back to article Testicle-boiling new iPad ignites fanboi fury

US consumer organization Consumer Reports has backed punters’ assertions that the new iPad can overheat in normal use. Owners of the fondleslab have been complaining on various Apple forums (this discussion, for example, runs to 21 pages) that the device can become “burning hot” under various conditions. As one user wrote: “ …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    ouch

    Ouch ouch ouch ouch!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: ouch

      Hot Hot Hot Hot

      Not as hot as a cup of coffee though

      Made up story like Antennagate. Great for page hits but short on substance

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: ouch

      Let's compare it to an Android tablet...

      Ooops! No one cares about them. No click through for ad revenue there.

      However, if there was a compelling Android tablet ,,,

      Ah forget it

      1. Chet Mannly

        Re: ouch

        "Ooops! No one cares about them"

        No one cares about 45% of the market? More like there aren't any overheating problems fanboi...

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: ouch

          45% of which market? Your home?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            "45% of which market?"

            Thanks for that. A rare occasion to wish upvotes came with a "deluxe" setting.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: ouch

          45% ?

          Which tablet maker sold 7.6 million units during the last quarter? Dream on Fandroid

          Not all of them put together. That's who

          1. MooseNC
            FAIL

            Re: ouch

            7.6 million sheep, interesting.

            Actually, it's probably 2.533 million sheep as they bought three iPads (Not the kind women use, but close) to cover if they lose it, and to brainwash their child 24/7.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: ouch

              mmmm. barbecued lamp chops

          2. Jean-Luc
            Happy

            Re: ouch

            >Which tablet maker sold 7.6 million units during the last quarter? Dream on Fandroid

            Gotta, say, this post, and the lot preceding it, reaches a new high in the fanboi/android sux wars. Shining rhetoric, brilliant wit, cutting edge insights & well-argued opinions.

            My daddy is better than your daddy! Nah, nah, nah, nah!

            Unfortunately, verrry slowly, the rest of the posts start having interesting things to say.

        3. a_been
          Holmes

          Re: ouch @ Chet Mannly

          Apple sells in 5 days more than Amazon sold since the Fire has been out and Google doesn't count the Fire as part of Android. Hmmm, yet you say 45%. Does anyone still believe this crap, there is an iPad market and a gadget market and in the gadget market Amazon is the new king.

          This is so fucking stupid, there are only 2 companies that can succeed in the tablet market, Apple and Microsoft because they are the only companies who are taking it seriously. Android will be left aside if it only supplies dumb phone+ and thats all it does. All the idiots will say "only fanbois buy it", well look at betamax, jaguar, dreamcast and HD-DVD, they are dead. VHS, GameBoy, Playstation and Blue-ray won.

          You can not win or survive on Android by producing tablets when faced with competition that is determined to provide support and work out what the customer needs (not wants as everyone wants a dragon or unicorn). If you don't believe Apple have a clue or that Microsoft are willing to turn on a penny, more fool you.

          Google have to buy Motorola and say fuck everyone else, we will attack the market and fuck everyone else who is using Android or Android is dead in the tablet market. Imagine you work in a company and you have Samsung with "we will support for never" or Apple "we have a track record", who will you choose?

          When you have to sign the check, you will think "Is my job on the line if i fuck up". At this moment there is only one safe choice. How the hell do you think Microsoft got there monopoly and raped IBM. They gave people safety. I don't know if Apple can do this with the iPad but it's fucking clear that in a business, you would be an idiot to bet on an Android from one manufacture.

          This is why there are so few apps for ICS on tablets. It's not the fragmentation on tablets that is the problem, it's the commitment. When HP gives up, Microsoft is saying they will spend billions, BB is fucked and no Android tablet is getting traction or updates while Apple is showing commitment (100 billion helps). What's the safe and smart thing to do?

          1. MooseNC

            Re: ouch @ Chet Mannly

            "well look at betamax, jaguar, dreamcast and HD-DVD, they are dead. VHS, GameBoy, Playstation and Blue-ray won."

            So, you are saying that Apple will win the tablet war, and based on previous experience, the inferior formats win?

            Okay, thanks for that clarification.

            1. Greg J Preece
              Flame

              @Moose

              This argument is pathetic and playground enough, don't get me started on you about BD clearly being a superior format to HD-DVD. :-p

          2. pcsupport

            Re: ouch @ Chet Mannly

            I understood every word you said but still haven't got a clue what your trying to get at.

          3. Piro Silver badge

            Re: ouch @ Chet Mannly

            Hold on a minute, Jaguar vs Gameboy? That doesn't .. oh, you mean the Atari Lynx.

          4. andreas koch
            Meh

            Re: ouch @ a_been

            You make it sound as if there was a need for anyone in any business to sign for a tablet.

            If you sign off the expense for tablets for workers that formerly got by nicely with a clipboard and a couple of sheets of A4, and now save the paper and destroy working time by getting too distracted to actually do something because they're shooting birds at pigs, well, yes, your job could be 'on the line'.

            And so it should be.

            Tablets are a fashion article, with a few exceptions. This is good for fashionable companies like Apple which has the power to make every barrista feel like an artist. Great business idea, wonderful, no doubt!

            But trying to justify the success by stating how essential the support is in a productive environment is just, in my opinion, delusional. Someone who is creative with an iPad is also creative without. Someone who can't make a good movie without an iPad will not turn out 'The Shawshank Redemption' using one.

