No the iPad 3 actually provided something significantly new - the Retina display. What could happen is that Apple releases an iPad Ultra/studio with larger display next spring.
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All iPads Is IPad Pro M2 another IPad 3
- Thread starter KVApple
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It’s more so… people don‘t recall how bad of a release the iPad 3 was. I bought it on launch… hyped about the better screen, but battery wise… it was horrible. And as soon as the iPad 4 was released, I was highly disappointed at Apple… but I understood that it needed to be updated because of potential problems the iPad 3 could have caused.
I do agree the M2 iPad Pro update is similar to the 2018 to 2020 scenario since its a minor spec bump and added one new feature. 2020 models had lidar while M2 models have Apple Pencil hover feature.
The fact that it was superseded in short order wasn’t the real problem with the iPad 3 though; the real problem was that it *needed* to be updated and replaced because the iPad 3 just wasn’t very good. For whatever reason they pushed out a retina screen ipad before the hardware was ready to really sustain that; the iPad 3 quickly revealed itself to be underpowered and the fourth gen update with its newer chipset was a fix for that.
The M2 iPad Pro is never going to be in that position. It’s a great ipad with extremely high performance driven by a chip which won’t itself be replaced for quite some time yet. Yes of course Apple could put out a cosmetic refresh of the iPad Pro line at any point, a new design, perhaps an improved screen, but none of that will make the M2 anything less than the extremely capable and long lasting ipad that it is right now.
Would people just prefer if apple didn't update the iPad this year at all? They put a new chip in, like they do with Macs for a minor refresh. What else do you want if they're not ready to introduce oled yet?
Mildly disgruntled iPad 3 owner here. I don’t think we’ll see such a short time between models ever again - my admittedly unfounded and unprovable belief is that the iPad 4 release was driven less by a realization that the chip in the 3 wasn’t up to task and more by a desire to get everything on Lightning and away from 30-pin. It just happened to ALSO get a massive processor boost.
Depends on your use case? I had a 6th Gen iPad before upgrading and it handled everything I threw at it.
This one will last me until it breaks down.
I have the same concerns as the OP. I have a2018 iPad Pro. I was very primed to buy the M2. But it isn't enough of an upgrade for me so I'm going to wait for the next design upgrade and buy then. It feels like an iPad 3 situation to me. Even if for different reasons and even if the next release is more than a few months away.
When will people understand, once and for all, that if you have the last year device, you're not the target audience for the new devices?
Your iPad is more than capable to handle everything you throw at it. Just use it to your heart's content and don't dwell too much on what ifs.
The iPad 3 hate is just one of those cases where people repeat what other people say.
I had an iPad 3, used it from 2012-2016, it was an awesome device and the Retina display was a MASSIVE upgrade over the iPad 1/2. Those who disagree clearly never used a non-retina iPad.
Honestly, the iPad 3 was a fantastic device. Probably better to compare it to the M1 Pro. The iPad 4 is more like M2.
I had an iPad 3, used it from 2012-2016, it was an awesome device and the Retina display was a MASSIVE upgrade over the iPad 1/2. Those who disagree clearly never used a non-retina iPad.
Honestly, the iPad 3 was a fantastic device. Probably better to compare it to the M1 Pro. The iPad 4 is more like M2.
The soonest you might expect another iPad update would be in about 18 months. That is the typical update cycle for iPads.
There are rumors (based on generally reliable supply chain information - Ross Young) that Apple is planning to bring OLED to one or more iPads in 2024. That would line up with the timing of an expected chassis redesign for the iPad Pros.
My 2018 iPad Pro died recently and I was hoping to get a new redesigned one but after seeing the minimal changes for the M2 IPP I decided to wait and got a refurb 2018 to hold me over until then.
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Fully agree. I got 5 year out of my iPad 3. Under powered? Not as I recalled. Slow in the end of course but the screen was worth it all.
Never pay msrp for an apple product. Actually that applies to most things. But especially an iPad. Ok carry on.
Anyone who would ask that has absolutely no conception of why the third-gen iPad was problematic.
Sure, it’s a marginal update before a much bigger update. It absolutely IS that. But it’s been 1.5 years since the last update, and by all accounts will be another 1.5 years until the next update in Spring 2024.
A stop gap is usually a temporary solution to fix a problem, but there was no problem, so there’s no need for a temporary fix. This is simply a spec bump on a mature device. It happens with laptops and desktops all the time.
This. Apple has almost always operated on a tick-tock cycle, with a small “tick” (S) release in between bigger “tock” releases.
It could be argued that the dumb placement of the front-facing camera is a problem, and it has just become that much more visible since Apple fixed it on the much cheaper no-suffix iPad.
I have actually heard several people that spend all day on conference calls say they’re “upgrading” from a Pro and accepting all the compromises because the camera placement is such an improvement.