IPad 2 Official Specs

The rows with specs that don't differ between the two versions span two columns. Look at the backgrounds. It's true for Display, Chip, Cameras, and Sensors.

kyleslattery• 15 years ago

That just means it's the same for both devices, the text just wasn't long enough to make it to the second column

mrcharles• 15 years ago

I didn't see any notice about how much ram it has... I'm hoping it has as much as the iPhone 4. Does anyone know for sure?

nailer• 15 years ago

Same here. iPad 1 can't load more than two tabs for me without swapping one out.

tomerico• 15 years ago

Get an alternative browser, such as Atomic Browser or iCab mobile

Nagyman• 15 years ago

It can, but for some reason (memory leaks?) the iPad slowly loses that capability. I find occasionally powering it off brings back the ability to load multiple tabs without reloading pages.

tvon• 15 years ago

I think we'll have to wait for iFixit to break one down.

sev• 15 years ago

I was looking for that bit of info as well. It seems like if it's not advertised it's not something they're very proud of.

jbrennan• 15 years ago

They don't advertise the available memory of any of the iOS devices, not even to their Developers. The community finds out on their own (usually after teardowns or writing test apps).

baddox• 15 years ago

The rumors have always been the same as the iPhone 4 (512 MB), but Apple never releases the memory specs of their non-PC products.

10char2• 15 years ago

HDMI video mirroring is going to be big.

My sister-in-law is a high school teacher and has been wishing she could hook her iPad up to the projector since the day she got it.

Think of all the possibilities...makes so much more sense for a school to spend $500 on an ultralight, ultraportable iPad than spend more on bulky desktops you have to cart around just to play a video or show a web article (citation: my old high school).

There's not much more this feature lets me do on the app front, but man I'm excited to see what people do with it.

wvenable• 15 years ago

How many school projects have HDMI inputs?

(Edit: Didn't realize the original did VGA -- I don't see how HDMI is such a big deal for presentations then)

pmjordan3• 15 years ago

I assume the iPad 2 hasn't lost the original's capability of outputting VGA.

Edit: the reason it's a big deal is that the original iPad had to have the app specifically coded to deal with the external screen/projector (and few are). The new version just lets you mirror the content, whatever app you're in. It'd be nice if the new iOS retroactively made this possible on the original (at least at same resolution?) but I kind of doubt it. We'll see next week.

ja272• 15 years ago

All our projectors at work have DVI input so a simple HDMI to DVI adapter would make it work.

But more and more lately I see big LCD TVs on meeting room walls instead of projectors. Those almost always have HDMI inputs.

10char2• 15 years ago

Yup sorry, from the iPad 2 site: "Just plug in the Apple Digital AV Adapter or Apple VGA Adapter (sold separately) and your HDTV or projector becomes a bigger version of your iPad."

I didn't see anything non-HDMI mentioned in the liveblog so I wasn't sure if Apple made it work retroactively. Glad that they did!

mcantelon• 15 years ago

Ipads are a lot easier to steal/damage than desktops.

jonknee3• 15 years ago

I can feel you on the stealing aspect (though with the optional free engraving you can really limit the resell value), but they are not easier to damage than desktops. There are no moving parts. Unless you drop it in a sink, you're going to be OK (that would be ill advised with a regular PC too). The software is also incredibly hard to screw up, which lowers IT support costs.

protomyth• 15 years ago

After watching my 8 month old nephew beat on the iPad playing Baby Piano HD, I would have to disagree on the damage part.

pohl• 15 years ago

An iPad would also be a lot easier to lock away in a secure location, though.

ja272• 15 years ago

They only mention charging through the 30-pin port on the HDMI dongle. I wonder if any other 30-pin accessories will work when the HDMI mirroring dongle is attached?

fleitz• 15 years ago

I was kind of betting the farm on this with some of my app design decisions. This is going to be huge for my startup.

r00fus4• 15 years ago

Now I'm interested in what you're developing.

sudont• 15 years ago

Hopefully this will put a dent in SMART's Sympodium series, which in my experience is vastly overpriced for the way it's used. Three grand will buy you a pen-screen monitor that is wired in-between the computer and projector.

