Apple Inc’s new iPad throws off a lot more heat than the previous version, lending weight to complaints on Internet forums that the hot-selling tablet computer could get uncomfortably warm after heavy use, an influential consumer watchdog found after running tests.
Consumer Reports, a widely followed group that reviews everything from electronics to cars, found that Apple’s new tablet racked up temperatures of 47°C after 45 minutes of running an intense action game, up to 8°C hotter than the previous model under similar conditions.
Using a thermal imaging camera, it ascertained that the front and rear of the tablet could run 8°C hotter than the iPad 2 after running Infinity Blade II, depending on whether it was plugged in, Consumer Reports said.
Photo: Reuters
The group, which can be instrumental in the success or failure of consumer products, has not reached a final decision on whether to recommend the latest model of Apple’s tablet. A spokesman urged caution on the part of consumers, but added the heat issue in itself did not appear serious enough to void its recommendation.
Consumer Reports plans to release a final review on the new iPad — which has sold more than 3 million units since it hit store shelves in more than 10 countries on Friday — in about five days.
“During our tests, I held the new iPad in my hands. When it was at its hottest, it felt very warm, but not especially uncomfortable if held for a brief period,” reviewer Donna Tapellini said in the report.
The third version of the iPad, which hit markets in 2010, set a record for first-weekend sales when it launched on Friday.
Hundreds of comments posted on an Apple support Web site, https://discussions.apple.com/message/17879177#17879177, centered on how the new iPad —- which sports a larger battery than its predecessor to power a sharper “retina” display screen and other bells and whistles —- could get uncomfortably warm.
“My new iPad ... definitely got significantly warm, almost too warm to hold warm, when running on LTE,” rawwave commented on Friday. “Not even doing a lot of downloads [just browsing Twitter], but having the LTE radio on, seemed to cause it to get noticeably hot.”
An Apple spokeswoman said the iPad was “within our thermal specifications.”
The company’s Web site lists the normal operating range for the new iPad as between 0°C and 35°C. It is designed to power down should that range be breached.
The company’s shares were up 0.8 percent at above US$605 in afternoon trade.
The new iPad’s battery is 70 percent bigger than the one in the previous version, said Kyle Wiens, chief executive of iFixit, a prominent Apple repair and parts supplier.
“It still has the same battery life,” he said. “So it will run hotter.”
The iPad 2 had a 25 watt-hour battery, while the new iPad’s battery has a capacity of 42.5 watt-hours, according to a tear-down analysis by iFixit.
DECOUPLING? In a sign of deeper US-China technology decoupling, Apple has held initial talks about using Baidu’s generative AI technology in its iPhones, the Wall Street Journal said China has introduced guidelines to phase out US microprocessors from Intel Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) from government PCs and servers, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The procurement guidance also seeks to sideline Microsoft Corp’s Windows operating system and foreign-made database software in favor of domestic options, the report said. Chinese officials have begun following the guidelines, which were unveiled in December last year, the report said. They order government agencies above the township level to include criteria requiring “safe and reliable” processors and operating systems when making purchases, the newspaper said. The US has been aiming to boost domestic semiconductor
Nvidia Corp earned its US$2.2 trillion market cap by producing artificial intelligence (AI) chips that have become the lifeblood powering the new era of generative AI developers from start-ups to Microsoft Corp, OpenAI and Google parent Alphabet Inc. Almost as important to its hardware is the company’s nearly 20 years’ worth of computer code, which helps make competition with the company nearly impossible. More than 4 million global developers rely on Nvidia’s CUDA software platform to build AI and other apps. Now a coalition of tech companies that includes Qualcomm Inc, Google and Intel Corp plans to loosen Nvidia’s chokehold by going
ENERGY IMPACT: The electricity rate hike is expected to add about NT$4 billion to TSMC’s electricity bill a year and cut its annual earnings per share by about NT$0.154 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has left its long-term gross margin target unchanged despite the government deciding on Friday to raise electricity rates. One of the heaviest power consuming manufacturers in Taiwan, TSMC said it always respects the government’s energy policy and would continue to operate its fabs by making efforts in energy conservation. The chipmaker said it has left a long-term goal of more than 53 percent in gross margin unchanged. The Ministry of Economic Affairs concluded a power rate evaluation meeting on Friday, announcing electricity tariffs would go up by 11 percent on average to about NT$3.4518 per kilowatt-hour (kWh)
OPENING ADDRESS: The CEO is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing and artificial intelligence at the trade show’s opening on June 3, TAITRA said Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) chairperson and chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) is to deliver the opening keynote speech at Computex Taipei this year, the event’s organizer said in a statement yesterday. Su is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing (HPC) in the artificial intelligence (AI) era to open Computex, one of the world’s largest computer and technology trade events, at 9:30am on June 3, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) said. Su is to explore how AMD and the company’s strategic technology partners are pushing the limits of AI and HPC, from data centers to