Review Apple New iPad 3

The new iPad 3 is here: with Apple promising this to be another revolutionary device, we're wondering if the brand can really keep exciting users with its new devices. Can a sharper screen and improved innards entice enough people to make the jump?

Confusingly, Apple's latest model has no number in its name this time around strictly speaking (although most are still referring to it as the iPad 3 to avoid an Inception-like meltdown) – a sure sign that it's here to stay, like the iPod and MacBook Pro.

The main upgrades over the iPad 2 come in the form of a much higher resolution screen (Apple's calling it a Retina Display, although it lacks the pixel density of the iPhone 4S) and the slight spec boost to an A5X CPU.






We've also got a new level of connectivity to bring faster on-the-go speeds than ever before, plus an improved camera that's been increased to 5MP.
Is it enough to warrant an upgrade? Will it bring the same wow-factor Apple is so well-known for? TechRadar's had a good ol' play with the new iPad 3, so let's dive in and find out:

Design

You know the iPad 2? That's what this looks like. We mean, it's identical but for an extra 0.6mm thickness (up to 9.4mm) and around 50g of weight (650g for Wi-Fi only, 662g for the 4G model). Last year's cases will mostly still fit, though those with magnets to lock the screen may not work.



If you don't know what the iPad 2 looks like (and, really, where have you been?) it's a 9.7in glass screen with chic aluminium back. It's well-built with an exceptionally classy feel to it.

• New iPad vs iPad 2: which should you choose?

The new iPad 3's extra heft and thickness might put some people off – but it's only in side by side comparisons that the difference is noticeable. If you walked into an Apple store and picked it up, you wouldn't think it was a heavy tablet at all – although it is nearly 100g heavier than the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1.



As before, the new iPad 3 has a home button on the front so you can easily wake the screen. There's the rocker switch on the right edge to either mute the sound or lock the orientation – you choose, which is something users haven't been offered much from Apple in the past.



The Apple 30-pin connector remains the only physical socket on the iPad, besides the 3.5mm headphone jack. This means you need adaptors to connect a USB stick or camera's SD memory card, but then again we never really expected the Cupertino lot to make a huge jump to new connectivity options here.



Adaptors will work fine to move images or documents onto the iPad, but getting them off is a whole other matter if you don't have Wi-Fi. It's not impossible but is annoyingly difficult, and remains a bugbear for many iPad users – especially when Android offerings are so much more adept at such things.