Because of the cost, most places will not buy dedicated podiums: ours had to be carted around and wired into the computer setup for each professor.

An iPad is much, much more easy to deal with (everything's one unit) and there's a likelihood that the professor may have one of her own, meaning the tech doesn't need to set up what's needed.

nitrogen• 15 years ago

It sounds like a VNC or RDP app for the new iPad or HDMI-enabled Android tablet with annotation features would completely replace this Sympodium.

potatolicious• 15 years ago

Here's hoping the same support comes to the iPhone 5. As an app developer one persistently annoying thing is my inability to demo an app to an audience in anything but the Simulator.

I've been working on apps related to camera functionality, and the inability to show these apps on a projector is shitty. If I can mirror the display I'd be exceedingly happy.

illumin83• 15 years ago

You're in luck: http://macdailynews.com/2011/03/02/apples-hdmi-cable-works-w...

bjelkeman-again• 15 years ago

Until then you could demo your apps on an iPad2.

crocowhile• 15 years ago

you can get a zotac miniPC for $200 shipped http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856173...

oldstrangers• 15 years ago

It's amazing how Apple can repackage technology that has been widely available in laptops for years and convince everyone that it's "going to be big."

And I'm sure it will be... Just makes me feel like I'm going crazy though (as I type this on a laptop connected to a 24" HD monitor via HDMI).

danssig• 15 years ago

Well the reason they convince everyone that it's going to be big is because of how they repackage it. That has been the case from the iPod on and again here with HDMI. As others have mentioned, I don't need anything more than just my iPad for HDMI presentations now.

christoph• 15 years ago

It truly amazes me that a company can not only design, manufacture and develop software like this in near 100% secrecy, but that they can also have their website completely updated instantly after the keynote with beautiful graphics and videos. How they do it and keep it so under wraps astounds me.

TomOfTTB2• 15 years ago

Simple. They...

1. Take steps that make it easier to identify leakers (like embedding secret numbers into promotional photos so they can tell who leaked them if they get published)

and 2. They pursue anyone who dares leak information with the ferocity of a rabid dog.

No real mystery here.

mechanical_fish• 15 years ago

3. They do not employ very large teams, and those small teams are very dedicated.

Apparently they didn't just read Brooks and Peopleware, they also seem to act upon them.

cletus2• 15 years ago

While I don't disagree with your observations, I think it would be remiss to exclude the fact that many Apple employees are incredibly loyal and believe in the company.

solutionyogi2• 15 years ago

I completely agree. Their website roll out team kicks ass! They should publish how they manage the 'browser caching' issue, whenever I go to Apple.com after/during keynote, I get the latest page without doing hard refresh.

cheald3• 15 years ago

    Cache-Control:max-age=221

That would do it.

sghael2• 15 years ago

I don't disagree they they must have their act together to support such big online launches. But for cache busting, isn't it just a simply matter of renaming resources and having your framework + deploy scripts manage the rest for you?

most sites use assets with additional query parameters added to keep them fresh (i.e. file?1234566778.js). Apple looks like they are adding some parameters into the filenames themselves.

It probably also involves cache-control settings as mentioned, but I think file renaming is the more reliable method of cache busting.

smackfu3• 15 years ago

I seem to recall the last set of updates before this speech didn't work perfectly. People were seeing the results of mixed stylesheets and had to do forced refreshes to clear it.

mike463• 15 years ago

They must use pointers to do it. :)

hop• 15 years ago

Love how Apple up-sells storage in hundred dollar increments. I just bought a 32GB SD card (class 10) for my camera for $50 and I'm not buying millions of them at a time.

gamble3• 15 years ago

Not all flash is the same. SD cards and USB sticks use cheap, slow, high-density flash manufactured with older processes. The A4/A5 flash is also integrated into the same package as the CPU(s). Most analysts estimate the flash as a significant part of the overall cost of iOS devices. Yes, it is market segmentation as well, but that extra flash still isn't free.

sparky• 15 years ago

> The A4/A5 flash is also integrated into the same package as the CPU(s)

Really? That would be by far the most aggressive die stacking I've ever heard of, if true. I thought it was soldered to the motherboard in stacks of 2-4 dice.

modeless• 15 years ago

A4/A5 includes RAM in the package, not flash. The flash used is in standard packaging, soldered to the motherboard.

smackfu3• 15 years ago

Not to mention $130 for a 3G chip and antenna. But that is the Apple way. The only good deal is the lowest end model.

dedward2• 15 years ago

That's called good marketing and customer satisfaction.

