Incremental Upgrade? Are you insane?

[sportsfrk214]

I've been absolutely shocked at the host of people calling this an "incremental" upgrade, worthy of the name iPad 2S. And it's not just people on this forum - I've seen countless websites (CNET, Yahoo, etc) say the same thing. I honestly don't understand where they get the nerve to call it an incremental upgrade.

What constitutes a major upgrade nowadays? How can you completely reinvent a product that is already amazing and class leading? I mean I seriously don't know what people expect. Will they only consider it a "major" upgrade if it looks different? How different can you make the iPad look? There's not a whole lot you can do.

So many people have said "aside from the screen, they haven't done much." That like saying with a car, "aside from the completely new engine, they haven't done much." The screen is the single most important feature on a device like this and Apple has blown us all away with the single greatest screen ever seen on a mobile device, an incredible achievement that is impossible to replicate on this scale right now by any other company. To brush this off as no big deal is amazing.

I'd also argue 4G is a pretty big feature. I understand 4G isn't available in all areas, but it's expanding rapidly, and for those who have access, this offers immeasurably faster connection speeds. They also updates the GPU to allow 4 times greater performance.

And despite all these new power-guzzling features, Apple has incredibly been able to maintain that industry-leading 10 hour battery life. This has been completely overlooked and shouldn't be, as mentioned by Angry-Birds (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1336519). It takes a lot of extra power to run a screen with 4 times as many pixels, and to not suffer in the battery department is a remarkable achievement. I think Apple has very quietly started reinventing their battery technology.

Sorry for the rant but I just find it sickening that so many people are brushing off the iPad 3 as an incremental upgrade. I mean seriously, what would it have taken for you to consider it a major upgrade? A new design? How much better can the design get? And even if it was made better, it's not as important as what Apple has done here. And technically they did redesign it - with the most amazing screen ever!

Stop with the ridiculously high expectations for new Apple products and then calling anything less a "mediocre" or "disappointing" upgrade. This is a major upgrade for the iPad and solidifies it as the tablet to have.

/End of rant

 

[profets]

Agreed. I've seen so many articles as well and so many people criticizing Apple.

I can understand people getting excited about a new physical design with phones each year, but this type of product can't really change much. I mean its a slab of glass with (currently) a beautifully thin aluminum back. This type of product may slowly get into a routine like the iMac and Macbooks. They really don't need design overhauls every year.

 

[lilcosco08]

People calling this an incremental update are likely iPad 2 owners trying to reassure themselves. It's sad, really.

 

[rmhop81]

I've been absolutely shocked at the host of people calling this an "incremental" upgrade, worthy of the name iPad 2S. And it's not just people on this forum - I've seen countless websites (CNET, Yahoo, etc) say the same thing. I honestly don't understand where they get the nerve to call it an incremental upgrade.

What constitutes a major upgrade nowadays? How can you completely reinvent a product that is already amazing and class leading? I mean I seriously don't know what people expect. Will they only consider it a "major" upgrade if it looks different? How different can you make the iPad look? There's not a whole lot you can do.

So many people have said "aside from the screen, they haven't done much." That like saying with a car, "aside from the completely new engine, they haven't done much." The screen is the single most important feature on a device like this and Apple has blown us all away with the single greatest screen ever seen on a mobile device, an incredible achievement that is impossible to replicate on this scale right now by any other company. To brush this off as no big deal is amazing.

I'd also argue 4G is a pretty big feature. I understand 4G isn't available in all areas, but it's expanding rapidly, and for those who have access, this offers immeasurably faster connection speeds. They also updates the GPU to allow 4 times greater performance.

And despite all these new power-guzzling features, Apple has incredibly been able to maintain that industry-leading 10 hour battery life. This has been completely overlooked and shouldn't be, as mentioned by Angry-Birds (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1336519). It takes a lot of extra power to run a screen with 4 times as many pixels, and to not suffer in the battery department is a remarkable achievement. I think Apple has very quietly started reinventing their battery technology.

Sorry for the rant but I just find it sickening that so many people are brushing off the iPad 3 as an incremental upgrade. I mean seriously, what would it have taken for you to consider it a major upgrade? A new design? How much better can the design get? And even if it was made better, it's not as important as what Apple has done here. And technically they did redesign it - with the most amazing screen ever!