            Someone give me a professional application where it's essential to have an iPad.

            1. Ben Tasker
              Joke

              Re: ouch @ a_been

              iPad Tester

              Just saying!

              1. andreas koch
                Holmes

                Re: ouch @ a_been

                All right, Ben, you win. I didn't think of that.

                Hat off to you.

            2. TheOtherHobbes

              Re: ouch @ a_been

              With supporting infrastructure, *any* job that needs mobile or on-site data entry or data access has the potential to be easier (and potentially cheaper) when done with a tablet.

              That's a lot of applications, including medicine, logistics, security, personnel, sales, and many, many more,

              Of course you *can* use paper. It just takes a lot longer and is likely to be more error prone.

              Whether you'd want to use an iPad or some other tablet is a different issue. But the point stands - the form factor is more efficient and convenient than a laptop. But it offers most of the same benefits, plus a few of its own.

              1. andreas koch
                FAIL

                @ TheOtherHobbes

                Your '*any* job that needs mobile or on-site data entry or data access' is already neatly serviced (and for quite a bit cheaper) by hand-held data terminals. They have also mostly got (depending on model, of course) built-in bar code scanners and a touch screen for the recipients signature. They can take the rough knockings that 'mobile or on-site data entry and access' faces each day.

                I'm sure you have seen them in use at your local supermarket for stock control and reordering; if you should happen to work in a position that allows you to sign for any delivery, you might even have touched one. Most couriers and parcel services use them. Most of these are made by Symbol, a Motorola company. They do the job wonderfully.

                Again a comparison: Dyson vacuum cleaners. I've read of people who said: 'Great hoovers! I bought 4 in the last 8 years! They're soo good!' Have you ever seen a professional cleaning company use them? Here in the UK most cleaners use Numatics, because you can kick them down the stairs and they'll still work where a Dyson would have shattered in pieces so small that even their Hepa filter would have let them through.

                And coming to medicine: If I ever see a doctor* standing in front of my hospital bed looking up my symptoms on google, I'll start crawling as fast as I still can...

                The right tool for the right job. Numatic for vacuum cleaning. Symbol for data entry. iPad for playing Angry Birds.

                *Probably a Barrista who didn't like being an artist.

          5. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: ouch @ Chet Mannly

            If all I'm looking for is an e-reader, I'm not buying the iPad3, I'll stick with a Kindle or Fire (although the price is still too high for what they do). Most people can't afford the cheapest iPad AND Apple isn't going to release a lower-class version, so it's a moot point. Amazon is targetting the Casio market. That's why e-readers have basic web browsing and play mp3's. Apple is dominating because they have a structured platform that is easy to use and they have snob appeal. If android ever gets its act together, it may not make as much money as Apple, but it can definately outsell the iPad by selling the same experience for less money.

        4. Rob
          Go

          @Chet Re: ouch

          Your 45% figure is in relation to the Smartphone market where Android is indeed saturating the market over the iOS phones. The Tablet market is entirely different at the moment, until the manufacturers produce android tablets at varying price points (like the smartphone market) I can't see Apple budging from the top spot in the tablet market for awhile yet.

      2. Fibbles
        Trollface

        Re: ouch

        How to make an Android tablet compelling for an Apple fanboy:

        1) Disable most of the useful features

        2) Double the price

        3) Tell them they won't be cool without it

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: ouch

          Don't worry, A generation will fix it.

          The new iPad3 hotspot is an intentional design feature that Apple were forced to include by the US government. It's designed so when it's on the lap, it reduces sperm count of Apple owners and stops them breeding.

          The US government were extremely worried by the low intelligence of the Apple buying population, and this is designed to restore the balance.

          If you have watched Idiotcracy, then you will know the dangers of allowing Apple owners to continue to breed.

          The Brawndo iPad3, it's got a retina display and electrolytes, as that's what plants crave.

        2. cs94njw

          Re: ouch

          Well, when you say 'cool'....

        3. TheOtherHobbes

          Re: ouch

          116F - it's the *new* cool.

          1. Field Marshal Von Krakenfart

            Re: ouch

            116F is how crApple define " iCool "

          2. dssf

            Re: ouch

            Maybe the NEW red eye in Retina is the T-1000 jumping over the 800 series?

            Call it "Therminator"

            Cure: Visine: it gets the red out...

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      iPad 3, scorchio!

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuSPdsPWit0

      1. TheRealRoland

        Re: iPad 3, scorchio!

        Fefefefefefefefefefe...chris waddle.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: ouch

      Story now in the Daily Mail!

      Enough said.

  2. Sean Timarco Baggaley

    And yet...

    ... nobody seems to mind having their nuts roasted by cheap laptops. Odd, that.

    Also, would this be the same "Consumer Reports" that implied that the laws of physics apply only to the iPhone 4, and no other phone sees signal attenuation, ever, regardless of how it's held? I ask only because my particular iPhone 4 appears never to have received their memo.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: And yet...

      Mine does not run hot.

      Apparently someone in California left one in the car in the sun turned it on and felt it was hot....hmmm.

      If it does apple will supply a software fix.

      If it melts I'll get a new one.

      Or is it just a non story hyped for headlines?

      However if mine explodes I will post.

