iPad 4 (Late 2012) Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on December 6, 2012 4:40 PM ESTCamera
The iPad 4 features a 5MP rear facing iSight camera and a 1.2MP front facing FaceTime HD camera. The rear camera shoots photos at 2592 x 1936, while the front facing camera shoots photos at 1280 x 960. The aperture and focal length of the rear facing camera haven't changed compared to the 3rd generation iPad.
| Rear Facing Camera Comparison | |||||||
| Sensor | Resolution | Compressed JPEG Size | Aperture | Focal Length | |||
| Apple iPad 4 | 5MP | 2592 x 1936 | 3.4MB | f/2.4 | 4.3mm | ||
| Apple iPad 3 | 5MP | 2592 x 1936 | 3.1MB | f/2.4 | 4.3mm | ||
| Apple iPad 2,4 | 0.7MP | 960 x 720 | 344KB | f/2.4 | 2.0mm | ||
| Apple iPad mini | 5MP | 2592 x 1936 | 3.1MB | f/2.4 | 3.3mm | ||
| Apple iPhone 5 | 8MP | 3264 x 2448 | 3.1MB | f/2.4 | 4.1mm | ||
| Apple iPod Touch 5 | 5MP | 2592 x 1936 | 3.1MB | f/2.4 | 3.3mm | ||
Still image quality out of the rear camera is comparable to the 3rd generation iPad, and clearly better than the iPad mini.
The front facing camera sees the biggest improvement over the iPad 3. The difference is like night and day thanks to the increase in sensor quality and resolution.
| Front Facing Camera Comparison | |||||||
| Sensor | Resolution | Compressed JPEG Size | Aperture | Focal Length | |||
| Apple iPad 4 | 1.2MP | 1280 x 960 | 426KB | f/2.4 | 2.2mm | ||
| Apple iPad 3 | 0.3MP | 640 x 480 | 117KB | f/2.4 | 1.8mm | ||
| Apple iPad 2,4 | 0.3MP | 640 x 480 | 105KB | f/2.4 | 1.8mm | ||
| Apple iPad mini | 1.2MP | 1280 x 960 | 372KB | f/2.4 | 2.2mm | ||
| Apple iPhone 5 | 1.2MP | 1280 x 960 | 400KB | f/2.4 | 2.2mm | ||
| Apple iPod Touch 5 | 1.2MP | 1280 x 960 | 406KB | f/2.4 | 2.2mm | ||
Video
The iPad 4 shoots 1080p video from its rear camera and 720p on the front. Video shot with the rear camera is encoded using H.264 (High Profile) at an average bitrate north of 17Mbps. This puts the encode parameters similar to those of the iPhone 5 and iPad mini. The same is true for the front facing camera.
The front facing camera shoots baseline video at roughly 10.5Mbps:
Video quality is pretty good as well:
WiFi Performance
Like the iPad mini and iPhone 5, the iPad 4 uses Broadcom's BCM4334 WiFi controller. The 4334 supports dual-band 802.11n as well as fallback to 802.11b/g. On 5GHz Apple continues to support 40MHz channels for a maximum PHY rate of 150Mbps. Performance and reception both remain solid:
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
113 Comments
View All Comments
Pazz - Thursday, December 6, 2012 - link
Just noticed grammatical correction required for "An Matter of Cost and Timing".Alucard291 - Sunday, December 9, 2012 - link
"Produce boring products" that really summarises apple in the last half a year or so.name99 - Sunday, December 9, 2012 - link
Really? Not "produce products that will sell twice as well as their predecessors"?I'm sorry Apple is not entertaining you --- perhaps you did not realize they were not in that business? You might prefer to follow MS whose ups and downs over the next year should provide ample entertainment.
danielfranklin - Thursday, December 6, 2012 - link
Sorry Anand, ive just noticed the Ipad resolution on page is is listed as 2408 x 1536 instead of 2048 x 1536.Other than that thank you again for your reviews, your in-site and true technical breakdown is the best on the internet, you have been my favorite reviewer since this site started.
danielfranklin - Thursday, December 6, 2012 - link
Page two that is meant to read.Looks like its going to be that kind of day.
whodakat - Thursday, December 6, 2012 - link
Google really impresses me. It has to be hard work to pack in all the best specs and still get your ass handed to you.coder543 - Thursday, December 6, 2012 - link
in what way? I would argue that the Nexus 10 is a much better tablet. Stereo audio instead of mono, support for multiple separate users (excellent for families), a Proper aspect ratio... one appropriate for actually consuming media, unlike that iPad. A dedicated HDMI out is a nice touch. There are many, many things I could list. I'm really not even sure what you're talking about in your comment -- color calibration? I'm sure that will be the first thing most consumers check...EnzoFX - Thursday, December 6, 2012 - link
There isn't one that is clearly better. The iOS and app store is the biggest thing the iPad has for the average consumer. Proper aspect ratio? Who are you to say what's proper? lol Seriously though, it depends on WHAT you're consuming. 4x3 is ideal for reading, that is books and web browsing. THIS is why Apple sticks with 4x3, and it makes COMPLETE sense. Most of what people do is consume webpages, not videos. Webpages are the focus, and rightly so. I always say, if you want a more serious movie device, watch them on your TV. haha. Color calibration isn't something to check, you notice it right away by looking at it, that it's a more realistic representation of photos, etc. Your arguments are severely flawed, but yes the Nexus 10 is a comparable device and worthy of consideration.Zink - Thursday, December 6, 2012 - link
Tablet is for reading, LCD in living room is for TV and movies. The iPad and HP Playbook at 4:3 are doing it right. 10" 16:10 is ok, just not after adding in soft keys and notification bar that cut down landscape height.coder543 - Thursday, December 6, 2012 - link
HP doesn't make the playbook. Making random observations doesn't impact anything, as reading on 16:10 is extremely feasible.