When I first got it I would of said no. But after using it for a week now I'd say yes. I love it. I love the 4g, love the increase in ram and of course love the screen.
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iPad 2 to iPad 3. Worth the upgrade?
- Thread starter act1980
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Does the iPad 2 do what you need it to do?
Yes: then don't upgrade, get next years model
No: then upgrade
Mostly: describe the problems you have and see if the new model is more appropriate for your use case.
I have a first gen, have friends with second gens, and now own a third gen.
Third gen is far superior for iPhone apps. Rather than a blocky mess if the iPhone app supports retina displays the new model will upscale much cleaner.
Third gen has enough memory that switching between multiple tabs and multiple apps rarely incurs a penalty. This is huge for me since I'm almost never doing just one thing at a time. I have been using the iPad for a week now without the need to even open my laptop, I can do everything on the iPad that I need.
The screen is great, but you knew that already.
Yes: then don't upgrade, get next years model
No: then upgrade
Mostly: describe the problems you have and see if the new model is more appropriate for your use case.
I have a first gen, have friends with second gens, and now own a third gen.
Third gen is far superior for iPhone apps. Rather than a blocky mess if the iPhone app supports retina displays the new model will upscale much cleaner.
Third gen has enough memory that switching between multiple tabs and multiple apps rarely incurs a penalty. This is huge for me since I'm almost never doing just one thing at a time. I have been using the iPad for a week now without the need to even open my laptop, I can do everything on the iPad that I need.
The screen is great, but you knew that already.
I decided to buy an iPad2 32Gb 3G with the $100 discount since apple will only sell the 16Gb models from now on...I played with both and decided the $100 was money worth saving on the new version for a years wait to see what the fourth one brings = this was also coming from an original iPad.
Also being in Japan the 4G networks are either nonexistent or don't work well.
If I want high res I'm on my i7 2600k Pc with its ATi 6970 GPU and 16Gb RAM!
Also being in Japan the 4G networks are either nonexistent or don't work well.
If I want high res I'm on my i7 2600k Pc with its ATi 6970 GPU and 16Gb RAM!
Yes, only because i bought iPad 2 at launch, sold it on just before Christmas for pretty much the same price i bought it for and then bought the iPad 3 at this years launch for the same price with the same money. For me that = free upgrade.
If I hadnt sold my iPad 2 would it be worth buying the iPad 3 for the full extra cost? No way!
If I hadnt sold my iPad 2 would it be worth buying the iPad 3 for the full extra cost? No way!
Exactly my point! I went from the 2 to the 3 for the screen. But you were saying that jumping from the 1 to the 3 was a no-brainer, but from the 2 to the 3 wasn't worth it. And yes, it is a bigger leap from the 1 to 3 for performance and browsing issues, but it's not that much bigger. I went from the 2 to the 3 and I am as thrilled as you are...Because of the screen.
The performance isn't that much greater form 1 to 3? Just wondering as i am looking to upgrade.
Some applications will open 2-3 seconds faster but in general, once an application has started, the performance will be the same unless you are playing heavy graphically intense games that require more GPU power.
For web browsing, most games, reading eBooks and apps, the performance is negligible.
The most noticable upgrade is the screen but not a huge performance increase.
IMO, next year will be a new more efficient CPU/GPU with lower power requirements that will resolve the heat issue with the larger battery with better performance.
Probably ligher and smaller as well.
The CPU core between the 2 and new iPad are about identical. 3 got a GPU bump in specs.
iPad2 = A5 CPU
new iPad = A5x CPU
Agreed .. For me I have an unlimited data plan grandfathered from the original iPad ... The retina display and LTE made me upgrade .. I sold my iPad 2 on Craigslist and was able to get the new one for $300. I am so glad I did! Very happy with the new version!
The screen needs to be seen. If you have not compared them side by side or own a iPad 3, you will not know the difference.
Colors do seem more overall vibrant on my ipad3 than iPad2 and text is amazingly sharp.
There is warm tone overall on the iPad3, but someone suggested in a thread a great test. Open a website that has text with white borders and put the iPad 3 on it. The white is more like a white piece of paper. Very nice .
I did not buy it for a speed bump but for the new screen and LTE( had a wifi only ipad2, I like the option of data service).
I would not though upgrade from a 2 to 3 just for the screen. If I had a 2 I would keep that, the screen is just not worth paying that much, a hell of a lot to pay for a screen to be honest.
I tend to upgrade every second cycle anyway. I see little benefit of upgrading devices that are effectively the "S" version. ie iphone 3G to 3GS, 4 to 4S and of course ipad to to Ipad 3, I consider it to be a "S" version. Hoping next years one bring more innovation rather then "upgrade-hardware bump".
Others opinions will differ of course. Its my opinion that 1 to 3 is a non brainer while 2 to 3 only if you want the latest and greatest and have $$$ to burn
I tend to agree... and I do have them side-by-side (granted iPad 1 and iPad 3 but the Ipad 1 has same screen as iPad 2). Sure I can see the iPad 3 is clearer if I look for it. But in my normal usage I'm not sure it makes much difference.
Maybe in time or as more apps take advantage of the retina display that will change.
I will say this thread is making me notice it more though. Yesterday I would have said "I can't see the difference at a casual glance." But just now I had both iPads sounding off notifications. This time the pixels in the text on the iPad 1 were apparent where the iPad 3 appeared flawless.
Michael
It's a ******** faster. I have a 1, 2, 3. From the 1, the 2 is much faster web browsing, loading, etc. and far more stable. The 3 seems to be really close in speed to the 2 but when apps start having higher level graphics it will become noticeable. The screen on the 3 is amazing. The first day I had it I thought, yeah, it's better. After a few days, I hate using the old screen. Looks gross to me now. Just like the difference between the iPhone 3GS and 4. Pre-retina looks blurry to my eyes.
If you're fine with the screen on the 1, the 2 is a worthy upgrade as well.
unless you're planning on getting the 4G model (and actually activating it), then i'd say definitely not. The new screen is pretty nice, but honestly not worth the outlay of cash. I went from an iPad 2 to an iPad 3, and I'd have returned the 3 by now, but my sister is wanting the 2 for her graduation gift, so, might as well.
seriously, just hold your 2 a bit further away, and it will magically become "retina quality".
seriously, just hold your 2 a bit further away, and it will magically become "retina quality".
Considering resale, I would say depreciation/rental cost of ~$150/yr is worth the cost of being able to have the latest and greatest every yr, with a renewed annual warranty coverage.