    2. Greg J Preece

      @Sean Timarco Baggaley

      Cheap laptops? The laptop that currently attempts to burn my nuts off every time I ask it to do something more intensive than pick its nose is a MacBook Pro. Might be because the cooling/ventilation through a thin slit in the monitor hinge is a bloody stupid idea done so their machine stays pretty, I dunno. Either way, there's a reason the cat takes every available opportunity to sit on it.

      1. badger31
        Happy

        Re: @Sean Timarco Baggaley

        The reason the MBP gets so hot under heavy use is that Apple don't allow the fan to run fast enough. They seem to think that being quiet is more important than temperature control, a habit they picked up with the original Macintosh. Just install a third-party fan controller - I use smcFanControl - and set your own, more sensible, fan speeds. It may be a bit noisier, but you get to keep your goolies.

        1. Greg J Preece

          Re: @Sean Timarco Baggaley

          I did install a more sensible fan controller. It's called Linux. :-D

          Good ol' rEFIt, letting me tri-boot the machine. Incidentally, Mac OS X is the system of the three I use least...

      2. Blank Reg

        Re: @Sean Timarco Baggaley

        I have laptops from Dell, HP, Sony, Acer, Toshiba and Apple. The only one that gets hot enough to be uncomfortable, and sometimes painful is the macbook pro.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          wow

          You must be important with a laptop collection like that!

    3. nsld
      FAIL

      Re: And yet...

      Sean, your devotion to the dark side is admirable but given that even Apple have admitted the aerial design was flawed your making yourself look like a bit of a numpty.

      Whilst all phones can have the signal degraded by the meat sack holding it the Apple design was inherently flawed.

    4. This post has been deleted by its author

    5. Keep Refrigerated

      Re: And yet...

      You know, I love how when the antenna problems appeared for iPhone 4, all the fanboys obtained physics and engineering degrees overnight - which allowed them to explain to friends in detail the technical aspects of how signal attenuation in mobile phones works.

      Presumably they're all swatting for their masters right now in thermal dynamics to be able to explain how batteries produce more heat with less internal resistance.

      Android, because it's so simple you don't need to be a rocket scientist to justify owning one!

  3. Chris 171
    Mushroom

    ihot

    Pushing the envelope into the fire here....?

    SuperHi resolution direction does puzzle me, your carrying a lot more energy around for a silly number of pixels..? I'd rather have better/more functionality and extended life. Magic, thanks.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: ihot

      There's an Android/Win8 tablet that will do that for you

      Oh! Wait a minute, no there isn't

      1. Chet Mannly

        Re: ihot

        Transformer Prime gets 16 hours of battery life.

        That's more than 10.

        Boy the fanbois are out in force today...

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Thumb Down

          @Chet

          The prime only gets 16 hour when you attach the external battery.

          You can also attach an external battery to the iPad and get 20 hours! I have one and it cost less than £20.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: @Chet

            That can't be a genuine accessory!

            Hiss!

            Unclean! UNCLEAN!

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: @Metavisor

            ah, but YOU look like a douche using that funny dongle and wire thing, where as I just look like I'm using a really slim laptop.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: @Metavisor

              There's no dongle or wire, it's a cover with a battery.

              Looks like a regular notepad.

          3. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: @Chet

            Ah the Great Metavisor, are you still wearing your 'I just bought a new iPad' t-shirt and Apple superhero suit?

        2. h4rm0ny

          Re: ihot

          I don't really know much about Transformer Prime but I'm sort of looking for an alternative to the iPad, so I thought I'd do a quick search.

          I'm sorry - I don't care how good it is, I refuse to buy any product that is marketed to people like this:

          http://eee.asus.com/en/eeepad/transformer-prime/features

        3. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          @Chat

          Ahh yes, the Transformer Prime, basically a broken laptop for people who don't need software.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    disgruntled

    Foxconn employee fiddling with the inards perhaps, hence intermittently reported problem.

  5. toadwarrior
    Thumb Down

    A whole 12 degrees hotter than the ipad? Oh the horror of it all. I ran games on my old laptops before that I sworn were causing physical damage to the system and, at worst, I would put a fan on and aim it at the machine.

    112 is nothing. I had a desktop that wasn't even breaking a sweat when it reported 114. These people are pussies.

    1. Robinson

      Well...

      I expect you didn't sit with your desktop on your lap for a few hours...

      My iPad 2 runs fine though. I know it's irrelevant but I just wanted to tell people I had an iPad 2 64Gb WiFi.

      Thanks.

    2. Chet Mannly

      Its mountain out of a molehill stuff, but its probably more relevant because ipads are hand held, whereas lots of 'laptops' actually spend their life on desks where temperature isn't really an issue.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      112 is nothing? Bloody right - thou 'rt right soft bast'd

      You're talking deg F I think? I left my Titanium G5 to its own devices for a couple of hours with a web page open and a clip fan pointing at it. Came back to find the internal fan on "she canny take any mare Cap'n" and the CPU temperature monitor clocking 100 deg C (212 F in 'Merkin apparently). The cause was a flash banner (pre ABP days) in the web page; shutting the page dropped them temp by 50 percent in 2 minutes. The machine regularly ran at 80 C when running Photoshop.

