When was retina display ipad released

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Comics Music. Filed under: Apple Breaking. New iPad has Retina display, x resolution New, 48 comments. Linkedin Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. More From The Verge. Sign up for the newsletter Verge Deals Subscribe to get the best Verge-approved tech deals of the week. But, the iPad has struggled with its identity in recent times in view of bigger and more powerful smartphones.

Apple was experimenting with tablets long before the iPad came out. Its Newton MessagePad PDAs — dating back to — were arguably tablet-like, albeit crude by modern standards with limited apps, black-and-white displays, and total dependence on a stylus. The company also prototyped a more powerful PowerBook-based tablet called the PenLite, but decided not to ship it. Work on the iPad itself actually traces back to , when designer Jonathan Ive and others crafted a new tablet prototype.

The product was originally supposed to ship before the iPhone, but the company came to decide the latter was more important, premiering it in using similar technologies. After the iPhone became a hit, rumors swirled around tablet plans, with conflicting reports what a product would be called and what it might do.

Preorders began on March 12, ahead of an Apr. Initially, only Wi-Fi models were available — 3G-capable models had to wait until Apr. It wouldn't be until May 28 that any iPad was available outside the U. Thanks to the company's takeover of PA Semi, the iPad was the first product to use an Apple-designed processor, the A4.

It also featured a 9. The tablet's signature achievement was bringing the iPhone's multi-touch interface to a much larger display, allowing it behave more like a laptop. Though it still lacked an open filesystem or much customization, Apple developed a custom version of the iPhone OS for it, for instance letting people use apps and the homescreen in any orientation — unlike the iPhone, which at the time was strictly vertical.

The product also heralded the arrival of iBooks and the iBookstore, with the anticipation that people would want to read books, magazines, and newspapers in the new format. Apple's collusion with publishers to fight Amazon's dominance of e-books would eventually result in severe legal reprimands. Sales of the iPad were strong out of the gate. More than , were sold at launch, and by May 3, 1 million. Towards the end of the year, iPads were outselling Macs on a quarterly basis.

Released March 11, , the iPad 2 included a faster A5 processor, but was perhaps most significant for refining Apple's design and concepts. The product was both lighter and thinner, and was the first model to support Smart Covers, adding magnets which not only kept cases attached but would wake an iPad when opened.

A gyroscope as well as front- and rear-facing cameras opened up other new functions, including FaceTime. In many ways, the iPad 2 became Apple's tablet workhorse. The device stayed on sale for years, with a minor revision after the third-generation iPad was released, shrinking the size of the A5 and improving power consumption. It was able to run six different versions of iOS, from 4 through 9. It was around this time that Apple began pushing the iPad as an educational product — an initiative that would only accelerate in coming years.

It also supported LTE, though not across the globe. The third generation device was under-powered for the retina screen. It was also the first iPad to adopt a Lightning port, abandoning pin connectors. Looking to fend off devices like the Amazon Kindle Fire and Google Nexus 7, Apple simultaneously announced the iPad mini, a tablet with specs similar to the iPad 2 but in a smaller and lighter 7.

The Air, shipped in November , was another serious stab at redesigning the iPad. The device was even thinner at 7. Bezels were shrunk, cameras were upgraded, and it switched to an A7 processor matched by an M7 motion co-processor. Shipping around the same time was the iPad mini 2, similar in most respects to the Air — above all, making the jump to a Retina display some thought should've been on the first Mini.

By the iPad was becoming less of a marquee product, likely overshadowed by the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Apple's first iPhones over 4 inches. In a bid to reinvigorate sales and cast the iPad as a serious tool, September saw the announcement of the first iPad Pro, a The True Tone brand was also applied to its display, Apple's first able to match color temperature to ambient lighting.

The Mini 4 — still Apple's latest in the Mini line — was revealed at the same time as the The tablet was given an A8 processor and 2 gigabytes of RAM, once again leaving it in the wake of its bigger siblings. While it can be charged by an older USB port from a computer, these are limited to milliamps 0. As a result, if the iPad is in use while powered by a computer, it may charge very slowly, or not at all.

High-power USB ports found in newer computers and accessories provide full charging capabilities. Apple claims that the battery can provide up to 10 hours of video, hours of audio playback, or one month on standby; people say the battery lasts about 8 hours doing normal tasks.

Like any rechargeable battery, the iPad's battery loses capacity over time. However, the iPad's battery is not user-replaceable. The refurbished unit comes with a new case. The warranty on the refurbished unit may vary between jurisdictions.

Smart Covers in various colors. The Smart Cover , introduced with the iPad 2, is a screen protector that magnetically attaches to the face of the iPad. The cover has three folds which allow it to convert into a stand, which is also held together by magnets. The Smart Cover can also assume other positions by folding it.

Smart Covers have a microfiber bottom that cleans the front of the iPad, and wakes up the unit when the cover is removed. It comes in five colors of both polyurethane and the more expensive leather. Apple offers several other accessories, most of which are adapters for the proprietary Lightning connector , the only port besides the headphone jack.

A dock holds the iPad upright at an angle, and has a dock connector and audio line-out port. The iPad can be charged by a standalone power adapter "wall charger" compatible with iPods and iPhones, and a 10 Watt charger is included. The 4th-generation iPad was immediately met with criticism from some owners of the preceding 3rd-generation iPad , who felt betrayed that Apple would release a newer product after they had purchased what had previously considered a flagship product for about 7 months.