iPad Why was the iPad 3 called "The New iPad" vs iPad with Retina Display?

[chupachup]

The iPad 3 had a retina display, yet when it came out it was just called 'The New iPad'.

The iPad 3-4 and the Air have the exact same resolution.

Yet the iPad 3 was The New iPad and the iPad 4 was iPad with Retina Display. But the iPad 3 had a retina display also...

Even worse, here is Phil unveiling the iPad 3 "The New iPad", and the FIRST thing he says is "It has a retina display".

 

[hovscorpion12]

The naming of the iPads is beyond me. As far as the iPad 4's name, when it was released Apple discontinued the iPad 3 so the iPad 4 was the only iPad with retina Display hence the name. At the time of iPad 4's release is was iPad 2 and iPad 4 (iPad with retina display) distinguishing that the iPad 3 is not longer in production/discontinued. 2013, iPad Air launches.

 

[Menel]

Why? Because it never was. It was never called "The New iPad". It was called "the new iPad."

Since this is obviously an international message board and we have guests whose first language isn't English, there has been confusion.

In the English language we have a part of speech called the adjective. Adjectives are attributes added to nouns to enhance or modify nouns. Since they are merely modifying/describing, and not actually part of the noun itself, they are kept lowercase.

Further, in Apple's presentation, the adjective and noun even have different font style. See attached for the actual announcement for the iPad (3rd gen).

 

[chupachup]

The naming of the iPads is beyond me. As far as the iPad 4's name, when it was released Apple discontinued the iPad 3 so the iPad 4 was the only iPad with retina Display hence the name. At the time of iPad 4's release is was iPad 2 and iPad 4 (iPad with retina display) distinguishing that the iPad 3 is not longer in production/discontinued. 2013, iPad Air launches.

Actually you make a good point.

I totally forgot that the iPad 3 was like, a wash. Like it never happened. It just went away. Poof!.

So that makes sense. To differentiate between the iPad 2 and the iPad 4. One with Retina and the other one without.

So then the question is, What the hell was the iPad 3? haha..

 

[chupachup]

Technical reason, the iPad 3 was stepping stone to the iPad 4, Apple knew the iPad after it would look identical to the iPad 3so they released the iPad 3 for only 8 months as the "The new iPad" the mini not being ready to diversify product enough from the iPad 2 and would happen when the iPad 4 and iPad Mini came out. The iPad air would not gain the "air" label until the design noticeably changed and got smaller/lighter. The new line would now be, iPad Mini, iPad Air, and eventually Pro.

The naming makes perfect sense if you remember Apple knows it's pipeline about 3-4 years ahead of us.

That would've sucked for people who just bought the NEW just released iPad 3 in April, just to have another new one come out in October. Damn.

 

[JoEw]

That would've sucked for people who just bought the NEW just released iPad 3 in April, just to have another new one come out in October. Damn.

Like me? I was fine with it.

 

[Night Spring]

Like me? I was fine with it.

Me too. Well, I skipped the 4 and got the mini, which I used alongside my 3. Then when the Air came out, I got the Air and retired both the 3 and the mini.

 

[rui no onna]

That would've sucked for people who just bought the NEW just released iPad 3 in April, just to have another new one come out in October. Damn.

It was somewhat annoying particularly given the lacklustre performance of the iPad 3 (when compared to the 2). At first, I wished they had just done the same thing as the iPhone 4 to 4s and delayed the release of the retina iPad. However, since Apple released a 128GB model in February 2014 it ended up working fine for me. I wouldn't have been able to buy the 128GB iPad 4 if I had gotten a 64GB iPad 4 in October instead of a 64GB iPad 3 in April. Besides, that's at least 8 months of enjoying a retina display instead of the pixelation on the iPad 2.

 

[Night Spring]

no i mean, the facepalm was for that guy...

I agree with "that guy." It was never the New iPad, just new iPad.

That said, the naming thing has been confusing. I think it happened because the second iPad was called the iPad 2, then they tried to back away from numbering the iPads, and just have every iPad be the iPad, like every MacBook is just the MacBook. But then, they kept selling two models concurrently, so they had to distinguish them somehow, hence the use of adjectives like "new" and "retina." It's basically just a mess, and I don't think it was intentional.

 

[SI2IS2T4R]

I worked in retail and very closely with Apple representatives. What I was told is that Apple wasn't keen on the ascending numerical nomenclature. If you recall, Samsung and other manufactures were working aggressively to succeed each of their previous generations with new models. Galaxy S2, etc. Apple initially thought it was tacky to name products that way. They preferred to call things: iPod, Third Generation. We don't call a Honda Accord an Accord 7 (or whatever generation they are on). I think as time went on, they had no choice to embrace it (sorta), as evident in their iPhone line up. Remember, iPhone 3G wasn't the 3rd generation. It was actually the 2nd generation, named "3G" to promote it's switch from the Edge only network to the evolved 3G network. The 4 is actually the 3rd generation phone, the 4S- 4th generation, the 5- 5th generation, the 5S- 6th generation. So, effectively, the iPhone 6 (if they even really call it that) will be the 7th generation phone. Who knows, they might call it an iPhone Air. Or iPhone with über Retina Display.

it's all rather confusing and a bit silly. All I care about is that the user experience continues to be top notch.

 

[zorinlynx]

the 5- 5th generation, the 5S- 6th generation. So, effectively, the iPhone 6 (if they even really call it that) will be the 7th generation phone. Who knows, they might call it an iPhone Air. Or iPhone with über Retina Display.

it's all rather confusing and a bit silly. All I care about is that the user experience continues to be top notch.

Actually, I think the numbers are for *form factor*, not generation.

iPhone 4 and 4S are both in the "iPhone 4" form factor. Cases are the same for both. 4S was just improved innards.

Same for the iPhone 5 and 5S. The 5C is a "low (c)ost" variant of the iPhone 5, so it sort of fits in as well.

Now the iPhone 6 will have a new form factor, so it gets the new number. 6S will probably come in late 2015, and will still use the same cases as the 6.

They totally didn't do this with the iPads. iPad 2, 3, 4 both had the same form factor and case. Hopefully the successor to the iPad Air will be compatible with the same cases too.

Keeping the same form factor for at least a couple of years is a good thing.

 

[rui no onna]

Remember, iPhone 3G wasn't the 3rd generation. It was actually the 2nd generation, named "3G" to promote it's switch from the Edge only network to the evolved 3G network. The 4 is actually the 3rd generation phone, the 4S- 4th generation, the 5- 5th generation, the 5S- 6th generation. So, effectively, the iPhone 6 (if they even really call it that) will be the 7th generation phone.

You skipped the 3GS.

iPhone - 1st generation
iPhone 3G - 2nd generation
iPhone 3GS - 3rd generation
iPhone 4 - 4th generation
iPhone 4S - 5th generation
iPhone 5 - 6th generation
iPhone 5s - 7th generation

Granted, the introduction of the 5c kinda muddies the waters. Technical specifications are almost the same as the 5 but it was released the same time as the 5s.

I wouldn't mind going to a MacBook or iPod style naming, though.