The new iPad came out the blue, its launch feeling a bit awkward, booting out as it did a perfectly good iPad 3 in the process. Still, reviews have been positive — but just how different is it on the inside?
Short answer: not very. To the untrained eye, in fact, it’s tough to tell exactly what has changed. There is, of course, the beefed-up A6X processor and its supporting hardware, which has garnered rave reviews owing to the kick in the pants it gives to app speed. Then there’s that new forward-facing camera, which has been given a resolution boost so that it delivers 720p HD video.
Elsewhere, though, the biggest shock is the lack of change. For instance, the new Lightning connector has been swapped in to replace the old 30-pin connection, in turn freeing up some space within the device. But while you might have expected Apple to do something with that extra room, it has in fact…. done nothing. No extra battery capacity, no attempt to upgrade the speakers, nothing.
And that is symptomatic of the entire new iPad: subtle tweaks, the odd improvement but, taken as a whole, very much evolution, not revolution. [iFixIt]