The New iPad Is "Hot"
It all started yesterday when a Dutch website posted thermal images of the new iPad and later The Verge reposted them. Those thermal images showed hot spots on the new iPad and yes it was a little warmer than the original iPad and iPad 2. The original post,however, mentioned that the new iPad does not get warm to an extent that it gets uncomfortable to hold the device in hands. Today, up tier media and famous technology blogs picked this news up and performed some tests opf their own to confirm this “heatgate issue”. Consumer Reports also performed some tets on Apple’s third generation iPad and concluded that it reaches 116 degrees while gaming for more than 45 minutes.
We ran our test while the new iPad was propped on the iPad Smart Cover, plugged in, and after it had run Infinity Blade II uninterrupted for about 45 minutes. The device’s 4G connection was not turned on, though its Wi-fi link was. The ambient room temperature was about 72 degrees. (Apple recommends not using the iPad in environments over 95 degrees.)
When unplugged, the back of the new iPad reached temperatures as high as 113 degrees Fahrenheit. It was only when plugged in that it hit 116 degrees. The hottest areas weren’t evenly distributed throughout the iPad’s back, but were concentrated near one corner of the display as shown in the images taken from the rear of the device above.
So basically there are two issues 1) iPad 3 heats up while gaming 2) it won’t charge while gaming/heavy usage. Again, these are two separate issues, iPad not charging itself while gaming is not related to its heating issues. About the first and most discussed issue, well it happens and any computer experts would agree with me on this. The new iPad comes with a quad core GPU which in my opinion is the best GPU ever shipped in a tablet and when you use it too much it WILL get warm. It’s not just the iPad any gaming PC would also do the same when used for long and extensive gaming sessions. It’s not that iPad 3 is going to burn your hands or something or it’s going to make your user experience any bitter. In my opinion it doesn’t matter. Apple’s response on this issue was pretty straight forward:
“The new iPad delivers a stunning Retina display, A5X chip, support for 4G LTE plus 10 hours of battery life, all while operating well within our thermal specifications. If customers have any concerns they should contact AppleCare.”
The second issue which Consumer Report posted is regarding iPad 3′s charging. According to the reports the new iPad doesn’t charge itself when you’re playing games or “heavy usage”. When was the last time you charged your iPad while using it? Once maybe or twice not more than that because nobody uses an iPad while it’s on charging. This is an issue and a fix should be released in a minor software update but it’s not a “biggie”.
It’s out there in the hands of millions of people and it’s working fine.
We will keep you updated on this, stay tuned!
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