      For a year or two it was used extensively in a room that was warmed in the winter by a very, very smoky wood burning stove that left everything thick with black soot. When I took the G5 apart to upgrade the hard drive, the inside casing (following the pattern if the passage of the air) and some of the components were actually encrusted with carbon deposits, a few mil thick in places, that had to be "de-coked" with a screwdriver, emery cloth, and in one or two spots, a small hammer.

      None of this apparently had any adverse effect, as it ended up lasting 7 years with no hardware issues, only retired due to replacement.

      However cooling is now less of an issue for me. An' its right grand livin' in 't shoebox in 't middle of 't M1.

      1. MooseNC
        Mushroom

        Re: 112 is nothing? Bloody right - thou 'rt right soft bast'd

        Well, why do you think they still use old-ass, slow chips in the space probes? They tolerate a whole lot more crap. Same thing at Apple. If I scream and yell and tell you how much you want what I have behind my back, you're gonna want it.

        "Can I have three farthings for a lump of shit, please?"

    4. TheRealRoland

      my iPad

      Heated up walking to school uphill both ways!

  6. ElNumbre
    Joke

    Twot

    44 and a bit c's doesn't seem to be hot enough to cook eggs, but may cook sausage (fingers).

    Just need a laptop for some roasted nuts to go with that...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Twot

      You'll never cook sausages at 44C, even a rare steak starts at 48C and still there's almost no moisture loss at that temperature.

      You'd only get barely warm sausages (and probably food poisoning)

      (I'm a sous vide enthusiast)

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I wonder how long until someone sues for burning their sausage on their new ipad...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Not a problem at this temperatures, unless your sausage is made of chocolate.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Most likely the "featured" quad core gpu. And most likely a lot of Apple fanboys will deny it.

    1. An0n C0w4rd

      You're right, because at least one article points out that the hot spot is where the battery is, NOT where the circuit board is......

      But lets not let facts get in the way of a good Apple bashing.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Apple, maker of nut warming batteries then?

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Facepalm

    Linkbait much?

    New iPad, used under high load for 45 minutes, gets 7℃ warmer than the previous model

    - is this worth two news articles in El Reg (and counting, I suspect more are coming)? Seriously?

    Note to hacks: not everyone posting on Apple forums is an owner. Anyone can post there.

    Taking quotes from there is not journalism.

  10. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    did you notice

    A couple of posters here converted the legacy Degrees Farenheit measurements to Centigrade, I would have expected an Aussie journo' to actually do that automatically.

    It's just such a bother looking it up https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=116f+to+celsius :-)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: did you notice

      Higher numbers make better linkbait headlines.

      I'm surprised they didn't use Kelvins, which would have allowed them to say the iPad get up to a temperature of 320!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: did you notice

        Better yet, try Rankines.

        How does 575 degrees (°Ra) sound?

        1. Steve Evans

          Re: did you notice

          Hmmm... I think we need El Reg units.

          Now I don't think 44 degrees is too much for a minstrel to melt, but I imagine a creme egg would be toast, and toast would be err, bread.

          1. SoaG

            Reg units

            Indeed, but what ever the comparison it needs small enough units that even the point at which water freezes will still measure OVER 9000!

            As will everything above that. Which then renders any attempt to measure or differentiate moot because the answer will always be the same.

          2. auburnman

            Great

            Now I want to melt a creme egg onto toast. Only 8 more hours to work...

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: did you notice

      > https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=116f+to+celsius

      So you need a computer, encryption, networking and a monitor (for the result) to convert Fahrenheit to Centigrade?

      I was taught how to do that, just using mental arithmetic, when I was nine years old. Just subtract 32, divide by nine and multiply by five.

      Just because you can do something with a computer doesn't mean you should.

  12. eSeM

    Now becoming obvious why they couldn't put a faster processor in the new iPad ....

  13. defiler

    Wake me up when it's news...

    Now I'm usually quite vocal when it comes to bashing Apple's more idiotic products, and I have no great love for a giant mobile phone, but this seems to be a non-event. What, 44 deg C? Meh. So it's working harder than the old version - not a big surprise, especially given the battery. Maybe the backlight is getting hot, in which case it may be wise to turn the brightness down a little (and vastly increase your battery life). Maybe the CPU is getting hot, in which case I'm sure a patch will come along soon that'll throttle it to keep it within reasonable thermal parameters.

    Let's be honest, it's not a supercomputer, so it doesn't need to run full-throttle all the time. Especially without Flash support...

    I still feel that they should have shipped a sort-of iPad 2+ with the faster CPU and huge battery, but the old screen. Would have had fantastic battery life, and probably have run cooler to boot.

    Executive summary: "So what?"

    1. ThomH

      Re: Wake me up when it's news...

      I make it almost 47 celsius (don't you subtract 32 and multiply by five ninths?), so it seems to be the difference between the iPad 2 topping out at almost exactly healthy body temperature and the iPad 3 pushing on through to about 10% above healthy body temperature. So I can understand why people are noticing even though I agree with your executive summary.

      1. JC 2

        Re: Wake me up when it's news...

        Exactly. It's degrees rise over ambient or body temperature that's significant, and that the chips themselves are getting far hotter still to generate this heat level on the outside of the casing which bodes ill for product lifespan.

        I wonder how much product longevity testing they did at Foxconn, and doubt it was more than a couple years. Have the chips even existed that long in finished silicon? Even if iPad4 displaces it by then, I'd never want to buy a product that self destructs within two years.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Wake me up when it's news...