Stop with the ridiculously high expectations for new Apple products and then calling anything less a "mediocre" or "disappointing" upgrade. This is a major upgrade for the iPad and solidifies it as the tablet to have.

/End of rant

then why didn't you get a 4g model????

 

[Ryan1524]

I'd like to see real world tests for that supposedly same battery life.

Many 4G devices on the Android side are suffering in this area.

 

[insomnie]

Remember when people talked **** about iPad name? LOL
Who is laughing now. Honestly they can say whatever they want right now. Read the same websites in a few months and look how they change their story.

 

[rmhop81]

Agreed. I've seen so many articles as well and so many people criticizing Apple.

I can understand people getting excited about a new physical design with phones each year, but this type of product can't really change much. I mean its a slab of glass with (currently) a beautifully thin aluminum back. This type of product may slowly get into a routine like the iMac and Macbooks. They really don't need design overhauls every year.

the problem is they like to hype up every little thing they do. So a lot of people wanting tons of upgrades bc apple has over hyped the event...then they show up and give 2 new features....

Don't over hype. Do silent upgrades and they wouldn't have this problem.

 

[eclipseblur954]

Remember when people talked **** about iPad name? LOL
Who is laughing now. Honestly they can say whatever they want right now. Read the same websites in a few months and look how they change their story.

yup, remember all the crap talk about the 4s upgrade? look at those sites now

 

[derek1984]

I didn't buy iPad 1. iPad 2 didn't have enough features for me to get it. I finally broke down and bought iPad 3. This was the update I've waited for. The retina screen was the deal clincher. A now perfect device, at least to me.

 

[sportsfrk214]

People calling this an incremental update are likely iPad 2 owners trying to reassure themselves. It's sad, really.

Exactly

then why didn't you get a 4g model????

Because for my personal use I don't need constant connectivity on my iPad, or at least not bad enough to drop an extra $130 for the device and then $30 for any month that I want to use it. But just because I don't use it doesn't discredit the fact that it's a large new feature for many people.

 

[ZBoater]

Imagine how boring Macrumors would be if nobody whined and complained about SOMETHING. I mean, admit it, this can be very entertaining at times...

 

[SupraSaiyan]

Thanks for typing up exactly my thought! Agreed!

 

[jbrady3324]

Call it whatever you want, but it is not a major upgrade. It is like a car.. yearly updates and then every 4-6 years a major design change.

 

[rmhop81]

Exactly



Because for my personal use I don't need constant connectivity on my iPad, or at least not bad enough to drop an extra $130 for the device and then $30 for any month that I want to use it. But just because I don't use it doesn't discredit the fact that it's a large new feature for many people.

there are plenty of people that don't understand why people are still buying up the iPad 2. It's your same point....it's all about personal preference. Plenty of people are saying you NEED to buy iPad 3 and iPad 2 is a waste of money...yes for some it is. Just something funny I noticed.

 

[AllenA07]

Incremental or not this is still the best tablet on the market right now. I had wanted an Android tablet but had no luck in finding one as highly regarded as the iPad. From my position at least, this was enough of an upgrade to convince somebody who is a bit of an Android fan boy to defect to Apple for a tablet.

 

[kaplanfx]

Will they only consider it a "major" upgrade if it looks different?

It's pretty much exactly this. They could have released a device that ONLY had an upgraded camera. Then if they bumped the processor speed and renamed it A6 (same architecture, same graphics) and put the whole thing in a new different looking case, it would have been A REVOLUTIONARY UPGRADE!?!?

Most people writing about it haven't seen or touched the device (I haven't), but the screen improvements alone, if they are anything like the iPhone 3GS -> 4 difference, should be amazing.

-kap

 

[profets]

the problem is they like to hype up every little thing they do. So a lot of people wanting tons of upgrades bc apple has over hyped the event...then they show up and give 2 new features....

Don't over hype. Do silent upgrades and they wouldn't have this problem.

What did they hype up? I can understand last fall when the media overhyped rumors about the 'iPhone 5' and new design and we got the 4S, but this new iPad is a pretty major upgrade. I mean what more do people want out of it?

