The Apple iPad 2 Review
by Brian Klug, Anand Lal Shimpi & Vivek Gowri on March 19, 2011 8:01 PM ESTHDMI Mirroring
With the iPad we complained that the A4 didn't seem to include any form of digital video output, only analog outputs were supported. The A5 and the iPad 2 both rectify that as Apple now offers a $39 Apple Digital AV adapter that gives you HDMI out directly from the iPad 2.
The Digital AV adapter is a bit clunky and I believe the future of this is clearly in some form of wireless transmission, but for now it plugs directly into the dock connector. Apple had the foresight to build in a second dock connector into the dongle so you can keep your iPad 2 charged while you're mirroring it's display.
With the adapter connected HDMI mirroring just works as you'd expect it to. There's no setting you have to enable, just plug it in to your display and you're good to go. The iPad desktop is upscaled to either fit your display or it'll appear as a box in the center of your panel.
I tried the AV adapter with three different displays: a 720p Pioneer plasma, a 1080p Samung LCD and a 1920 x 1200 Dell PC monitor. With the 720p and 1080p displays I got an upscaled box in the center of the screen
On the 1920 x 1200 Dell panel I got an upscaled image that took up the total height of the screen:
In all cases Apple maintains aspect ratio.
What about functionality? Everything you see on your iPad you see via the HDMI output. If the keyboard appears on your iPad it'll appear on your HDMI display. Personally, I would like to be able to have the iOS keyboard visible on the iPad 2 but not on the image sent over HDMI. Currently it's a pure clone setup...mostly.
If you try to play video while connected to an HDMI you won't get a mirror instead you'll see the video full screen on the external display. This is true for Apple's own video player app as well as 3rd party apps like Netflix. Note that while playing a video you will only see it on the external display, not both.
Audio is passed exclusively via HDMI as well, the internal speaker is shut off.
Battery life takes a significant hit with the HDMI output enabled. While you'll see that our typical usage tests can easily hit 10 hours, over HDMI you can expect battery life closer to 8 hours. It's still not bad but definitely a larger impact than I expected.
HDMI mirroring on the LG Optimus 2X
HDMI mirroring isn't exclusive to Apple, we first saw it appear on LG's Optimus 2X and later on other Tegra 2 devices. While HDMI mirroring turns your iPad into a portable Netflix machine, it also turns it into a semi-dockable PC. The limitations I mentioned earlier still exist. There's no mouse support and multitasking is a pain compared to a full blown PC, but this is just the first step. If all you've got a light usage model and just want a more ergonomic setup at your desk, there's no reason you can't connect to a standard HDMI display and use the iPad 2 as a glorified keyboard/pointing device.
What I would like to see going forward is support for some sort of a pointing cursor within iOS while connected via HDMI - only on the external screen. The same white circle that's used in Apple's demos would work just fine here.
The question I have to ask is whether tablets based on smartphone hardware and OSes are going to become powerful enough to double as portable PCs or are desktop OSes going to become lightweight and efficient enough to run on smartphone class tablet hardware? The latter seems to be Microsoft's strategy with Windows 8. Unify the software and allow it to run on all platforms, while the former is where Apple is presently headed with the iPad. It's clear to me that convergence between desktop and ultra mobile OSes will happen at some point, I'm just unsure which side will lead the merger.
Charging
The iPad 2 uses the same 10W USB wall charger in combination with a 30-pin dock-to-USB cable as the original iPad. The benefit here is any iPad/iPod/iPhone 30-pin dock cable will charge the device (assuming your USB port properly implements the battery charging spec). On the flip side, even with the 10W wall charger you're looking at ~ 4.5 hours to get a full charge on the device. Charging via the PC is even slower - it'll progress at roughly half the rate as you can get via the wall charger. Note that like the original iPad you'll need a USB port that implements the battery charging specification in order to charge from your PC/Mac. All of the new Mac notebooks seem to implement this spec (2010 MacBook Pro, 2011 MacBook Pro, 2010 MacBook Air) and had no problems charging the iPad 2.
The Xoom by comparison avoids this problem. The USB port on the Xoom is only used for syncing, there's a separate dedicated port for the wall charger. As a result you'll get a full charge on the Xoom in 3 hours.
