perfectly last night and as of this morning, for reasons not clear to me, it is now a broken pile of steamy crap.

At least that's the gist of the nonsensical complaints I'm seeing.

 

[e²Studios]

See, this is what I don't understand... How can it barely handle it? I haven't experienced a problem so far... I'm trying to understand on what situations have people experienced hiccups, what were they doing with their iPads?

I'm with you, I bought my iPad 3 when they were released and I have yet to see in action the mysterious hicucps and lag that some people are quick to point out. I'll wait for the next revision, this one just has nothing that makes it worth the upgrade.

I mainly use my iPad for Tweetbot, FB, Safari, IM+, maybe some netflix or crunchyroll on the go. I read books using the Kindle app and some manga using Manga Rock 2. Its been the perfect living room companion as I watch a game or something on TV.

I play some light time waster games, I think Modern Combat 3 and Real Racing 2 HD are about as taxing as it gets game wise. I've never really experienced a time with my iPad that I thought it was underpowered or experiencing "hiccups".

Gaming on the iPad is not there yet, the controls are horrible and I'd much rather grab my DS or Vita for portable gaming. It's great for small time waster games though!

 

[UmbraDiaboli]

@OP, the only point I take away is you cared enough to write a very long post about it.

Well I'm bored and in the mood of offering disappointed iPad 3 users another point of view.

 

[hkfan24]

@OP, the only point I take away is you cared enough to write a very long post about it.

Very true. It's quite a long post for someone that supposedly doesn't care.

----------

Well I'm bored and in the mood of offering disappointed iPad 3 users another point of view.

Understandable.

 

[henjin]

We buy Apple because their product cycle is classy

Most will care

I agree.

I read the rumors and just managed to get my refund under the wire. Yes I would have cared owning a slower, hotter, older iPad3 only 17 days old if I had kept it.

Yes, most loyal Apple customers who buy upgrades more often than DELL or HP will care.

I understand why some will feel ok and insist this is the price of buying technology but boasting of how many iPads sold, a good portion of iPad3s, felt like nearly being thrown under their Big Fat Bonus Bus.

Not classy, felt like DELL.

I was lucky but most were not.

 

[Medic311]

See, this is what I don't understand... How can it barely handle it? I haven't experienced a problem so far... I'm trying to understand on what situations have people experienced hiccups, what were they doing with their iPads?

i apologize for not giving specifics.

i came to an iPad 3 from an iPad 2. the iPad 2 did everything in a very fluid motion. i became used to that.

the iPad 3 has an amazing screen, but during Metal Storm and other graphics intensive games it hiccups and motion isn't as fluid. it also hiccups while scrolling on very graphics intensive web pages, something the iPad 2 also did not do. i only notice it because of how smooth the iPad 2 was. i recognize what processing the requirements the retina screen requires, but i feel that the A5X falls short.

i am outside of my return period by a little more than 1 week. flipping this on eBay just to get the A6X is worth it to me. i couldn't care less about the other bells and whistles like the LIghtening connector, Facetime HD camera, etc. i am willing to pay a little extra so i can return to the same fluidity that i had with my iPad 2

 

[henjin]

Of course it matters! Anyone who owns a 3 and says it doesn't matter is just trying to save face and protect their fragile egos. Anyone who owns a 2 or 1 is already an outcast from the Apple community so their feelings are irrelevant, other than those who get with the program and upgrade to the 4th Gen. To those, I say welcome back but you must wear your shame badge for having the momentary lapse of judgement in skipping a generation.

This is seriously important soul-defining stuff here. Its a new Apple product! Making a choice to do anything BUT fork over your credit cards and upgrade immediately is grounds for derision. Don't you realize this?

What a silly, silly thread.

You are so right. I just managed to get my refund and I am not rich enough to buy the latest iPad3 only to have it EOL..DOA just a little over 14 days later.

Apple had to do this or face not selling any large iPads but to boast and then throw customers under the bus...makes MS Surface RT look great.

 

[Medic311]

I'm with you, I bought my iPad 3 when they were released and I have yet to see in action the mysterious hicucps and lag that some people are quick to point out. I'll wait for the next revision, this one just has nothing that makes it worth the upgrade.

I mainly use my iPad for Tweetbot, FB, Safari, IM+, maybe some netflix or crunchyroll on the go. I read books using the Kindle app and some manga using Manga Rock 2. Its been the perfect living room companion as I watch a game or something on TV.

I play some light time waster games, I think Modern Combat 3 and Real Racing 2 HD are about as taxing as it gets game wise. I've never really experienced a time with my iPad that I thought it was underpowered or experiencing "hiccups".