New cpu, gpu, battery, camera, incredible screen, improved networking.. And quite a bit of new software as well... So I really don't see how Apple hyped it all up and showed up with 2 new features.

 

[jbrady3324]

Like I said.. it is like a yearly release of a car... you can't expect revolutionary changes year to year. Those changes happen every few years.

The big difference is car buyers understand this, while apple fanatics do not. They expect revolutionary changes every year.

 

[SR45]

Couple of years ago, I laughed at the original iPad, and said to myself I would never buy one, who needs one. Fast forward 1 1/2 years, got a Toshiba Thrive for one day, returned it and wanted the Samsung Galaxy tablet instead, but held off for awhile to see what was coming up. Got the New iPad and wondered if anyone nearby remembered my rant against Apples iPad and now have to eat Crow. Glad I waited and glad I returned the Toshiba tablet. The spec's are just right for me and others.

Should be a keeper for two years and get the replacement then. Happy camper now

 

[Kendo]

the problem is they like to hype up every little thing they do. So a lot of people wanting tons of upgrades bc apple has over hyped the event...then they show up and give 2 new features....

Don't over hype. Do silent upgrades and they wouldn't have this problem.

You're right. Apple absolutely hyped up this whole event. They kept their mouth shut for a year after the iPad 2 launched and sent out a single invite a few weeks ago for an event on March 7. That is totally the same thing as making TV ads 6 months before it comes out, creating huge banners throughout every major city, and spamming websites with advertisements saying the iPad 3 will revolutionize the world.

Let me ask you, what exactly did Apple do to over hype this? It seems to me they did the same thing they always do. Not give out a single piece of information until they are ready to unveil a product. And now they will go back into their cave and not give a single piece of information on the iPad 4 until a year from now when they again, release an invite for another Apple keynote.

 

[jbrady3324]

You're right. Apple absolutely hyped up this whole event. They kept their mouth shut for a year after the iPad 2 launched and sent out a single invite a few weeks ago for an event on March 7. That is totally the same thing as making TV adds 6 months before it comes out, creating huge banners throughout every major city, and spamming websites with advertisements saying the iPad 3 will revolutionize the world.

Let me ask you, what exactly did Apple do to over hype this? It seems to me they did the same thing they always do. Not give out a single piece of information until they are ready to unveil a product. And now they will go back into their cave and not give a single piece of information on the iPad 4 until a year from now when they again, release an invite for another Apple keynote.

The problem is not that Apple hypes it up, it is people's expectations and in turn they are the ones who hype it up. It only gets worse when apple spits out their marketing spin during the event and says "It is amazing".. and this feature is amazing too!! Those people with the high expectations are then completely let down because that is not their definition of amazing

 

[Kendo]

The problem is not that Apple hypes it up, it is people's expectations and in turn they are the ones who hype it up. It only gets worse when apple spits out their marketing spin during the event and says "It is amazing".. and this feature is amazing too!! Those people with the high expectations are then completely let down because that is not their definition of amazing

That is my point. I don't know why the guy I quoted is blaming Apple for "over hyping" something and failing to deliver when all they do is say, "Hey guys, we have a new product. Here it is. Okay bye, you won't hear another word from us until a year from now. Hope you enjoy what we brought out."

It isn't them that is hyping the products. It is the people and us. How can you blame Apple for that?

 

[SteveAbootman]

These are my thoughts exactly OP. Thanks for taking the time to type it up. Coming from an iPad 1st gen, this upgrade is going to be amazing!

 

[tonyy]

It all comes down to looks. The form factor is relatively the same therefore people bash on it.

It's pretty much form>function in today's society.

 

[urkel]

What constitutes a major upgrade nowadays? How can you completely reinvent a product that is already amazing and class leading? I mean I seriously don't know what people expect. Will they only consider it a "major" upgrade if it looks different? How different can you make the iPad look? There's not a whole lot you can do.

IMO, a "major" upgrade isn't about aesthetics, or enhancements or power, but instead a Major Upgrade is about doing something new. And while the new iPad is an absolutely amazing machine, it still only enhances the current feature set of the previous generation.


If that is enough to make someone feel its "a major upgrade" then thats fine with me, but I don't know if all this hostility is deserved towards people who only recognize it as an evolutionary update.