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Opinion: Finally Apple delivers the retina iPad it promised six months ago

Retina needed more grunt

Opinion: Finally Apple delivers the retina iPad it promised six months ago
We all know about bait and switch right?

Like a greedy fish, we're attracted by the bait but when we go to chomp down, our jaws close on something very, very different.

So spare a thought for those people who have bought the 'new iPad' in the past seven months.

It was so new, that unlike iPad 2, it didn't even have a number. It was somehow eternal.

Well, apparently not. When it announced iPad mini, Apple also killed the 'new iPad' or iPad 3/third generation iPad as we prosaically knew it.

Early obsolescence

There are two reasons.

The cleanest is Apple has a new connect standard, Lightning.

The 'iPad 4' will use this standard, making it compatible with the current range of accessories. (We don't talk much about the years of accessories that were wiped out by Apple's decision, although apparently you can buy adapters that will solve your woes.)

The other - more dirty - reason is the 'new iPad' was the first to come with a retina resolution screen.

However, the A6 chip wasn't sufficiently powerful to run iPad 2 games at the same framerate, given the new resolution. We heard rumours at the time, but it proved impossible to get any developers to talk on the record apart from the usual platitudes you get whenever Apple releases a new piece of hardware.

Back to square 3

But now, it seems with the fourth generation iPad, we're getting the retina-resolution iPad we originally deserved; something with which Apple has tacitly agreed as it apparently will exchange third generation iPad purchased during the past 30 days for the new version (although this is up to local Apple stores).

The reason is the new Apple A6X chip, which offers double the CPU performance and double the GPU performance, most likely thanks to an upgrade of clockspeed rather than more complex chip redesign.

Where this leaves us in terms of the traditional April iPad refresh, it's hard to say.

Of course, in six months time, it will be possible to go thinner and lighter and offer a better processor - the Apple A7?

But whether consumers will then be interested in 'another' fullsize iPad, especially given the disruptive influence of the iPad mini, it's difficult to judge.

Not matter what, though, we're sure Tim Cook will be found standing on a stage somewhere, waffling on about the power of dreams.
Contributing Editor

A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.