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After spending about a week with the third-generation iPad which went on sale last Friday after Apple’s grand unveiling in San Francisco earlier this month, here are several features I hope will go into next year’s model.
Stereo Speakers
This one seems trivial, but will go a long way. Every iPad to date only packs a single mono speaker. Considering movies and music are key features, the lack of stereo speakers is rather disappointing. Several Android tablets including the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 offer stereo speakers. Even the BlackBerry PlayBook has a speaker on each side.
FaceTime Camera
Apple threw in a vastly improved rear-facing iSight camera, but the FaceTime camera on the front remains the same: it shoots at just 0.3 megapixels. For those wondering, Apple describes it as a VGA resolution which translates to just 640 x 480 pixels. Considering Skype just bumped video quality up to 1080p last month, including a 2 megapixel camera on front seems reasonable at the very least.
Thinner and Lighter
The original iPad weighed 1.5 pounds and the iPad 2 slimmed down to just 1.33 pounds. Unfortunately, the third-generation iPad weights 1.44 pounds. The much larger battery is the obvious culprit, but it was probably the only option to maintain the same 10 hour run-time with the power hungrier hardware. Tablets should continue shedding weight, not adding bulk.
The new iPad’s 0.37 inch thick body is thinner than the original 0.53 inch model, but bulkier than the 0.35 inch thick iPad 2. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 weighs just 1.25 pounds and is only 0.34 inches thick. The Asus Transformer Prime is even thinner at just 0.33 inches and weighs 1.29 pounds.
Micro USB and HDMI
Every iOS device to date uses the same Dock Connector. I do not see a change happening, but I hope Apple will eventually adopt microUSB. While it might be a pain for those who already own accessories with dock connectors, it would help keep things consistent with other products on the market. I would love to charge my iPad with the same cable that also charges my Bluetooth headset, smart phone, Kindle, and many other devices.
Jumping to Micro USB would also open the doors to supporting HDMI thanks to MHL. Apple offers a $40 AV Adapter for HDMI output, but generic cables are usually more affordable.
Siri Please
Some claim the new iPad lacks Siri to because WiFi-only models do not always have a constant data connection and it would be inconsistent to only offer the feature to the mobile broadband enabled ones. I also came across reasons including hardware limitations and Apple possibly holding it back until next year to entice users to upgrade again.
I am not really sure why Siri isn’t available, but the hardware is definitely capable and Apple already has the technology to make it possible. I really do hope an update will introduce the feature soon. It would be nice to check the weather, set an alarm, send a text message, or search the web quickly when my hands are tied up doing multiple things. Voice dictation already works great.
Quad Core Processor
The third-generation iPad has a quad-core graphics processing unit (GPU), but still runs on a dual-core processor. While the current configuration makes major strides for graphics intensive tasks, the new hardware does not necessarily speed up every day use. Several of the flagship Android smart phones and tablets are making a leap into quad-core territory this summer and Apple will hopefully do the same for the iPhone this year and for the next iPad in 2013.
WPS Support For iOS
Just about every router now offers WPS (WiFi Protected Setup) for one-click pairing with a wireless home network. Clicking a button to let guests connect to your network makes things a whole lot simpler than having to share a complex network key. Windows 7 has the feature built-in and many Android devices offer the feature too. Though a tiny addition, it is also a huge convenience.
Runs Cooler
Consumer Reports claims the iPad runs nearly 13 F warmer than the previous model. I probably would have never noticed if it were not for all the buzz that followed. Even if comfort is not an issue, pushing for cooler running temperatures in next year’s iteration does not hurt. Lithium-Ion batteries are prone to loosing capacity when exposed to high temperatures for extended periods of time.
Links: Apple iPad
Thank you for the review Sahas…Regardless of whether I agree with all of your statements or not.
My perspective on the new iPad…Just as on the previous two models…Seems to be vastly differant from the perspectives of those whose comments I’ve read in response to a number of your previous articles and reviews.
Just as with my Laptop, my iPad is a business tool, not a toy. If I can perform 80% of the work on my iPad that I was performing on a 5.4 pound laptop, an added .11 pounds is absolutely irrelevant.
I spent 7 hours on my iPad today…Between WebEx Video Conferences…Creating Statements of Work…Configuring Enterprise Storage Plaforms through Wi-Fi Enabled Serial Connections…And I saw no differance in the generation of heat from what I saw with the iPad 2.
For “home” users, WPS may be relevant…in Corporate Environments and Secure Facilities, WPS is not only irrelevant, but prohibited.
You’re right on the money as to any added “performance” at the CPU level….For Graphics, yes…For anything else…I can’t find it…and in all fairness, Apple never stated that anyone would see an overall boost in performance. I think when people hear the Quad Core term thrown out, they sometimes here what they want to hear…not what was said. As to Android Systems introducing Quad Core CPU’s in phones and/or Tablets, having had the dis-pleasure of working on one of these, I can see why.
Siri…On this, I have no opinion…Since I don’t need it, I can’t say the new iPad should have it…By the same token, I don’t see why it doesn’t have it.
On a closing note, i’ts my hope that any user comments directed towards your article following mine will be civil, respect and show at least a minimal level of maturity.
I think the new iPad is definitely the best AVAILABLE tablet on the market at this moment. However, there are many great tablets such as Kindle Fire that are quite awesome for those on a budget.
Each of our use-case scenarios are different. In your situation, you can do most of your work on your tablet. That’s awesome. I wish I could too, but I unfortunately do a lot of development which isn’t yet practical on these tablets. I mainly use it to view information.
Good point about WPS, but nonetheless I think it should be offered on the tablet and businesses should disable the feature for security on their end.
Quad-Core ends up being a buzz word which is the problem with advertising so many specs. However, some of the new quad-core chips on their way to the market such as Tegra 3 are actually quite interesting. This is because they have an extra 5th processor which turns on when the phone is in standby to facilitate data syncing or even simple tasks like playing music. This saves a ton of power when in standby and the quad-core (which also scales well) kicks in when the phone is in use.
I doubt I would use Siri all the time, but I very often use the Android voice commands for simple things such as “Wake me up at 6 AM” or “go to CNN.com”. It is very very handy when multi-tasking. Many useful purposes. Even if you don’t use it much, there is no reason it should not be included.
You failed to mention the higher than HD graphics, name another tablet with this res 2048×1536. Why bother whinging about cables, get an apple tv for your audio or video needs. Pioneer even do AirPlay on their VSX-102 model and that rocks. USB is very limiting to throuput too, not to mention is slow. WiFi sync over N will give you faster transfer rates than USB. I setup Cisco WLAN controllers at work and have the iPad3 streaming 1080. I have no heat problems with mine even with eight games and other apps,on the go. If any connector should replace the apple one is thunderbolt.
How do you Stream over WLAN?
The iPad is not real.
I thought your points were quite interesting. It seems also interesting that you were giving suggestions to how to furthe improve a great machine and people were trying to defend Apple. I did not take it that the new iPad needed defending and it is OK