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

[russofris]

Thoughts of a first time iPad owner.

The iPad becomes noticeably warm, though not enough to be an issue for me (NE US weather). I could see it being an issue during the one summer week that it hits 100f. We'll have to wait and see how it works out. Charging hasn't really been a problem for me (USB to iPad Dock), though my use has been limited to approximately 3 hours/day.

Oversimplification: For every watt of power that goes into a device, the same amount of heat comes out. Apple probably has a bit of room to mitigate the thermal issue via various power management tweaks. Ultimately, any PM tweak that reduces power use will reduce heat, increase battery duration, and reduce the time a device takes to charge while operational.

My only real complaint so far is the lack of quality that I am experiencing in the third party applications. My FIOS guide crashes regularly when viewing the TV listings, the Pocoyo application I purchased for my 2-year-old has a single fun game out of five. While this is not really Apple's problem, I have to say that I expected more from a number of applications.

I am pleased with a couple applications (most notably, HBO-Go) and am extremely pleased with the included camera applications and hardware capabilities.

 

[joelvega125]

Tim Cook clearly stated in his key note that tablets are post PC. His plans for Apple includes phasing out computers all together. If tablets are considered to be the next "computer" in a post PC world, then we can expect to have many more problems. Over time they will be perfected and everybody will forget how many problems the iPad used to have.

Problems like what? Not having the awesome feature of being able to melt your display and fry your battery just so everyone can say the iPad charges and can play Infinity Blade simultaneously? Give me a break

 

[ctdonath]

[Tim Cook's] plans for Apple includes phasing out computers all together.

Gotta create content on something.

 

[kas23]

Glad I didn't get it. It also seems CR has broken free of the RDF.

 

[tigres]

Steve would never have allowed this kind of solution from Apple.

Apple is doing every mistake like they did when Steve left last time. The problem is that it will be hard to reinstate Steve this time.

The A5X SoC is a desperate SoC. A last minute filler since TSMC could not produce enough A6s. A redesign of A6 to Samsung nodes takes about 6 month, and not even they have 28nm online.

The A5X is a mess. Its huge. Almost the size of a dual core Sandy Bridge. It cost Apple 5 times more to manufacture A5X then Tegra2 and more then twice the cost of Tegra3. And Tegra3 biggest drawback is its price and that its a huge SoC. But A5X is TWICE as large.

The whole thing about ARM is 10mm2 CPUs. Somehow A5X is almost 170mm2, most of the area Graphics cores. Apple even had to put the extra memory in an odd place.

This will lead to a strange problem. The Iphone will have a faster SoC then Ipad. How will Apple explain that?
Or will Apple continue with their Post Jobs world and do a SoC bump on the Ipad? The A6 will be much cheaper for Apple to produce. I think its a huge chance for a SoC bump.

Apple could have solved this mess by buying its own Foundry and not have to be dependent on TSMC/Samsung/GloFo. It would have cost less then 1 dividend.

We have seen the turning point of Apple. Just like in 1985.
Its sad, because there is no competition at this point. Not if I want elegance, great designed hardware and innovation.

I think your spot on. This A5X chip is just not right. The gave LTE but no A6, and bets are A6 will be in the next iPhone. Unless they save face.

 

[IzzyJG99]

I'd like to hear from all the geniuses who claimed some puny iphone charger will charge it without any issues.

I thought my iPad 2 died recently. I was all ready to call Applecare and demand a new iPad 2 (It's a few months old) and then I was like "OH.....I was using the iPhone 4 charger." It charges it but slower than a round of golf on the Senior PGA tour.

I am a bit alarmed at the high differences in the heat. It's a bit alarming, really. If it's something (tablet) that you are holding and it's...uncomfortably hot then people aren't going to be using it, maybe. I can't help but think maybe they should've waited for the A6 or maybe tried to figure out some better way of powering the GPU's.

 

[shompa]

I think that the main reason that apple have not gone full 4 core CPU is because of heating concerns.

The design of the iPad is a fully enclosed case, with no vents or fan. This is what we want, for a mobile device really, a compromise of raw CPU power for the benefit of lightness, coolness and long battery performance...

The MacBook design is great at managing heat, with either single (13 inch) or dual (15/17 inch fans, with heatsinks.

