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Apple tests fans’ patience with new 128GB iPad 4

Allan Swann
January 29, 2013

Apple seems to have done away with its traditional release cycles, and has announced a new 128GB iPad 4 – just 3 months after the product’s original launch.

Under Steve Jobs iPads and iPhones had yearly release cycles, which has obviously now been thrown out the window. Under Tim Cook, Apple tested the patience of iPad aficionados by releasing the iPad 4 (known as the iPad with Retina Display) in November, just 7 months after it released the iPad 3, as part of its iPad Mini launch.

The iPad 4 had a boosted processor and the company’s new lightning connector, but was otherwise identical to the iPad 3 – which annoyed customers who thought they would have the latest and greatest iPad for a full year.

The release of a 128GB iPad 4 had long been rumoured, but again was expected to launch with next year’s models. Apple’s statement offers no reasoning, other than ‘its great to have more storage’. It is also the launch device for iOS 6.1, which adds little other than increased 4G support for international carriers.

The new version will cost £639 for Wi-Fi only, and £739 for cellular. The existing models’ prices will not change, the 16GB is £399/ £499, 32GB is £479/579 and the 64GB is £559/ £659.

Apple also claims that the iPad now has access to 800,000 apps, including the 300,000 iPad specific apps. It also boasts more than 5,000 newspapers and magazines, and 1.5  million books on the iBookstore.

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