          Not sure 'product longevity' beyond the next scheduled incremental upgrade matters to fanbois.

          1. ThomH

            Re: Wake me up when it's news... (@Hey Nonny Nonny Mouse)

            Given that they've sold three million of them in the first three days, and judging by the full-year sales figures for the previous two devices, one assumes iPads are being bought by more than just Apple's hardcore customer niche. Compare to the AppleTV to see how well an Apple product does when people on the whole just aren't all that interested.

        2. It wasnt me
          Happy

          Re: Wake me up when it's news...

          Ever heard of accelerated life test ? No, probably not. They run it way outside its design parameters for a much shorter time, then extrapolate using well proven models. This won't have been done by Foxconn but by the ASIC vendor. The silicon itself won't suffer any any ill effects untill well above 125 deg C junction temperature.

          All in all, I suggest its a storm in a (cold) teacup. As many others have also pointed out.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    That's 2.45 degrees Hiltons !!!

    in the correct units, of course. Please do remind us of the formal definition of degrees Hilton?

    1. /dev/me
      Paris Hilton

      Re: Back to school!

      As 0 degrees Hilton (0H) is the temperature of Hilton at rest (36C)

      And 100 degrees Hilton (100H) is the temperature of Hilton during intense activity (38C)

      So the iPad3 can get as hot as 550 degrees Hilton. And now you know why this is newsworthy.

      For comparison, room temperature, what most people feel comfortable in, is -700H. And that's a big difference. So there's no argument; it's all proven facts and science. The iPad gets hot and makes you sweaty. Whether that's a Bad Thing, I'll leave to the philosophers...

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Serves them right

    If you're stupid enough to buy a product day 1, sight unseen, don't come complaining if it has faults.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    Hot Applegate

    Is that Christina from 10 years ago?

  17. RAMChYLD
    Boffin

    LTE not usable outside North America?

    Blame it on the 3GPP forum allowing 6 different bands and for Uncle Sam to choose bands that are not in line with the rest of the world. Apparently, LTE will partially work in Europe where the 800MHz band is used. Those in Asia and Oceania are pretty much SOL. Chalk it up to apple using a chip which is only compatible with US frequencies (of which, only one is confirmed for European deployment and none for Asia and Oceania).

    This is nudging me towards getting the Wi-Fi only model. Not that it's a bad thing.

    1. Gordon 10

      Re: LTE not usable outside North America?

      What's the LTE beef? The 4g iPad costs no more than the 3G iPad and it still works on 3g and 2g everywhere else.

      So in summary I've paid nothing extra than I would have paid any way.

  18. Silverburn

    What some people forget

    ...is that this is stress test warm. 90% of usage will be browsing, video etc and temps will barely register. An hour of video games should see it run 'warm', but hardly scolding.

    Ad you want hot? Try an hour 3G browsing on an iPhone 3G. I used it as a pocket warmer back in January...

    1. MrZoolook
      Flame

      Re: What some people forget

      So... Apple products make good fire-lighters?

  19. Winkypop Silver badge
    Flame

    Selling like hot, errr iPads!

    Still want one

    Still getting one

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Apple claims +5 F over iPad 2

    If true that would not seem like a huge difference. Do consumers understand that increased CPU/IGP performance generally requires more electrical power consumption = heat?

  21. ramblog
    Trollface

    Its a Feature, you phandroids!

    Can I patent an iOS App for providing personal heating / heating up sausages? Simply have to put the CPU+GPU in a loop. Am sure the hordes will lap it up at 0.99$ for iPhone 4S/4.99$ for iPad 1 and 9.99$ for HD version iPad 3.

    Though I havent actually measured the temp in Hilton scale, my SGSII running Gingerbread becomes alarmingly hot after 30 mins of keeping the display ON even if brightness is like 40% and only the default browser is used.

  22. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    This is hillarious...

    ..it's like a bunch of 5 year olds bickering over which toy is best.

    Who gives a shit which one is best, really...grow up and use the one you like to use.

    Now shake hands and go and play nicely together.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Joke

      "Now shake hands and go and play nicely together."

      We can't, because Apple have patented 'hand gestures'.

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    If it's discharging a significantly larger battery in the same amount of time of course it's going to generate more heat.

  24. Version 1.0 Silver badge
    Happy

    Great fanbois comments on the apple blog!

    "... if I were a designer I would program it to run hot for the 1st couple cycles to bed the chip in ..."

    BTW, I checked and there's a low pitched hum coming from Steve's grave...

  25. Robert Flatters
    Black Helicopters

    thermal specifications

    So Apple are saying that they tested their fondle slab and have found that it fall 'well within our thermal specifications'. What are their thermal specification? any clues apple, please tell us.

  26. Bear Features

    This can't be right... are we sure people are holding it correctly? ;)

  27. magnetik
    Happy

    El Reg units of measure

    "this discussion runs to 21 pages"

    I always laugh when I see this kind of thing. Like the number of pages on a forum means anything. That 80 page discussion by Justin Bieber fans about which of his songs is best surely proves he's the greatest talent ever, right?

  28. Jedit Silver badge
    Coat

    Cremation

    If it's good enough for Steve Jobs, it's good enough for you!

  29. Matthew 17

    46.7 degrees C

    It's warm but I wouldn't say it's baking, how long are these people fondling their slabs?

