Apple iPad 4th Generation with Retina Display 16GB White full review

Apple iPad 4th Generation with Retina Display 16GB White full review

The iPad 4 may be a modest upgrade over its predecessor but it's still the best 10in tablet so far, which says just as much about the competition as it does about Apple's tablet. It's still relatively heavy though, so lighter tablets such as the iPad Mini will be a better buy for some.

 Tech Specs for iPad 4

Hardware:
Height 9.5 inches
Width 7.31 inches
Thickness 0.37 inches
Weight 1.44 pounds
Color Silver / Black, Silver / White
Speakers Mono

Display:
Screen size (diagonal) 9.7 inches
Technology IPS LCD
Resolution (X) 2048 PX
Resolution (Y) 1536 PX
PPI 264
Touchscreen type Capacitive
Multitouch Yes

Software:
Operating system iOS
Launch OS version 6
Media streaming AirPlay

Processor:
CPU brand Apple
CPU model A6X
Clock speed 1.4 GHz
Cores 2

Memory:
RAM size 1 GB

Storage:
Internal size 64 GB, 32 GB, 16 GB

Connectivity:
Wi-Fi Yes
Wi-Fi support 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, 802.11a
802.11n frequencies 5GHz, 2.4GHz
Bluetooth Yes
Bluetooth version 4.0

Front Camera:
Effective pixels 1.2 megapixels
Video resolution 720p
Video frame rate 30

Rear Camera:
Effective pixels 5 megapixels
Focus type Autofocus
Video resolution 1080p
Video frame rate 30

Ports:
Video out Yes
Headphone 3.5mm
Data connections Lightning

Sensors:
Sensors Ambient Light, Gyroscope, Accelerometer

Battery:
Capacity 42.5 Wh
Removable No
Quoted use time 10 hr

 

 Externally, the iPad 4 looks and feels identical to its predecessor. Although it is sturdy and slim, it's still the same weight at around 650g. I had hoped for a reduction in weight since the iPad 3 was around 50g heavier than the iPad 2. The battery lasted 12 hours when I was playing videos matching the time achieved by the smaller iPad Mini.

The 10in screen still has the same 2,048x1,536 pixel resolution. It's very sharp and bright with exceptional image quality, especially when compared to lower resolution tablets like the iPad Mini. Only the upcoming Samsung Nexus 10 Android tablet will have a display potentially capable of matching it.

All the changes are on the inside rather than the outside. The A6X dual-core processor is twice as fast as the iPad 3's A5X chip, but this will make little real difference until apps are designed to take advantage of it. Apple will doubtless release features in future versions of iOS that will only run on the A6X, but that has yet to happen. The iPad 4 is thankfully compatible with the recently launched EE LTE network.

HD Facetime
I was pleased with Video chatting and that the front-facing camera now records in 720p resolution which gave better, more accurate-looking video although the speed of my broadband connection did also affect image quality.

 iPad 4 photos