Gaming on the iPad is not there yet, the controls are horrible and I'd much rather grab my DS or Vita for portable gaming. It's great for small time waster games though!

as i mentioned above, i only realize the iPad 3 hiccups because i am used to the fluidity of the iPad 2 that i used to own. i always experience hiccups when playing Metal Storm where it's either an actual motion hiccup or the motion crawls then picks up again (after firing a missile, the smoke trail skips outwards instead of flowing outwards like on the iPad 2). all of the iPad 3's that i have owned have done this (i exchanged two iPad 3's before i got one without backlight bleed and pink tint). the iPad 3 also hiccups when scrolling on a graphics intensive web page, something the iPad 2 never did. i know the retina screen requires a lot of graphics processing, but the A5X barely keeps up and is not sufficient if the fluidity of the iPad 2 is benchmarked as the golden standard.

i'm not the only one who feels this way, also real world tests have proven that the iPad 2 actually loads web pages more quickly and performs tasks in a more snappy fashion. the A5X revision (from the A5) was solely just to handle the retina screen which in my opinion it handles very well...just doesn't leave much wiggle room for anything else

 

[Doesn't Matter]

The A6X processor will make a big difference.

 

[scupking]

I don't care. I have not had any performance issues with my iPad 3. Now I can't wait to see what we are going to get for iPad 5.

 

[ThatsMeRight]

Am I the only iPad 3rd Gen owner one who doesn't care about the iPad 4th Gen?

I upgrade my devices when they change their design (iPhone every 2 years, and Mac every 3.5 - 4 years), because TBH, upgrading for an insignificant speed bump is dumb (for a user like me who just listens to music, watches movies, browses the web, and works on documents).

The iPad 3 is my first iPad and I love it. I bought it because of the retina display, and as soon as I did, I knew I would not buy a new iPad until a significant change in its design was made.

With the iPad 3 I can read books and comics with sharp images and text, I can listen to music, browse the web, etc. And everything is absolutely smooth - So I'm very surprised to see people saying that the iPad 3 is sluggish at times; maybe the performance of games such as Galaxy on Fire 2 which require a lot of power do run at a lower frame rate than the iPad 2 as the machine is rendering double the pixels (I've got no idea, I don't really use it for gaming)... but the simple fun games I download and play run flawlessly.

Back to my main point - This new iPad has the same design as my current 3rd Gen. However, the design of the iPad mini is completely different to that of the iPad, and it resembles the iPhone 5 - So the 4th Gen iPad seems more like an iPad 3S (as I mentioned on another thread) and I think we should expect a refresh in the iPad's design sometime soon. For this reason it isn't worth the upgrade IMO.

If you keep chasing technology you will never catch-up and will always be disappointed (so I see why many of you are raging). If you don't care about these minor speed bumps (as frankly, they are silly for the regular user) and chase design then you'll be fine and happy.

Cheers

Hi,

What an amazing post to read how someone can be so 'cool' about something so many people are angry about.

Personally, I don't like it at all - as an iPad 3 owner - that Apple released an iPad 4. It's not that I'm angry that my iPad 3 is no longer the newest of the newest, but I'm disappointed about how 'heavily' it has been upgraded.

I couldn't care less if they updated the iPad 3 to add world-wide LTE support and the Lightning connector (after all: that's the connector for the coming decade to use).

What I don't like, is that they actually added two new - big - features. First of all, FaceTime HD. The front facing camera has been heavily improved and I feel it's something they could have added in March. It's a brand new feature and it's great to use in combination with a Retina Display.

The second thing I'm disappointed about it the A6X chip. The CPU exists out of Apple's Swift architecture (like found in the iPhone 5) and it's amazingly fast. The iPhone 5's clocked at 1.3 GHz, so the iPad 4 is clocked at, at least, 1.3 GHz but most likely 1.5 GHz. The GPU is also 'twice as fast' which would be astonishing.

This is not merely a 'small upgrade'. The A6X chip gives much better iOS software update support. It's well known: the more powerful a chip is in an iOS device, the better later software versions (iOS 6.1, iOS 7, iOS 8, etc.) will run.

Also, I'm worried that Apple will not release iOS 7 for the iPad 3. Apple usually only pushes out software updates for devices that are on sale. I think they'll release iOS 7 for the iPad 3, but iOS 8 most definitely not.

So that's the thing I'm a bit disappointed about: the A6X is extremely powerful compared to the A5X chip. Not only will it give much better performance, it also means future iOS software updates will run much, much smoother.

And again, I wouldn't have had a problem with it if Apple announced an iPad 4 with only two changes: the Lightning connector and world-wide LTE support. The A6X chip, however, is huge.

Thanks for reading.