    If it's sat on their laps I'd be more concerned about curvature of the spine.

  30. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Brightness

    According to various forum postings and news reports, quite a few users need to have the iPad's brightness to 100% to cause these type of temperatures. For example:

    "Marlyse Comte, a Web developer and designer, has owned all three generations of iPads. When the latest version arrived in the mail, she said she noticed that it got “really, really warm on the sides and on the glass surface."

    “When I say it was really hot it wasn’t comparable to a laptop, but hot compared to any other iPad, where I never felt anything,” said Comte, 53. “My first thought was maybe by mistake I bought a lemon.”

    Comte began searching online for a solution and came across an Apple message board where many people had posted similar overheating problems. The Kansas City, Mo., resident turned the iPad’s screen from 100% brightness to 85% and said “the problem vanished.”

    http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tin-consumer-reports-ipad-20120320,0,638136.story?track=rss"

  31. Lockwood

    If you burn your hand with it, you're just holding it wrong.

  32. Ojustaboo

    who will be the first with the egg cooking app

    Can see it now.

    Just 59p to download, you get a nice pic of a frying pan on the screen and all you do is crack an egg and away you go

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: who will be the first with the egg cooking app

      Eggs yolks only gelatinises at 65C, colder than that and it's pretty much raw and liquid. Plus they only firm up at 80C (176 F).

      Translation: You need a lot more heat.

      1. stanimir

        Re: who will be the first with the egg cooking app

        65C will be no issue in hot Texas.... or India

  33. Tony Paulazzo
    Unhappy

    The heat issue is a real thing with this 'The New iPad' iPad 3. Luckily, I guess, I've always run screen brightness at 50% with the auto brightness thing on, even with my original ipad, so I'd not noticed the warmth thing, but when I read about it I switched brightness to 100% and played a 3D game and yea' that bugger runs hot after about 15 minutes.

    Returned to 50% and auto on and it cooled right down, but... long term effects? if it burns out after 15 months (or 3 months out of warranty), who's out of pocket - fine in America (class action suit) or Italy (2 years warranty), but us in the UK (don't know about Australian Warranties), shit out of luck.

    So really, we need to know within the 14 days grace period - how much damage is that heat wreaking over time? whether to exchange it for an iPad2.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Electronics won't get damaged at these temperatures. Laptops run at much higher temperatures (60-100C) for far longer, with no ill effects.

      1. Vic

        > Electronics won't get damaged at these temperature

        I doubt the battery will enjoy it much, though.

        Is Apple setting itself up for a load of warranty-replacements in a year or so?

        Vic.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          FAIL

          @Vic

          Laptops also have batteries, do they fail that much given the much higher temperatures inside them?

          The battery of the iPad sits to the side of the circuit board, so it's not even touching the hottest part.

          What you're saying is baseless FUD.

          1. Vic

            Re: @Vic

            > do they fail that much given the much higher temperatures inside them?

            Yes. Most Lithium-based batteries fail because of temperature.

            > The battery of the iPad sits to the side of the circuit board

            Well, an earlier poster was telling us that it is the battery that is getting hot. And if the external case is hitting 45C or thereabouts, the battery behind it will be hotter. That won't do it any favours.

            > What you're saying is baseless FUD.

            It is no such thing. It was a *question* related to an earlier statement that the battery is getting hot.

            Is questioning no longer permitted?

            Vic.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: @Vic

              > Yes. Most Lithium-based batteries fail because of temperature.

              Yet laptop batteries don't fail that much, and laptops run hotter than the iPad.

              > Well, an earlier poster was telling us that it is the battery that is getting hot. And if the external case is hitting 45C or thereabouts,

              Maybe you shouldn't trust earlier posters and look at the Consumer Reports yourself?

              The yellow (HOT) area is clearly the CPU. Now look at e.g. the iFixit teardown and you'll see the battery is in the cooler area. The 45C is in the CPU, not the whole external case.

              > Is questioning no longer permitted?

              Like it wasn't a loaded question. Is this your attempt at RDF? Yes that's a loaded question too.

              1. Vic

                Re: @Vic

                > Yet laptop batteries don't fail that much

                Oh yes they do.

                > Maybe you shouldn't trust earlier posters and look at the Consumer Reports yourself?

                Ah. I see. Discussion is verboten. Thankyou for letting us all know Herr Oberfuehrer.

                > Like it wasn't a loaded question.

                It was not a loaded question. Your paranoia is showing.

                > Is this your attempt at RDF? Yes that's a loaded question too.

                I don't do RDF. Occasionally, I like to ask people what they think. If you believe that to be "loading", you're going to find a lot of loaded questions in the world...

                Vic.

    2. NoneSuch Silver badge
      Boffin

      @Tony Paulazzo

      >if it burns out after 15 months (or 3 months out of warranty)...

      I suspect it is designed to burn out two days after the release data of the Newer iPad. :-)

      As for the New iPad, it has a resolution that is well below what the human eye can even discern; A human can detect 135 DPI at 18". iPad 2 has 134 DPI. New iPad is 264. So all that new quad core hardware is driving a screen that the average human cannot see the difference in anyway.

      The battery life is shortened by roughly an hour, the weight has increased, the charge time has increased dramatically (and it has to be plugged into the mains, not a USB anymore), LTE is not available to the majority of non-US users (or US owners who travel) and the list of new options can be counted on less than the fingers of one hand. So why are people paying through the nose for this?