YooLi• 15 years ago

It's $200 on the Xoom.

code_duck4• 15 years ago

The rip off level pricing on storage and the obvious, purposeful omission of a card slot is one thing that really turns me off from buying an iPad or iPhone.

olivercameron• 15 years ago

Yet they still manage to make the iPad cheaper than every other tablet out there. Weird, huh?

Gilpo• 15 years ago

These iPads ain't for you. Apple doesn't want two important kinds of customers: power-users and penny-pinchers. Simple as that.

dr_• 15 years ago

What tablet would a "power user" use then? And what practical tablet is cheaper?

mcav• 15 years ago

Cost has nothing to do with the iPad's viability for power users.

SkyMarshal• 15 years ago

Why bother with the long tail when you've got the bulk of the distribution in your pocket already.

statictype2• 15 years ago

Those 65,000 iPad apps?

Those were developed by "Power Users".

tptacek2• 15 years ago

Warning: predrantry follows.

If you want to participate in a market where things are priced according to what they cost the vendor, look into gypsum. In tech companies, cost-based pricing is good mostly for getting you fired from your Product Manager role.

Tech products are priced according to the market. For many products, Apple competes aggressively on price. What that means is that within the product line, Apple wants there to be a SKU with the best pricing among its substitutes. It may also mean that every product in the line "wants" a price that is competitive according to its specs. But neither of those pricing goals means Apple will price anything according to the cost of components.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, in complex markets one of the most important jobs marketing has is to segment the market, which means finding product attributes that command different price points to maximize profit for the company. It may be the case that, regardless of what it costs Apple to add storage to the iPad, the most common kind of customer that wants a large-storage iPad isn't very price sensitive.

This works in both directions. You can play the segmentation game in exactly the opposite direction in enterprise sales: release your product as open source, but sell a supported site-licensed edition. In virtually all Fortune 1000 companies, it is next-to-impossible to embark on any new IT initiative without an accompanying purchase order; the whole of what IT does is structured around selecting, procuring, and maintaining products.

mkramlich• 15 years ago

> Warning: pedranty follows.

That is making my inner pedant twitch uncontrollably. :)

(successfully resisted. back to vi.)

throwaway5317• 15 years ago

Or, with the actual pricing compared to the competition, think of it this way:

The price model is competitive enough for the price to sink in hundred dollar decrements, although a 32GB flash memory chip is only $50. Maybe that's something you only can do if you expect to sell millions of them?

davidjhall• 15 years ago

Old Oatmeal cartoon capturing how I feel right now:http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apple

mayonnaise• 15 years ago

It's frustrating to me that apple keeps making their devices thinner.

Why not maintain the same size and use the extra room for a larger battery, improved performance, or cooling?

davidedicillo• 15 years ago

I charge the battery once a week or so. How do you plan to improve performances of an iPad increasing size? It doesn't need cooling.

r00fus4• 15 years ago

It's clear to me you don't understand the market then. Being the thinnest is a clear differentiator. Having aesthetic style means a LOT to a lot of people (ie, customers).

Furthermore, Apple did increase the processor size, memory, and probably battery (considering it has same 10hr life) and also decreased the total volume of the enclosure.

