New iPad 4 & Why iPad 3 Owners Shouldn’t Be Upset

As soon as Apple revealed the 4^th generation iPad owners of the iPad 3 got on Twitter and started complaining. It seems that they thought that because Apple had released a new iPad with bumped up specs that their iPad was now headed for the scrap heap.

iPad 4 comes just 8 months after New iPad ’3′

This is the idea that all owners of Apple products seem to get whenever Apple launch a new device. They believe there is a 1 year exclusivity where no newer version of their device will launch. However that isn’t exactly true.

Bear in mind that there was 18 months difference between the iPhone 4 and the 4S, and Macs are updated whenever Apple seem to feel like it and buyers of these devices are getting used to it. What comes as a shocker with the iPad 4 is the fact that the iPad has always stuck with a yearly scheduled, debuting in March or April every year since the original came about.

What this shows us is that the rule of an annual cycle at Apple can be broken. Given that Apple’s hardware is usually criticized for being behind rivals like Android, it is refreshing to see Apple consider shortening its upgrade cycle so as to stay ahead of the pack.

So should iPad 3 owners be upset? They don’t have to worry about things like makers of cases abandoning their iPad as it is the same size and shape as the newer model. Nor do they have to worry about app developers not supporting their tablet as two out of the three iPads on the market have the same A5 CPU as the 3^rd generation iPad. So no. You’ll be alright.