      Oh right. It looks cool. Does not run cool, but that is beside the point to many I suppose.

  34. W.O.Frobozz
    Thumb Up

    Can I be first to say...

    "You're holding it wrong?" I'm sure someone in the Cloud of Distortion is bound to say it.

  35. Audrey S. Thackeray

    Is this story bad for Apple?

    Or does keeping their product publicised keep it in the thoughts of purchasers in a useful way even if the story is superficially negative?

    Anyone in marketing care to comment?

  36. s. pam Silver badge
    Flame

    Hot Hot Baby

    Goodness gracious my balls are on fire

    -- Shamelessly stolen from Jerry Lee Lewis :)

    1. diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

      Re: Hot Hot Baby

      Or great balls of ire.

      C.

  37. Grashnak

    Specs Under Review

    Anticipated Explanation:

    Our rigorous specification identifies several levels of thermal comfort:

    Level 1: Puppy in your lap

    Level 2: Cheesy pizza burning the roof of your mouth

    Level 3: Passing out face first over a bonfire whilst camping

    Level 4: Spontaneous human combustion

    Level 5: Trip to the centre of the sun

    The iPad continues to function as intended at about Level 3.5. Don't hold it wrong.

  38. Armando 123

    And yet

    Even with this, my wife will complain that she's cold.

    1. amanfromearth

      Re: And yet

      You should get yourself a hot wife.

      Like mine.

  39. the-it-slayer
    Gimp

    Wow...

    ...this is a Anti-Apple bridgades playground. Publicity is publicity to Apple. Whether it be positive or negative.

    Anyway, why aren't we seeing stories of Dell, HP, Lenovo laptops overheating and almost knocking your bollocks off due to extremely poor design and use of plastics in casing? God knows what that temp on the iPad 3 would be like if it had a plastic backing. At least the aluminium is spreading the heat making it less noticable.

    *sigh*

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Wow...

      >At least the aluminium is spreading the heat making it less noticable.

      Not really working then is it. Seems it got noticed pretty quickly.

      Nice try fanboi.

  40. Atonnis
    Devil

    Ooh! My turn!

    Maybe the hot spot is actually the cloud-shared storage point of all of the collective rage from all the iOS fanbois outside of the US who suddenly realised that Apple actually don't give a shit about what wireless technology they use.

  41. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'm not Complaining

    Sterilised Fanbois are not a problem for me.

    iDarwin Certified.

  42. Gil Grissum
    Pint

    You're just holding it wrong. Hold it like the rest of us Borg and you will be just fine.

  43. Tieger
    FAIL

    i suppose it does get a bit warm... with the brightness on full, and playing 3d games, it can put out nearly enough heat that if i touch it i think 'ooh, thats a bit warm' - not qutie though, it took reading this article telling me it was warm to make me actually think it.

    since when is 44 (or 46.7 or whatever) C 'testicle-boiling', or even 'particularly noticable'?

  44. Doug Glass
    Go

    Population Control

    As a dues-paying member of the ultra liberal left, and strong supporter of Obamacare and it's take on free birth control, I'd say The Sacred J is cooking 'the boys" in an attempt to keep down the birth rate as is his dark mentor's wish.

    Funny thing is, he's just thermally castrating the faithful.

  45. John A Blackley

    Did anybody consider the option

    of "If you don't like it don't buy one"?

    Or would that spoil all the fun of pointless snarking for the sake of it?

    1. Chris 171

      Re: Did anybody consider the option

      Option two please, its a laughfor both sides Shirley?

  46. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Juvenile Fanbois on all sides

    It's a mental illness.

    UTTER FAIL.

  47. Charlie van Becelaere

    It seems obvious

    that there will soon be a recall of the iPad 2 (and earlier?) for operating at too low a temperature.

    The other possibility is that they are also now operating at these elevated temperatures without the reality distortion field which formerly obtained.

  48. Andus McCoatover
    Windows

    Gosh, the Downvotes on many of these comments!

    Is there an Apple employee running amok?

    Quick, El. Reg., delete Steve Jobs' account!

  49. Andus McCoatover
    Windows

    Heat and MTBF (Mean time before failure)

    I understood the rule of thumb was 10 degrees (non-libyan or American degrees, but Celcius) increase in operating temperature meant 50% decrease in MTBF...

    Corrections gratefully received.

  50. WorkingFromHome
    WTF?

    Wow - some of the comments!

    Here we go again we some really petty name-calling from various contributors.

    The silly thing about all this Apple/Microsoft/Google/whoever love and hate is that it's nothing more than the old human tribe mentality. It's the geek version of being a football fan.

    Why anyone feels the need to idolise any company is beyond me - they exist to get you to spend your money, nothing more. They do not love you, they do not worry about you, they do not have any interest in you in any way except getting your cash. Period. Anything the company says to the contrary is simply marketing and PR, designed to get, wait for it, your money!

    To all those who get so wound up defending company X about how great it or it's products are just ask yourself - does company X come and tuck you into bed at night? Does company X come round and make you soup when you're ill? If you lose your job will it come pay your mortgage and put food on your table?

    If the answer to any of these it no then what exactly do you think you owe them?

    Get some perspective people - it you like a product and it fits your needs buy it, if not then don't. That's all there is too it.

