Apple announced a new iPad at it’s media event and it has been released at it’s stores and elsewhere today. The iPad, in my opinion doesn’t add a whole lot but yet it does. What the features lack in quantity it makes up for in quality. The iPad with Retina Display (it’s official name) or simply the iPad 4 (or 3S depending on how you look at it) adds a new chip called the Apple A6X chip and it adds Apple’s new controversial Lightning connector. This doesn’t sound like much but it’s actually huge. If you have not seen the kind of graphics the iPhone 5 has, check out Apple’s iPhone 5 announcement video and you’ll see how stunning it came out to be. Let’s discuss the new iPad 4.
A6X Chip
The A6X chip is advertised by Apple to be dual-core but with quad-core graphics. That’s incredible! The graphics on this device are the best Apple has produced on any of it’s devices thus far. I once said that the chip on the iPhone could rival this generation gaming consoles (PS3/360), this iPad CAN rival those gaming consoles and in some tests win. The chip adds a lot to the device and people who have the iPad 1 or 2, it is now the time to upgrade, if you don’t have and iPad yet, now is the time to buy one.
Lightning Connector
The iPad now has the new Lightning connector. This controversial connector has raised a lot of concern and people have asked the question, “Was this necessary?”. While some answers have been no, my answer is yes. I believe it was necessary. I know that Apple has had it’s original dock connector for 5 years and every Apple accessory manufacturer has produced accessories for that particular connector for the past 5 years. The thing is, Apple doesn’t work for these manufacturers and if it feels it needs to change something, it will. I think that in order for Apple to have continued it’s thinner/lighter device philosophy, they needed a thinner, lighter cord. Plus, I like the cord myself. The 30-Pin dock connector is not reversible and can be a pain when plugging your device in. The Lightning connector, like the MagSafe connector on current MacBooks, is reversible. Also, many accessory makers in the past have changed whatever needed to be changed in the past and they will continue to do so. I do believe that Apple handed them a bigger speed bump than usual but it was necessary for Apple to have done so. I am, however, not a fan of Apple’s buy-an-adapter strategy. I feel that if they are going to inconvenience people for a little while, they may as well do it without charging them for the necessary inconvenience.
Who should buy this iPad?
If you are an owner of an iPad 3, just wait on this one, it isn’t a huge change and isn’t worth selling your iPad 3 or what not. However, if you have an iPad 1, iPad 2, have a junky Android tablet you dislike, or if you don’t even have an iPad at all, NOW is the time to get one. It is the best iPad that Apple has ever produced but if you have the now second-best (iPad 3), you aren’t too far down the track, so don’t worry. You’re iPad 3s aren’t obsolete yet. Think about it…
iPad 2s are STILL for sale
Apple just doesn’t want to let the iPad 2 go and I don’t blame them. The iPad 2 was one of their most successful products in history. I have one myself and I can’t imagine life without it even though I have only had it for a year and 8 months (I got it the day it came out). It truly is a great iPad. If history is to repeat itself, it will cut the iPad 2 once the next iPad comes out (probably the iPad with Retina Display 2 or something like that, Apple never has been super great at naming things).
The new iPad with Retina Display isn’t the biggest update to iPads to-date (I believe the iPad to the iPad 2 was) but it is a pretty good update. Apple didn’t need to change anything in the iPad very much because the iPad, like the iPhone, is maturing. It is growing up very fast. With that said, to me, there is nothing more scary than a company like Apple that doesn’t innovate. I only hope Apple does something big in the next iPad, otherwise they would be going into a bad direction and I don’t need to remind you, Steve can’t save the company again. Let’s hope Apple does what it needs to in order to innovate. Innovation always conquers laziness, hopefully Apple doesn’t forget that.
Thanks for reading,
Joe
Image Courtesy: www.apple.com/ipad/overview/