The Apple iPad 2 Review
by Brian Klug, Anand Lal Shimpi & Vivek Gowri on March 19, 2011 8:01 PM ESTThe iPad 2
We've already gone over the iPad 2's design in our preview so I won't spend a ton of time here. The first iPad was a pain to hold in your hand, the iPad 2 largely addresses that problem. The device is similarly sized to its predecessor but Apple removed significant volume by tapering the edges of the iPad 2. The tablet is thus more comfortable to hold, lighter and is significantly thinner than its predecessor. Apple likes to point out that the iPad 2 is now thinner than even the iPhone 4.
Apple iPad 2 (top), Apple iPad (bottom)
The Xoom to me was more pleasant to hold that the original iPad, however the iPad 2 takes the crown back from Motorola. I believe we'll see second generation Android tablets that rival the iPad 2's thickness but for now you have to keep in mind that we're comparing a second generation iOS tablet to first generation Android tablets. With smartphone internals and virtually nonexistent cooling requirements, building a thin tablet isn't an impossible task.
The front of the iPad 2 is pretty much unchanged from the original, with the exception of the new VGA front facing camera (720p rear camera). As we'll get to shortly, beneath the front of the iPad 2 are a number of magnets for use with Apple's new smart covers. The front bezel of the iPad 2 is available in both white and black. Surprisingly all of the AnandTech editors who contributed to this review opted for the white and all of us seemed to actually be pretty happy with the choice.
Apple iPad 2 (left), Apple iPad (right)
Flip the iPad 2 around and the back is a very familiar aluminum. Unfortunately with no protection back here you'll often find yourself laying the iPad 2 face down on a smart cover when it's not in use. Even on a clean desk I could hear tons of little particles grinding up against the aluminum. So far the iPad 2 has been pretty resilient, implying that it's made of a harder aluminum than what Apple uses in the MacBook Pro line. That being said, I still worry about scratching the back of the device. Apple makes beautiful products but their beauty isn't always durable.
The button setup hasn't changed since the original iPad. There's the familiar home button on the front (which feels a little softer than the original, but in a good way) and power/lock button up top.
Apple iPad 2 (left), Apple iPad (right)
Along the right side are the mute/rotation switch and the volume rocker. The ends of the volume rocker protrude out further in the iPad 2 than they did with the original - yet another welcome change.
Apple iPad 2 (bottom), Apple iPad (top)
The dock connector is arguably the biggest flaw in the design. Because of the angled edges of the new iPad, the dock connector actually finds itself located in the middle of a slope. As a result inserting a standard dock cable is a bit awkward. On the original iPad you could just line up the cable with the middle of the bottom edge and sneak it in, on the iPad 2 there's more of a guessing game - usually involving me scraping the cable side dock connector against the aluminum back looking for the mate.
Just like last time the iPad 2 is available in both WiFi and 3G versions. The 3G versions add A-GPS support will the WiFi version can only pinpoint your location using WiFi trilateration. Apple offers separate AT&T and Verizon editions of the iPad 2, both of which have the same black antenna bar along the top of the back face of the tablet.
| Apple iPad 2 Pricing Comparison | |||||
| 16GB | 32GB | 64GB | |||
| WiFi | $499 | $599 | $699 | ||
| AT&T 3G | $629 | $729 | $829 | ||
| Verizon 3G | $629 | $729 | $829 | ||
NAND capacities haven't increased, nor have prices. We likely won't see an increase in storage capacity until 25nm NAND ships in greater volume. The iPad 3 will probably start at 32GB and go all the way up to 128GB as a result.
Regardless of carrier, the 3G models require a $130 premium over the WiFi only models. Personally I'd say that some sort of cellular data connectivity is really necessary to make the iPad 2 as useful as possible. Whether that comes from a 3G model or through a MiFi/smartphone hotspot doesn't really matter.
The pricing as a whole is still absurd. Even if you opt for the $499 WiFi version you'll be out another $39 for a case, plus another $39 if you want the HDMI adapter and then there are all of the apps you will likely start buying. This is an expensive platform to buy into and rest assured that there will be an even faster version out next year. Apple hasn't had much pricing pressure from the competition, however as we mentioned in our CES 2011 coverage - ASUS will be shipping a $399 Honeycomb tablet this year that should start to change that.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
189 Comments
View All Comments
name99 - Sunday, March 20, 2011 - link
"you cant be a very tech inclined person if if you think you are, if you dont know that 1.2 GHz quad core arm cortex is coming later this year and so most tech people are waiting on that to happen"Really? You're going to buy that crappy 1.2GHz quad core A9? You're not going to wait the even better 1.8GHz quad core A15 that will be available in late 2012? Sucker!
Personally I think that if you buy now, before the 802.11s wireless spec is standardized, and before the chipsets support OpenGL 6, you're just throwing your money away. But I tell you, come 2020, that's going to be one SWEET rig that I finally get round to buying.
CZroe - Sunday, March 20, 2011 - link
"Just to test it out, I shot a series of videos of my car and stitched them together using iMovie, then added some titles and a soundtrack."I found iMovie completely useless on my iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS because I could not combine two clips/videos nor could I make a runing commentary with titles.