  51. Gene

    Aww... c'mon. I use a dodocase for my iPad2 or place it on a stand. If I had the new iPad, I probably wouldn't even notice the heat issue. I'm perfectly satisfied with my older model, though, so I won't find out until next year's model. I'm sure Apple knew exactly how hot it would run and realized that since people just have to find an issue, this would be a good one since it won't affect sales significantly.

  52. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "I understood the rule of thumb was 10 degrees (non-libyan or American degrees, but Celcius) increase in operating temperature meant 50% decrease in MTBF..."

    For what... an ice cube = YES

    A piece of aluminium - a hard drive - what?

  53. Antidisestablishmentarianist
    Stop

    It will be interesting what the Android crew come up with when they release a hi-res screen. Will they sell enough for the media to even bother reporting if there is actually a problem? Whatever the case, fandroids will go all mobius on themselves trying explain how it's a 'better' heat than that produced by the Apple version. It's just the law of nature.

  54. Aaron Em

    Only 116 degrees? Whiners

    That's nice 'n toasty! Get back to me when the batteries start popping off.

  55. Anonymous Coward
    Go

    I don't see the big deal....

    Just slap one of those "machinery may have been used for roasting nuts" food warning stickers on the iPad box!!

  56. C-N
    Gimp

    I can cook with it too? Or keep my coffee warm? Is there anything these fruity machines can't do?

  57. amanfromearth

    It's a feature

    Built-in hotspot

  58. jarjarbinks

    Honestly this is a stupid argument

    I am anti-apple, pro-android, but I am fair for both sides. I always tell people who see me rant about how much I can't stand apple, that their devices are fantastic, it's the company and their crappy business antics and trying to use their immense money to sue all competition instead of win on the merit of their products. Their products are some of the best out there. I prefer android, for many reasons. This, however, seems like an article to try to degrade ipad 3's because of some heat. Big deal. They'll make a sleeve that absorbs it, or a software fix to variably control the cpu/gpu, etc. I am all for slamming apple products (vs android) when fanbois claim that apple will win, android will die, etc. But to merely try to point out a minor issue as potentially a major reason ipad 3s suck.. lame.

    Let's battle on the overall features, functionality, and usefulness of a product. The ipad 3 kicks ass, it works great, the screen is (for now) the best on the market, even compared to laptops (given it's 10" size and very few laptops having much higher than 1080p screens now, usually less).

    Think of the desktop gaming market.. they put water coolers on their cpus (even I do) Why? To overclock them so they can run faster. The water cooler's will keep a normal cpu very cool, but as soon as you overclock them, they are running hot again. Hot is ok. Too hot is bad. Cpus can easily handle 120 degree heat for periods of time. The ipad 3 heat is not going to be an issue for the internals. So really it's only purpose of being sought out to make apple look bad is because of a minor discomfort to end users. Silicon sleeve or some sort of case solves the problem.

    Now.. about Android tablets. For all those apple fanboi/android haters.. you're all wrong about nothing compares. That's just being pure biased, so much hatred you can't see past anything apple and thus you are unfairly comparing two products. That's what children do. If you are a child, you are forgiven. If you are a teen+ or worse, and adult.. grow up a bit. Be fair. There are many tablets for android that have similar specs..except for the screen (for now), and some that are beefier. The Transformer Prime being the best candidate right now. The quad-core (5 cores really..fifth core is used to run when the 4 main cpus don't need to be used..for someting like running a single app to read a book), and the gpu is a beast. The bump in gpu on the ipad 3 does NOT give it a much faster graphics..it's primarily absorbed by having to push 4x as many pixels on the new screen. So while the ipad 3 is a bit faster than the ipad2, it's not nearly as fast as the prime is. Does it matter? I think not. The ipad 3 with its gorgeous screen and runs smooth enough to be used as it's intended..as an incredible display tablet, which will be great for photographers and video work in the field, showing pictures/videos to clients, watching movies, etc.. among other things. Still, you can't be childish and knock the existence of the quad-core cpus being put out for android tablets. As well, Android 4 OS is quite good. To have any android tablet (or phone) act like an iphone, it's as simple as pressing the "drawer" button. Now, you have a UI full of buttons that make it work just like the ipad/iphone. So the argument that ipad/iphone is so much easier.. just doesn't hold merit. The android devices have more capabilities and offer more customizations.. but you don't have to use it that way. I should make a video about this lol.

  59. Stevie

    Bah!

    "Testicle-boiling"? Really? Is there even one actual case of a scrotal vapour incident? If so it would indicate a rather novel 'nad arrangement or possibly some sort of extreme B&D appliance deployment given the usual method of iPad usage.

    I assume even that bloke from the old Apple commercials who thought you needed to dismantle a PC to install a printer would be clued-in enough not to attempt to use an iPad by sitting on it.

  60. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    These comments are bloody rediculous

  61. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Apple is doing us all a favor

    Gene cleansing needs to be increased and this is a good stealth means to achieve it.

  62. DanceMan
    Mushroom

    Religioius Fervour

    Good thing no one mentioned the dirty knife.........................

  63. hungry thylacine
    Pint

    Yawn

    Macbeth Act 5 Scene 5 26-28

  64. swampdog

    Correction..

    Testicle-boiling new iPad (iNad) ignites fanboi fury.

This topic is closed for new posts.

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