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Anand Lal Shimpi - Monday, March 21, 2011 - link
The Xoom review was really written from the perspective of an iPad alternative, while I felt like we covered much of what made the iPad 2 different in our preview and wanted to focus on the bigger picture in the review.The Xoom's multitasking and notifications I believe make it easier to integrate into my workflow, but still not perfect. However Apple has been ergonomics than the Xoom, seemingly better (non-Flash) webpage compatibility, better stability and a smoother UI so it's a tradeoff.
Personally, I'd probably carry the iPad 2 thanks to improved ergonomics (especially with a smart cover) and non-smooth UI frame rates do bother me. But given my workflow neither is sufficient for me to use exclusively when traveling. That's why I mention that both camps have things to work on, whichever gets there first should get your money if you're really on the fence.
Take care,
Anand
Death666Angel - Sunday, March 20, 2011 - link
How do you get to the number in the chart? It would make sense to use the average of all 4 displays, but you don't seem to do that:406 + 409 + 352 + 354 = 1521
1521 / 4 = 380,25 ~ 380
Am I missing something here?
Also, the contrast should be 861:
966 + 842 + 778 + 859 = 3445
3445 / 4 = 861,25 ~ 861
Black levels should be better however:
0,42 + 0,45 + 0,49 + 0,41 = 1,77
1,77 / 4 = 0,4425 ~ 0,44
kmmatney - Sunday, March 20, 2011 - link
The point of having the numbers separate was to show the difference between the WiFi and "WiFi+3G" versions.Death666Angel - Monday, March 21, 2011 - link
And my question wasn't about that at all. The numbers in the actual charts they use for comparison against the iPad1 and the Xoom are not corresponding to any of the 4 distinct iPad2s. So I was wondering where they got the numbers from, if they averaged them or whatnot. If they did average them, then they made a few mistakes in the process. :-) If they got them through some other means it would still be interesting to know which they used.buff_samurai - Sunday, March 20, 2011 - link
speaking about workflow.
I am running a small consulting company for food/pharma industry, my expertise is in analytical instrumentation. Right now I'm using a beefy PC for CAD/backups and IP4/ipad for everything else: emails, project management, crm and documentation all squeezed into a small and portable device (terminal).
Although I am not 100% happy with exchange support in iOS, security, syncing etc I see myself more efficient then ever and that simply means more time/money in my pocket.
Lets try a common scenario: in a car, take a call, pull over, grab a laptop from a bag, power up, check some details, email couple of pdfs and do all that with customer hanging on the phone. Repeat the whole thing 10 times or more - you will see where I am coming from. Or try to carry your laptop around any mid size production line, control room and boardrooms and impress other engineers with questions like: 'where can I plug my laptop' at the same time.
I can understand that for most of heavy laptop users ipad is just useless but lets face the fact that there are millions of professionals on the road and all they care for is better response time and flexibility.
I could spend hours listing applications where no PC (portable or not) can match a tablet but the bottom line is: when moving to new tech we need to overcome our habits first. ipad, xoom and other are like a nice and shiny screwdriver but you will never find a use for it with pockets full of nails. That means no reviewer should ever comment on any device without actually making it a primary tool for couple of months: and if there is no time/money for it - just focus on things that are traceable or you may use your reputation.
darwiniandude - Sunday, March 20, 2011 - link
I always love Anandtech reviews, they cover 'everything' really well, advantages and flaws with equal gusto.Thanks!
Two points:
1) Page 19 I think you're referring to iDisk, not iDrive. Doesn't really matter unless someone trys to Google it.
2) With regard to web browsing, I know you're comparing these units as shipped, but I strongly recommend pro users consider 'iCab' from the AppStore, I don't use Safari much anymore. Propper tabs, full screen, downloading, browser user agent ID spoofing, way more powerful. Scroll pad to quickly navigate huge pages, gestures etc. Tt's very anti-iOS in that it's insanely powerful rather than designed to be simple, but I love it, specifically options like 'open bookmark in new tab' and 'open links from different domain in new tab' very customisable, plugins, blah blah blah. Anyway. It has Desktop style tabs. I wouldn't suggest you change the article, or review this or other 3rd party browsers because it's kinda beyond the scope of the review of the device, but it would be nice if people knew there were alternatives to give a more desktop style (still sans-flash) browser.
pja - Sunday, March 20, 2011 - link
I have really wanted an iPad ever since they were released. Several months ago I had the money (the previous barrier to acquisition) so I went looking. I didn't want the 3G version, WiFi would be fine. But I knew I would not be happy unless I got the one with maximum ram. Well in Australia that was going to cost me over AUD1,000 (I thought they were much cheaper :-( ).Just before this I had built myself a new desktop with an AMD processor and graphics card; see I'm a fan of AMD (but not a bigot). So might I be better off with a netbook rather than an iPad. AMD had recently released the Brazos range. So I started to do some research.
