Consumer Reports: the new iPad heats up

The Consumer Reports association has conducted temperature tests on the new iPad and has found that there is a difference of between 5 and 6 degrees compared to the iPad 2.

A lot of new iPad users have noticed that the tablet ran significantly hotter when compared to the previous model. This has led to users being concerned about the device over heating or not working correctly.

Apple has refuted this criticism while confirming that everything was normal when taking into consideration the devices characteristics when working within the stipulated temperature range (from 0 to 35 degrees). The Consumer Reports association, which is widely followed in the United States, nevertheless decided to perform temperature measurements to be sure everything was alright.

As a test a new iPad was left in a room with an ambient temperature of 22 degrees, connected to power with Wi-Fi active, and left running with the game Blade Infinity II playing in a loop for 45 minutes. The temperature on the front and back of the device was then measured with the hottest points reaching 45 to 46 degrees.

This represents a 5 to 6 degree increase over the iPad 2 when it was tested in the same conditions. At this temperature, and even if it is located at a specific point close to the corner of the screen (the rest of the tablet was cooler), the heat sensation was easily noticeable but wasn’t particularly annoying (not at the point of being too hot to no longer be able to keep it on your lap), at least over this short period.

Consumer Reports also notes that the new iPad, when connected to the power, didn’t charge its battery when the game was running, with the battery being heavily called upon. It was only once the game was stopped that the battery started recharging as normal. This is nice to know.