Finally, if you've ever used an iPad at length you'd realize it doesn't need cooling 99.9% of the time. It just doesn't get warm... this is a huge differentiator from the netbooks it's often compared to.

smackfu3• 15 years ago

Apple even like to "cheats" the thinness, by making the edges thinner than the rest, so it seems thinner in photos and is just hovering over the desktop.

code_duck4• 15 years ago

The thin profile is actually what amazed me reading the specs. I have a new-ish iPod Touch and the form factor is one-of-a-kind. Even the iPhone is thicker than the Touch, with identical processing capabilities. Something like an iPad being about as thick as the Touch makes me more excited about buying one because it seems so darn futuristic.

joeybaker• 15 years ago

If you look at the "TV and Video" section, it explicitly says it supports 1080p video out. But, if you look at the "formats supported" sub-section, it only supports 720p video.

allwein2• 15 years ago

That's simple to explain. The graphics subsystem easily supports outputting 1080p video. However, the iPad 2 has the same screen resolution as the original iPad, 1024x768. This means that the device itself only supports up to 720p, since 1080p is 1920x1080.

MichaelGG• 15 years ago

720p is 1280*720; so the device can't display 720p. I think what the spec there is talking about is that it can decode video up to that resolution - it's more of a codec performance number.

jmcnevin• 15 years ago

They must have had some room to spare in that case to bother putting in a rear camera.

Look at the screenshot of the camera app: http://www.apple.com/ipad/built-in-apps/camera.html

Notice the placement of the "record" button. Now imagine holding the device up to take a picture with two hands.

Even assuming another app developer will come along and fix this, who's going to use a tablet as a giant, awkward digital camera?

jonknee3• 15 years ago

I imagine it will be most useful in FaceTime when you want to show the other person what you're seeing and also be able to see them at the same time.

ugh2• 15 years ago

You can hold the iPad the other way around so that the camera is on the top, away from your hands.

FiddlerClamp• 15 years ago

Augmented reality apps.

armandososa• 15 years ago

I wonder how they implemented pressure sensitivity in garage band drums, I can't find any mention of pressure sensors in the screen.

My guess is that they are using the gyro for this. Is it a good guess?

rradu• 15 years ago

According to the TC live blog: "Very neat; you can tap keys hard or soft to determine how the note comes out, thanks to some accelerometer magic"

http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2011/03/02/live-blog-apple-ipad-...

gojomo• 15 years ago

My guess: fingers are soft, and more pressure means a wider area of finger is in contact with screen, and that's what they're detecting.

But sensing the vibration of a more vigorous touch would be interesting, too!

pcestrada• 15 years ago

Nice hardware. But only a higher resolution Retina display will get me to trade in my current iPad.

MikeCapone• 15 years ago

I don't have an iPad and was waiting for this one hoping for the hi-rez screen. I might pull the trigger on it anyway because I'm not that patient, but it certainly would've been nice.

HelloBeautiful2• 15 years ago

Replaced the MVA matrix with IPS.

Same bad cameras as 4G iPod Touch - 1MP in the back, even worse in the front. Suitable for video calls only IMHO.

Too bad the models with cell connection don't support audio calls. Could've completely replaced a phone with a wired or bluetooth handsfree.

cookiecaper• 15 years ago

If Apple gave iPads phone functionality, how could they sell you both an iPhone and an iPad?

glhaynes• 15 years ago

Replaced the MVA matrix with IPS.

Not sure what you mean - all iPads have been IPS.

HelloBeautiful2• 15 years ago

Right, my bad.

teyc2• 15 years ago

Looking at the sales page, there has been de-emphasis of iBooks, apps, games, and additional emphasis on ease of hands-off use for watching videos, AppleTV. For instance, the angled cover, using the iPad as a projector.

Either this is turning out to be what people are actually using the iPads for, or Apple is actively steering people towards using iPads. Maybe they don't want to cannibalize the sale of Macs.

trotsky• 15 years ago

looking at the keynote live blog that engadget did, it seemed like most of the focus was on how iBooks was doing (the lead), and creation software - iMovie and some sort of garage band / rock band hybrid.

teyc2• 15 years ago

Thanks. That's a learning moment for me. Apple is very clever about speaking to their audience. The people who'd listen to Jobs live are content creators and avid readers. The average visitor just want to watch TV.

joneath• 15 years ago

FYI: If you are thinking about trading up from the iPad 1, gazelle.com is offering $320 for the 16GB WiFi version. This price won't stay for long since the iPad 1 16GB WiFi is going for $399 on apple.com. Also you can use the code "TWiT" for 10% more.

daeken• 15 years ago

Just got $350 for my 32GB WiFi iPad 1. Thanks!

illumin83• 15 years ago

They must have fixed this pretty quickly because my 16GB iPad wifi in perfect condition with all cables only got an offer of $283.

r00fus4• 15 years ago

I'm getting $300 for same.