Are you sure that the iPad 2 version can do this or were all the "videos" in the "series" made from the same longer video?
CZroe - Sunday, March 20, 2011 - link
"Lately Apple has been trying its hand at first party case solutions. It stated with the bumper on the iPhone 4, carried over to the original iPad, and continues now with the iPad 2."When you fix that typo ("stated" instead of "started"), you may also want to correct that fact about what came first.
The iPad launched before the iPhone 4 so the official iPad case launched before the iPhone 4 bumper case, unless I somehow missed it and the official iPad case came out mid-life for the iPad.
darwiniandude - Sunday, March 20, 2011 - link
pja: The 64gb 3G version was at most $1049 AUD rrp, before the price drop, the 64gb WiFi one was $899 AUD rrp. The 64gb WiFi was never $1100 AUD unless you were looking at eBay pricing while stock was scarce. Anyway as this article states, the iPad, provided it does what you require, is a great combination of battery life, weight and size. Tablets certainly aren't for everyone though.Deepcover96: Agreed. Hopefully this changes later and I'm sure it will, but for the moment Android has a poor selection of AAA titles. Nothing like Garageband or iMovie, but certainly nothing like Infinity Blade, Nanostudio, Beatmaker 2, World of Goo etc. I'm sure Gameloft and EA will eventually do more, provided they can monitize ok on Android. And for the limitations of iOS apps, I wouldn't be able to have an iPad as my only portable device if it were not for Pages/Keynote/Numbers/TouchDraw/Photogene and so on.
CZroe: iMovie for iPhone (last year even) could do what you ask after the first update. This year it's greatly improved. A downside to this app and other Apple apps can be a lack of well known gestures. People don't know in Pages that if you hold your finger on an object, swiping with another finger moves it by one pixel, swipe with two moves it by 5 pixels, and so on. Likewise in iMovie, you swipe down through footage like you were cutting it at the playhead to make a cut. Each cut is a faultless transition, but then you can title each cut area separately. So you cut where you want the text to change, and label accordingly. In the new iMovie (only used on iPhone 4 as I sold 1st gen iPad whilst waiting for iPad2) when you import video there are standard iOS movie trim handles over the clip, you only need import the bits you want from each clip. But you could definitely always import more videos into one project in the last version. I think Apple need a modal help "Would you like to watch a short video about iMovie?" dialog or something on the first few launches with a website link, all these apps have their features tucked away so people often think they're less powerful than they are. I'm not sure Apple is choosing the best ratio of controls to expose to the user here. And yes, iPad case came out before iPhone 4, definitely.
kschaffner - Sunday, March 20, 2011 - link
An awesome free web browser for the iPad is Terra, it gives you tabs, has an incognito mode. etc I would definitely check it out.darwiniandude - Monday, March 21, 2011 - link
Thanks, I'll check it out. I only use iCab as I bought it for iPhone, it got a universal update and I've been happy enough not to bother looking elsewhere. (it does have a 'privacy' mode) also caching of pages for when you're offline. Anyway, I've downloaded Terra and will play with it on the new iPad. It looks nice.Ha, there's a Terra Incognito HD game, lol
medi01 - Monday, March 21, 2011 - link
Looking at the rounded back of ipads, ipad2 in particular, it's hard to understand, why the newer version is easier to hold.With rounded surface, they both should be harder to hold, and ip2 in particular.
darwiniandude - Monday, March 21, 2011 - link
The original had flat sides, probably about 4 or 5mm, and a giant convex back, domed in the centre. The new one is thinner, has no flat sides (the curve just falls away from the front) but it's more of a bevelled edge, and once you're about 1cm in from the edges the back is perfectly flat.Is it easier to hold? Dunno, haven't got mine yet :) But that's what people are saying.
thebeastie - Monday, March 21, 2011 - link
Everyday I use my Ipad even when I don't think about it.I use it as my wake up Radio clock via TuneIn Radio app. This app is great as I can go to sleep with the timer and then wake up to Internet radio which beats the hell out of analog radio. I been looking at a digital radio for a while but there is no reason now for me in the world to do that, and digital radios aren't cheap, it is just another device the Ipad as replaced perfectly with much better screen interface, and life time of free updates as app software evolves.
I think the Anandtech authors here saying that they found them selfs not using their original Ipad1 after a while didn't adapt their imaginations enough of where it can be used, maybe it is something to do with age and being hardwired into their life styles, dare I say it but becoming 'old school'.
I am wondering how they wake up in the morning, I find it hard to believe there is a better way to wake up in the morning then from an Ipad radio app, if it is about sound quality there are plenty of speaker options.
For people who don't get it then I say you just don't see things the same way, I would rather shove a pine cone up my backside then wait more then 2 seconds to be able to look at my email. A laptop takes ages to boot up let a lone the loading of the email client.
The main reason I got an Ipad was because I LOVE to read the paper outside, but the wind blowing the paper around drives me nuts, the Ipad is a killer in this regard.
damianrobertjones - Monday, March 21, 2011 - link
I have an Asus EP121, 4Gb ram, SSD drive, etc. It takes 20 seconds to start from cold onto the desktop. Anotgher 2 seconds to pen my email application.Is that fast enough?
from sleep, we're talking seconds