The think that would worry me if I had an iPad3 would be the effect of enclosed heat from a CPU with no heatsink, not on my lap, but on the inner hardware of the device it's self. Too much uneven heat can cause problems with printed circuit boards. Over time, too much (unmanaged) heat can promote mother board failures. Nothing that I have seen of the tear downs show that the hardware design is managing the heat from the A5X seriously. Yes, they have put a metal heat cap of the chip, but that is to protect the chip it's self, not the solder joints around it..

No.
4 CPU have nothing to do with heat.

The problem with the A5X SoC is that its huge and use very old 45nm process technology. The A5X is a mess. A desperate plan B that went into effect when something else went wrong.

Look at Tegra3. Nvidia solved its 4 CPU cores very elegant with a 5th ninja Core. On average the Tegra3 draws less power then the dual core Tegra 2. To bad that the graphic in Tegra3 is slow.

Apple have worked for years with the A6 SoC based around ARM15. ARM15 is a native quad core SoC that draws the same amount of power like a dual core. Apple had a tapeout of A6 at TSMC and got back test wafers mid 2011. And another batch of test wafers in sept/october.

Apple have already test devices with this SoC. Screen shots of booting with four cores have already leaked.

On of Apples problem by being successful is that they need a huge amount of SoCs. You have to order your wafers 6 month in advance. So lets say that Apple knew in september that TSMC A6 wont be ready.
Apple had to redesign something for wafers they already have ordered from Samsung in 45nm = the A5X.

The only good thing about A5X is that it wont fit inside an Iphone.

This is also one of the few times Apple uses brute force instead of an elegant solution. ARMs benefit is that its small and draws small amount of power. Cortex 9 is about 10mm2. The A5X is almost 170mm2.

Nvidia have huge problems with Tegra3. Its huge. Nvidia needs to get about 50 dollar per SoC to have margins. 50 dollars is real expensive in a world where SoCs usually cost 20-25 dollars.

Apple don't need to have any margins on their SoC. One huge benefit of doing stuff Inhouse. Its still hard to manufacture these huge SoCs under 50 dollars. That is twice of A5. Apple is eating this cost.

3 million Ipads x 25 dollars more cost for SoC = already 75 million Apple have "lost".

This is Intel's chance. Even X86 can do great things with a huge die area like 170mm2. Especially since Intel have 22nm production. That is 3 nodes ahead of A5X.

Apple maybe should buy 20% of Intel so that they can use Intels 22 nm fabs. It would pay off in the long run. Apple could even buy AMD and use their X86 license and build it on Intels fabs.

 

[Scott6666]

You have it backwards. They can make a hardware change that will allow a higher rate of charge (subject to limits on the iPad connector) and they can supply a higher watt charger. The iPad will then charge under extreme use but the temperature problem will get much worse.

The temperature issue is a matter of physics and even Apple can not ignore the laws of physics. The more power you put into a device = the more heat that needs to be dissipated. There is little they can do unless they add an internal fan and cooling ducts.

I think it's perfectly acceptable for Apple to require that you recharge the iPad in the refrigerator with the new 320W power adapter for a 1 hour charging time.

I for one would be happy to buy a new Apple refrigerator with an in-ice-box iPad connector. Our current refrigerator is getting old anyway.

 

[dohspc]

I found that my MacBook Pro (2011) would not charge this iPad with the screen on nor would it charge it fast like it did with the iPad 2. I have switched over to the 10W adapter. Battery tech needs to evolve asap

 

[koobcamuk]

Please can you state either ℃ or Fahrenheit? It should be in ℃ for scientific reasons, but reading the article makes it very unclear, but I'll assume Fahrenheit

 

[sectime]

I found that if I use it while plugged in (standard 10W charger), the iPad will charge, but at a very low rate (<5% per hour). I'm talking about general use- not an Infinity Blade session. In practical terms, you can't expect to charge it while in use. You can maintain your current charge level, but that's about it. It would take several hours to boost the charge by any meaningful amount.

This is a non-trivial reduction in functionality.

What loss of functionality?? Let's see Ipad2 25 watt-hour battery New iPad 42.5 watt-hour battery. Same 10 watt charger. Same run time spec in both models.
Maybe the new model uses more power ya think?? Again how is this a problem?? Smaller battery charges faster than larger battery, Now that's news

 

[koobcamuk]

Not trying to invoke the name of Jobs as an extreme, but I really don't think he would've tolerated all the compromises of this iPad. The larger thickness, the heat, the charging, all very "non-Apple".

