5 Reasons Why Your New iPad (iPad 3) Runs Hotter Than Your iPad 2
A lot of people are talking about the proposed ‘heatgate‘ issues effecting the new iPad (iPad 3). In fact earlier today we told you that the new iPad ran about 10 degrees hotter than the iPad 2. Now although heatgate seems to be a hot topic right now, a lot of people are not talking about the reason why the new iPad becomes warm during prolonged use. It is not a design flaw like Antennagate, rather, the actual specs of the new iPad that contribute to the increased operating temperature.
As brought to light by 9to5Mac, CNET spoke with DisplayMate’s Raymond Soneira about just why the new iPad is a bit “toastier”…
- Twice the LEDs: That means more heat coming from more LEDs. This is especially a problem at full brightness.
- 2.5X the power needed: The brightness efficiency is lower, because the new iPad has more pixels (which means more transistors) compared to the iPad 2. More pixels and transistors take up more space, meaning less opportunity for light to pass. “So they basically have to blast light through the LCD to make it come out.” Soneira adds: “I measured the LED power at maximum brightness–it’s two and a half times greater than on the iPad 2.”
- Battery generates more juice: The battery has to push out more power. This makes the battery warmer.
- Traditional LCD technology: Sharp’s power-efficient IGZO technology was not ready for the new iPad, which forced Apple to use traditional —and less power efficient— amorphous silicon tech. [To be fair, the older iPads also used this tech. Perhaps Apple was hoping to go 100-percent IGZO to offset the above].
- Qualcomm LTE Chip: Although not officially mentioned by CNET, the new iPad’s 4G connectivity support, allowing for faster than home broadband speeds, increases the operating temperature during continuous use due to the strain on the battery.
