Difference between Apple iPad 3 and iPad 4

Key Difference: The iPad 3 is the third generation iPad by Apple Inc. The iPad 4 is the successor of iPad 3 with some more specifications. It is the latest technology in the iPad series by Apple Inc.

The iPad 3 was released on March 16, 2012, in ten countries. It is a tablet computer, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. Audio-visual media, including electronic books, periodicals, films, music, computer games, presentations and web content with iOS 5.1 were some of its features. In the first three days, three million units were sold. It also has a 5 mega-pixel camera, HD 1080p video recording, voice dictation and 4G (LTE). The iPad 3 had the new Apple A5X chip with a quad-core graphics processor and a Retina display. On September 19, 2012, Siri, an intelligent personal assistant and knowledge navigator, was added to the iPad 3.

However, the third generation iPad was discontinued on October 23, 2012, as the fourth generation iPad was announced. The device was available with three storage options: 16, 32 and 64 GB. LTE connectivity for the device was not available outside North America. It also had a screen size of 9.7 inches with multi-touch display like other iPads.

The iPad 4 is the fourth generation iPad marketed as the iPad with Retina display. It is also a tablet produced by Apple Inc. It was announced on October 23, 2012; and was first released on November 2, 2012 in thirty-five countries. The iPad 4 was released in ten other countries including China, India and Brazil, throughout December 2012. During the first weekend of sales, an aggregated amount of three million fourth generation iPads and iPad Minis were sold.

The fourth generation iPad features new and upgraded components such as the Apple A6X chip, and the Lightning connector, which was introduced on September 12, 2012. Storage size options include 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB, and 128 GB. The screen size of 9.7 inches with multi-touch display is unchanged. The available connectivity options are Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi + Cellular with LTE capabilities. The iPad 4 is able to perform CPU-reliant tasks twice as fast as iPad 3.

The information for the detailed table about the two iPads has been taken from the Apple website, phonearena.com and GSMArena.com.

iPad 3

iPad 4

Launch Date

March 2012

November 2, 2012

Company

Apple

Apple

Size

9.50 x 7.31 x 0.37 inches (241.2 x 185.7 x 9.4 mm)

241.2 x 185.7 x 9.4 mm (9.50 x 7.31 x 0.37 in)

Display

9.7 inches LED-backlit IPS LCD, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors

9.7 inches LED-backlit IPS LCD, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors

Screen

1536 x 2048 pixels, (~264 ppi pixel density)

1536 x 2048 pixels, (~264 ppi pixel density)

Protection

Scratch-resistant glass, oleophobic coating

Scratch-resistant glass, oleophobic coating

Weight

1.44 pounds (652 g)

Cellular: 1.46 pounds (662 g)

652g (1.44 lb)

662g (1.46 lb) for 3G model

2G Network

GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 (Wi-Fi + Cellular)

(Wi-Fi + Cellular Model) GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - A1459/ A1460

(Wi-Fi + Cellular Model) CDMA 800 / 1900 / 2100 - A1460

3G Network

HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 (Wi-Fi + Cellular Model)

(Wi-Fi + Cellular Model) HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 - A1459/ A1460

(Wi-Fi + Cellular Model) CDMA2000 1xEV-DO - A1460

4G Network

LTE 700 MHz Class 17 / 2100 - for AT&T

LTE 700 MHz Class 13 - for Verizon

(Wi-Fi + Cellular Model) LTE 700 MHz Class 17 / 1700 / 2100 - A1459

(Wi-Fi + Cellular Model) LTE 700 / 850 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 - A1460

GUI

iUI

iUI

CPU speed

Dual-core 1 GHz Cortex-A9

Dual-core 1.4 GHz

GPU

PowerVR SGX543MP4 (quad-core graphics)

PowerVR SGX554MP4 (quad-core graphics)

OS

iOS 5.1, upgradable to iOS 6.1.3, planned upgrade to iOS 7.0

iOS 6, planned upgrade to iOS 7.0

Chipset

Apple A5X

Apple A6X

RAM

1 GB RAM / LPDDR2

1 GB RAM

SIM Size

Micro-SIM for 3G model

Micro-SIM for 3G model

Internal Memory

16/32/64 GB

16/32/64/128 GB

Expandable Memory

None

None

Sensors

Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, Compass and Gyroscope

Accelerometer, Ambient light Gyroscope and Compass

Connectivity

Wi-Fi + Cellular Model

GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)

LTE (Bands 4 and 17)

LTE 700 MHz Class 17 / 2100 - for AT&T

LTE 700 MHz Class 13 - for Verizon.

Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP

Wi-Fi + Cellular Model

GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)

LTE (Bands 4 and 17)

Wi-Fi + Cellular Model (MM)

CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B (800, 1900, 2100 MHz)

GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)

LTE (Bands 1, 3, 5, 13, 25)

Data only

All Models

802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz and 5GHz)

Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology

Data

WiFi, USB

GPRS, EDGE, LTE for Wi-Fi + Cellular Model

WiFi, USB

GPRS, EDGE, LTE for Wi-Fi + Cellular Model

Speed

DC-HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps, LTE, 73 Mbps; EV-DO Rev. A, up to 3.1 Mbps

DC-HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps, LTE, 73 Mbps; EV-DO Rev. A, up to 3.1 Mbps

WLAN

Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band

For Wi-Fi + Cellular Model

Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot

Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot

Bluetooth

v4.0 with A2DP

Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP

USB

v2.0

USB v2.0, special lightening charger

Primary Camera

5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus

5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus

Secondary Camera

VGA, [email protected], videocalling over Wi-Fi only detection, FaceTime over Wi-Fi + Cellular

Yes, 1.2 MP, [email protected], face detection, FaceTime over Wi-Fi + Cellular

Video

[email protected], video stabilization

[email protected], video stabilization

Camera Features

Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection

Touch focus, geo-tagging, face detection

Sound Enhancement

-

No

Audio supported formats

HE-AAC (V1 and V2), AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV

AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV

Video supported formats

H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, High Profile level 4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format

H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, High Profile level 4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640x480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280x720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format

Battery Capacity

Non-removable Li-Po 11,560 mAh battery (42.5 Wh)

Built-in 42.5-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery

Talktime

Up to 10 h and Up to 9 h (Wi-Fi + Cellular Model)

Up to 10 h and Up to 9 h (Wi-Fi + Cellular Model)

Standby Time

Up to 720 h

Up to 720 h

Available Colors

Black, White

Black, White

Messaging

iMessage, Email, Push Email, IM

iMessage, Email, Push Email, IM

Browser

HTML (Safari)

HTML (Safari)

Radio

No

No

GPS

with A-GPS support (Wi-Fi + Cellular Model)

with A-GPS support and GLONASS

Java

No

None

Additional Features

  • iCloud cloud service
  • Twitter and Facebook integration
  • TV-out
  • Maps
  • Audio/video player/editor
  • Organizer
  • Document viewer
  • Image viewer/editor
  • Voice memo
  • Predictive text input
  • iCloud cloud service
  • Twitter and Facebook integration
  • TV-out
  • Maps
  • Audio/video player/editor
  • Organizer
  • Document viewer
  • Image viewer/editor
  • Voice memo
  • Predictive text input
  • VoiceOver screen reader
  • Guided Access
  • Support for playback of closed-captioned content
  • AssistiveTouch interface for adaptive accessories
  • Full-screen zoom magnification
  • Large text
  • Option to invert colours
  • Left/right volume adjustment

Image Courtesy: icidu.com, pocketnow.com