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Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Review: iPad 4 has processing power to spare

A very good review and comparisons between the ipads and other devices comparable. Is it just me or do I feel like maybe waiting until next spring will result in the retina display version and boosts that we now see in the Ipad 4 to show up in the Ipad mini!?
 
 
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Review: iPad 4 has processing power to spare
The new, fourth-generation iPad looks just like the previous generation.
Chris Foresman

Apple surprised us by announcing it was launching a fourth-generation iPad just seven months after it rolled out the Retina display-equipped third-generation iPad in March. Though externally it remains almost identical to the third-gen iPad—save its new Lightning connector, which replaces the 30-pin Dock connector—internally Apple has revved up its processor. The company claims the iPad 4 packs both double the computing performance and double the graphics performance over the previous model.

We spent the weekend with an iPad 4 and iPad 3 in the Orbiting HQ, benchmarking the new processor and spending time in various apps to see if Apple's performance claims held up. Overall, it seems as though we can take Apple at their word. But depending on the apps you use, you may not notice a tons of improvement until developers learn to better exploit the A6X processor's power.

This iPad looks very familiar

Enlarge / Look closely—can you tell which iPad is which?
Chris Foresman
Specs at a glance: Apple iPad (4th-gen)
Screen 2048×1536 9.7" (264 ppi), "Retina" touchscreen
OS iOS 6
CPU 1.4-1.7GHz Apple A6X
RAM 1GB DDR3
GPU ImageTech SGX554MP4
Storage 16, 32, or 64GB NAND flash
Networking 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
Ports Lightning connector
Size 9.50×7.31×0.37" (241.2×185.7×9.4 mm)
Weight 1.44 lbs (652 g)
Battery 43 Whr
Starting price $499
Price as reviewed $599
Sensor Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer
Other perks 12W charger

Again, the iPad 4 is, from the outside, nearly identical to the last-generation iPad before it. It shares a similar aluminum unibody shell, with a flat bottom and sloping edges; the headphone jack, buttons, volume rocker all appear identical; even the 5MP autofocus camera at the rear is the same. There's not really much new to say about the design, except that Apple has swapped out the aging 30-pin Dock connector for its new Lightning connector, which is being phased in as the standard connector for all its mobile devices.

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