WesleyJohnson• 15 years ago

I don't have any personal experience with it (yet), but eBay's new "Instant Sale" appears to be offering upto $370 for a mint 16GB WiFi version with all the original bits.

http://green.ebay.com/instantsale/

Devilboy2• 15 years ago

I'm so happy to see Steve back on stage! He looks great.

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/03/201103...

shortlived• 15 years ago

This is sarcastic? He looked like the walking dead.

Devilboy2• 15 years ago

I'm just happy to see him.

jonah• 15 years ago

Curious that the Verizon version is lighter.

Weight: 1.35 pounds (613 g) (AT&T)

Weight: 1.34 pounds (607 g) (Verizon)

kooshball• 15 years ago

probably the radio or antenna

GeorgeTirebiter• 15 years ago

I suspect it's the SIM card cage + SIM card required for AT&T but not for Verizon.

tscrib• 15 years ago

I've been meaning to buy one of these for my parents for some time now. They rarely do anything other than email, surf the web and photos. The improvements (especially the speed bump and cameras) finally give me a 'features' justification for buying it for them.

kodisha• 15 years ago

Wait, AT&T and Verizon only? What about us from Europe?

Will there be sim free version?

jarek• 15 years ago

Says right above... "850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz" for GSM/HSDPA. Previous iPad wasn't carrier locked and they'd be daft to lock this one.

ugh2• 15 years ago

Check your local Apple website.

In Germany it’s the same deal as before. UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA, GSM/EDGE and unlocked. It will consequently, as before, work with every carrier.

cpswan2• 15 years ago

Anybody know if the 3G models are carrier locked, or is it simply that the 'AT&T' model is GSM/UMTS and the 'Verizon' is CDMA?

cpswan2• 15 years ago

Sadly it now seems clear that the iPad 2 will be locked to specific providers (at least in some regions) - http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/06/apple_forced_to_make...

billpaetzke• 15 years ago

Is the 3G version factory-unlocked for USA? Such that, I can swap SIM cards from country to country (and not have to incur roaming charges from ATT)?

6ren2• 15 years ago

predictions:

  - iPhone 5G will use this dual-core A5 chip
  - there'll be a smaller, low-cost iPhone model (nano iPhone?)
  - the next nano will play video (maybe combined with the above?)
  - iPad 3G will play 1080p, and have 1GB RAM

These devices have enough power for a full OS. But I predict Apple will hold off combining them (OSX on iPad; A5 in laptop/desktop) for as long as possible: 1. it doesn't help the customers of the iPad; 2. it would segment the developer market, who can use the extra power anyway. However, it's inevitable as processors get faster; and they can't hold off for ever because if they don't do it, someone else will. It's just a question of when.

6ren2• 15 years ago

EDIT

  - iPhone 5G will have HDMI out and keyboard in.

It represents the end-game of the smartphone disruption of laptops and PCs, because you will "dock" it at home and work, yet still have all your data with you whereever you go (despite coverage, network outages, webapp provider downtime etc etc etc) like people used to do with their laptops. A bit like the portable diskdrive that the iPod was.

You might think Apple would be hesitant to do this, because it will cannibalize their own laptops and desktops. I think they will do it as soon as they can, because: they have a history of racing down the tech curve as fast as possible; if they don't do it and it's possible to do, someone else will, and the strategic losses from not being first are enormous; it will only start to cannibalize their other products (because a smartphone really isn't as good yet; people are familiar with the old way; power users are a long way off being disrupted).

I've been waiting for this. Ye Mark my Words, the End is Nigh for the PC: July 2011

jsz0• 15 years ago

Nice little incremental update. I think they did a pretty good job addressing some of the issues people had with the original model -- at least within the realm of what is technically possible while meeting the same price point.

IPad 2 Official Specs

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