Apple on Tuesday denied any overheating concerns on the new iPad, saying that the product operates well within its thermal specifications.
Apple’s new iPad became available on Friday of last week and the company said it sold over 3 million units in the first three days. But overheating concerns have sparked a discussion on Apple’s Web site, with posters saying the new iPad was noticeably warmer than predecessors.
An Apple representative denied the tablet overheats and said that users should contact customer support if they have issues.
Consumer Reports conducted tests using a thermal imaging camera and recorded temperatures as high as 46 C. Those temperatures were reached when playing an action game, Infinity Blade II, after 45 minutes of running time. The temperature of the room was 22 C, and the iPad was being supported with the Smart Cover.
While some new iPad owners noticed no heating issues, others said the tablet gets warmer on the lower left bottom of the tablet. Multiple posters in the forum claimed to measure the temperature on the glass reaching 38 degrees C. Users also said the iPad became warm when playing games or running intense applications. Reviewers have also noted the new iPad being warmer than its predecessors.
The tablet has an operating temperature range of 32 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees to 35 degrees Celsius), which is the same as iPad 2. The A5X graphics core has two more graphics cores than its predecessor. The new iPad has a 42.5 watt-hour battery, which is denser than the 25 watt-hour battery in the iPad 2, according to the tablet teardown by iFixit.
Batteries have many times been the reason for overheating in laptops. Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Sony and Toshiba have in the past recalled lithium-ion battery packs as they could overheat, posing fire and burn hazards.
Apple in the past replaced some first-generation iPad Nanos sold between September 2005 and December 2006 due to overheating issues after tracking down the issue to a battery with a manufacturing defect.
Agam Shah covers PCs, tablets, servers, chips and semiconductors for IDG News Service. Follow Agam on Twitter at @agamsh. Agam’s e-mail address is [email protected]