Apple products have always stood head and shoulders above the rest because of little refinements that make the product simple and a joy to use. This iPad seems to take a step back from that.

Original MacBook Air? Cube?

 

[faroZ06]

"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?

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

It's USB's limitation on how much current can go through. The iPad is powered by USB that can't actually support it. Have 2 USB ports ?

 

[Hawkeye411]

10 Hour Battery Life

The battery lasts so long that I can't imagine ever using it while it's plugged in. I'm on my 3rd iPad and I have never used or while plugged in. Charge it every few nights and I'm good to go.

 

[Maschil]

hey folks.....after 45 minutes of inifinity blade ii, take a break, get a life....i hear there is a 3d world outside with incredible retina graphics.

classic

 

[faroZ06]

What about USB 3? It's not slow.

USB 3 is slower than FireWire and still provides less power. Also, more importantly, barely anything uses it. FireWire is actually more common than USB 3.0 (not a fact, but just from experience). So once 2.0 is no longer possible to use, would the companies go to USB 3.0? By then, I'm thinking that Apple will have taken over even more, and they already oppose and do not support USB 3.0.

Besides, all versions of USB use computer resources, where FireWire is true peer-to-peer.

 

[kimhill]

What loss of functionality??

You can no longer top off your battery while using the iPad.

Pretty simple.

 

[waloshin]

"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?

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

To save the device for heating even more under heavy load the iPad wont change. It wont charge if the batteries are too hot either.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

There is so much FUD in your statement I don't know where to begin...

Steve would never have allowed this kind of solution from Apple.

Apple is doing every mistake like they did when Steve left last time. The problem is that it will be hard to reinstate Steve this time.

The A5X SoC is a desperate SoC. A last minute filler since TSMC could not produce enough A6s. A redesign of A6 to Samsung nodes takes about 6 month, and not even they have 28nm online.

The A5X is a mess. Its huge. Almost the size of a dual core Sandy Bridge. It cost Apple 5 times more to manufacture A5X then Tegra2 and more then twice the cost of Tegra3. And Tegra3 biggest drawback is its price and that its a huge SoC. But A5X is TWICE as large.

The whole thing about ARM is 10mm2 CPUs. Somehow A5X is almost 170mm2, most of the area Graphics cores. Apple even had to put the extra memory in an odd place.

This will lead to a strange problem. The Iphone will have a faster SoC then Ipad. How will Apple explain that?
Or will Apple continue with their Post Jobs world and do a SoC bump on the Ipad? The A6 will be much cheaper for Apple to produce. I think its a huge chance for a SoC bump.

Apple could have solved this mess by buying its own Foundry and not have to be dependent on TSMC/Samsung/GloFo. It would have cost less then 1 dividend.

We have seen the turning point of Apple. Just like in 1985.
Its sad, because there is no competition at this point. Not if I want elegance, great designed hardware and innovation.

 

[chatin]

Consumer Reports is blowing smoke

There are no stability issues here whatsoever. The thing is rock solid. I've used unstable Android products and this one blows me away with the high performance screen.

 

[k1121j]

Wont charge at all

my brother called an apple store his won't charge after just a few days use when the iPads is plugged in to its charger and the screen locked it slowly drains and or says not charging. they asked him NOT to bring it in to the Apple Store they want it mailed directly to them and they are overnighting him a replacement asap. hmm

Ii know the charger and cable is working because it charges the iPad 2 just fine. Today after he left it on the charger for 24 hrs it went to 100% and with no use it stayed that way all day long. he took screen shots every hour for apple.

Screen Shots
http://flic.kr/ps/2awkcU

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

Gotta create content on something.

Yes - on non-PC devices. What's so difficult to understand?

 

[tigres]

There is so much FUD in your statement I don't know where to begin...

You forgot to begin to explain.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

It's so very odd that I've been able to use my new iPad while plugged in and it charges perfectly fine. Perhaps those who are having issues are not following Apple's instructions by using the CHARGER and instead are plugged into a PC's USB port?

----------

You forgot to begin to explain.

Some idiot comes in here acting like he has inside information, proclaims that the A5x is "desperate" without any justification for his comments, and I have to explain what exactly?

 

[clibinarius]

*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.

My iPad can lose battery when plugged in under heavy load, not just not charge. You can run out of battery and shut down. I'm sure can be patched, because it doesn't seem to draw ANYTHING out of the USB in such a circumstance.