Apple Downplays New iPad Overheating Problem

Apple has just launched the latest in its popular line of tablet computers. Simply dubbed the “New iPad” — and hence dropping the generation number from its name — the first batch of the new tablets was released Friday, March 16, to select countries and regions, including the U.S., UK, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.

But along with rave reviews for its high-resolution retina display, the “resolutionary” new iPad has also met with criticism for being the hottest iPad yet, selling 3 million units in the first day alone, far surpassing earlier estimates of 1 million launch date sales. Yes, it’s “hot” as in popular, but it’s also literally hot, as we earlier reported.

Apple has denied reports that the new iPad overheats, saying that the tablet computer works within its thermal specifications, reports PC World. Most iPad users don’t report any overheating problems, although some observe that the lower left corner of the tablet gets warmer than usual, reaching 38.3 degrees C.

Apple says the new iPad has an operating temperature range of zero to 35 degrees Celsius. Apple’s support website says a temperature warning screen will appear if this range is exceeded, saying the “iPad needs to cool down before you can use it.” However, Consumer Reports has observed that the new iPad does exceed the range, but no warning is issued.

Some observers say that the excess heat may be coming from the denser battery pack, as the new iPad has a 42.5 Watt-hour battery, about 42% denser than the 25 Watt-hour battery in the iPad 2 at the same size. Apple has historically had problems with certain battery cells, particularly in the first-generation iPod Nano, which it recalled in 2011. The overheating issue might also come from the use of a more powerful graphics chipset in the A5X system-on-chip processor.

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