The result was my purchase of a Toshiba NB550D (the sexy orange one) which is a "little under-done" with the C50 Fusion Processor, only 1 Gb of memory and Windows 7 Starter. I have upgraded the memory to 2 Gb (still not enough) and installed Windows 7 Home Pro.
The Toshiba is about the same size as an iPad but is much more functional, it has all my desktop PC's apps installed (particularly my favourite text editor (EditPlus), my browser (Firefox) and all the same bookmarks, etc. etc.) so when I travel I have everything I need and I didn't need to learn how to use new software.
I still think the iPad is a great bit of gear but that's when I use the right side of my brain. My left side says "where's the value proposition?" We are all different but for me the left side of my brain always tends to win over the right side. I am very happy with "my" iPad alternative; more memory and the C-350 processor would be good (but not the larger form=factor that seems to entail). Oh! I forgot to say that the total cost of the Toshiba (including hardware and software upgrades was about AUD675 - more than AUD325 saving!
Regards,
Peter
Deepcover96 - Sunday, March 20, 2011 - link
Great review. Anandtech's reviews are always well worth the wait. They are always thorough and I always learn something. I agree that it is a luxury device and it is hard to justify it for getting work done. I still purchased an iPad 1. I recently sold it to buy the iPad 2, as soon as I can find one. I do think you downplay how important the app selection is on iOS as compared to Android.name99 - Sunday, March 20, 2011 - link
Reading the summary of what all three authors think of iPad feels to me like someone who buys an iPod because it has calendar and contact functionality, and then is upset/surprised that it isn't a Palm.iPad is not a REPLACEMENT for a laptop/desktop, it is an AUGMENTATION. You use each for what they are good at. If you find yourself spending most of your time traveling and you need a full-featured computer during that time then, sure, adding iPad to the mix is stupid. But if you already have a laptop, and can afford it, iPad makes certain tasks a lot more pleasant.
For my part, for example, my primary use for iPad is reading technical PDFs using Good Reader. I could read these on a laptop, but the keyboard really gets in the way (not to mention that the aspect ratio of the screen is inappropriate). If you don't do much reading of technical PDFs, this might seem dumb to you --- but I DO spend many hours a day reading these PDFs and I appreciate a tool that does the job properly, just like a professional carpenter doesn't use a $5 saw he bought at Walmart.
The future of computing is not one device that does everything; it is multiple devices all optimized to a particular human form factor, that all work together --- an iPod nano AND an iPhone AND an iPad AND a laptop AND a desktop. Criticism of something germane to this vision is legitimate and sensible (and Apple's flailing regarding how much of the file metaphor it wants to present to users is a legitimate part of this criticism.) But complaints whose primary structure is "this device doesn't work exactly like a device I already own" is just stupid --- like complaining that a bicycle isn't a car.
It's perfectly reasonable to say that you don't have a use for a certain class of device, especially because you already use something more powerful. I, for example, have no use for a Tivo or a video streaming devices like WD Live or Roku --- I have a full-fledged computer hooked up to my TV. But it is unreasonable to go further than that, and I've observed plenty of non-techy people who are very happy with their WD Live's or Tivos.
It's even more unreasonable to complain that "Tivo sucks because it doesn't play DVDs".
Use some sense. Don't keep trying to use iPad for things it is no good at. Keep in the bedroom, and use it to read, or to look up something quickly on the net, or to play a movie just before you go to sleep. Don't be insane and try to write a novel on it.
pja - Monday, March 21, 2011 - link
"iPad is not a REPLACEMENT for a laptop/desktop, it is an AUGMENTATION. You use each for what they are good at. If you find yourself spending most of your time traveling and you need a full-featured computer during that time then, sure, adding iPad to the mix is stupid. But if you already have a laptop, and can afford it, iPad makes certain tasks a lot more pleasant."You must have either too much cash or too much time on your hands or both. A good business class laptop is AUD1,500+ while a top of the range iPad is AUD1,000 + here in Australia.
It seems to me when you think about the iPod with your left brain there is very little functionality that a good netbook does not do both better and cheaper. However, I would agree that when you let your right brain rule then all of a sudden the iPad becomes a irresistible thing that you must possess. Unfortunately for me my left brain clicks in when I pull out my credit card.
Peter