Ars reviews the iPad 2: big performance gains in a slimmer package

The iPad 2 is an iteration on the original iPad in order to optimize the user experience, both inside and outside. Ars put the device through its paces to see how different it really is in our latest review.

<a href='http://meincmagazine.com/apple/reviews/2011/03/ipad-2-the-ars-review.ars'>Read the whole story</a>

 

[RimScrimley]

Great review. More thorough than I would expect from any other site except Anandtech.

 

[topham]

Should have included an apology for the prior implications that the iPad 2 was a poor performer. Nice to see you've mostly redeemed yourselves though.

 

[aiken_d]

Anxiously awaiting the Apple-bashing. C'mon, commenters, you can do it. Let's hear everything that's wrong with this device that you would never buy from a company you hate, and why [insert other multi-billion dollar company here] is going to win the tablet space just as soon as they ship/fix one.

 

[Johnpauljj]

"[insert other multi-billion dollar company here] is going to win the tablet space just as soon as they ship/fix one."

McDonald's is going to win the tablet space just as soon as they ship one.

 

[Exelius]

Good review, no surprises given this wasn't a huge update.

Though regarding Flash... it's already starting to go away. Flash-only sites are all but dead and gone, and as you said, for video players, most sites support HTML5 now (not that Flash video players work on Mobile Flash anyway-- another crucial point.) I think Flash is a non-issue at this point, especially given how poorly it works on touchscreen devices anyway.

 

[fancarolina]

I find it ironic that no one seems to like the case for the original iPad. I much prefer it, I already see scratches on the back of the review iPad 2. Guess what my iPad 1 is spotless, all the wear and tear goes on the case not the device. I think Apple was just lazy and didn't want to cut a hole for the camera. Only improvements I would have liked to see in the first gen case would be the addition of the magnets for closure that would be cool. I also would have liked to see the hole on the bottom bigger from the start so I didn't have to modify the case to make it work with Apples own iPad dock.

 

[Mask of Destiny]

Linpack for Android is a Java app running under the Davlik VM. It's good for comparing the CPU of two devices running the same version of Android and for comparing improvements to the VM itself between versions of Android on the same device; however, it's not terribly meaningful for comparison to other platforms.

 

[dagamer34]

Personally, I think all cases just add too much bulk to be very useful. Sure, they protect a device, but at that point, pretty much all you can see is the screen.

 

[topham]

Linpack for Android is a Java app running under the Davlik VM. It's good for comparing the CPU of two devices running the same version of Android and for comparing improvements to the VM itself between versions of Android on the same device; however, it's not terribly meaningful for comparison to other platforms.

It's still going to reflect performance then since everything on Android runs via Davlik.

 

[dagamer34]

Linpack for Android is a Java app running under the Davlik VM. It's good for comparing the CPU of two devices running the same version of Android and for comparing improvements to the VM itself between versions of Android on the same device; however, it's not terribly meaningful for comparison to other platforms.

It's not as if the VM is going to disappear tomorrow. It's still a fair comparison as Ars isn't directly comparing CPUs, it's comparing shipping products.

 

[Exelius]

"[insert other multi-billion dollar company here] is going to win the tablet space just as soon as they ship/fix one."

McDonald's is going to win the tablet space just as soon as they ship one.

Apple has already won the tablet space. None of their competitors will be able to ship a 10 inch device in any meaningful quantity for at least 3 years given Apple's stranglehold on the components market. And given the tight integration Apple has (that absolutely contributes to the combination of product, price and positioning they're able to deliver) I'm not sure any Android based device is going to be able to compete given the head start Apple has. Apple has locked up much of the worldwide production capacity to build tablets; if anyone else wants to build them they'll need to invest in new plants (which wasn't happening over the last 3 years, btw; since nobody could get credit for it; meanwhile Apple was sitting on $43 billion in cash that they used about $5 billion of to secure capacity for the next 5 years.)

HP is about the only company I'd say has a chance at this point. They're the only ones big enough and who don't have to please a dozen different companies with every move they make (Microsoft, Google.) Android on tablets is interesting, but it's not the same product that Apple offers.

 

[aiken_d]

HP is about the only company I'd say has a chance at this point. They're the only ones big enough and who don't have to please a dozen different companies with every move they make (Microsoft, Google.) Android on tablets is interesting, but it's not the same product that Apple offers.

Agreed. HP has the strategic capability, retail experience, and technical know-how to do a good job of it. But they don't have a coherent OS / app strategy. Their recent push for WebOS on desktops seems random and desperate. WebOS has about 5,000 applications; both Android and iOS have >200,000. And I don't think HP has the guts to switch to Android, which would be an interesting strategy.

I just don't see anyone else getting their act together soon enough to be competitive in this generation of devices. Maybe someone will come up with the next big thing in 8-10 years. Of course, given recent history, that's likely to be Apple too.

 

[SirOmega]

I'm not sold on my brilliant idea of using the iPhone 4 as a hot spot for my wifi only iPad, just in the first day it was eating a lot if iPhone battery for what I had considered little iPad data usage.

That said, I had contemplated skipping the iPad 2 and holding out to see whether I'd jump the Apple ship entirely and go WebOS this summer. But it's really hard to leave when Apple puts out a good product and I've been in the iOS ecosystem since the nine hours I waited in line on day 1.

Comment posted from my iPad 2. *Sigh*

 

[jimlynch]

I am not impressed with this derivative release and will not be upgrading. I had expected much more than this, particularly an updated display. It's not even a good deal for new iPad customers who don't own the first iPad, they can buy an original iPad for a huge discount and still get a very usable tablet without the lame cameras.

My full thoughts here:

5 Reasons Why the iPad 2 Sucks
http://jimlynch.com/index.php/2011/03/1 ... d-2-sucks/

I'll consider getting an iPad 3 or 4 or 5 or whatever version actually has some significant improvements.

 

[danstl]

Linpack for Android is a Java app running under the Davlik VM. It's good for comparing the CPU of two devices running the same version of Android and for comparing improvements to the VM itself between versions of Android on the same device; however, it's not terribly meaningful for comparison to other platforms.

It's not as if the VM is going to disappear tomorrow. It's still a fair comparison as Ars isn't directly comparing CPUs, it's comparing shipping products.

??

it looks to me that they were comparing CPUs... as the OP stated it is a useless comparison unless you compare it to another android device - as it runs in the VM on android. that is why the performance of the xoom is less than that of the original iPad and I think everyone would agree that is not the case...

-Dan

 

[aiken_d]

I am not impressed with this derivative release and will not be upgrading. I had expected much more than this, particularly an updated display. It's not even a good deal for new iPad customers who don't own the first iPad, they can buy an original iPad for a huge discount and still get a very usable tablet without the lame cameras.[

$100 is a "huge" discount on a $500-$800 device? I definitely get why many users of the original iPad wouldn't upgrade, but I can't imagine being in the market and saving $100 by getting a thicker, clunkier device without cameras (lame camera or not, FaceTime on iPad seems more valuable to me than it does on iPhone).

 

[Jonathon]

Linpack for Android is a Java app running under the Davlik VM. It's good for comparing the CPU of two devices running the same version of Android and for comparing improvements to the VM itself between versions of Android on the same device; however, it's not terribly meaningful for comparison to other platforms.

It's not as if the VM is going to disappear tomorrow. It's still a fair comparison as Ars isn't directly comparing CPUs, it's comparing shipping products.

Although it is true that most of the code that a user runs is Java code (and that makes Linpack on Dalvik a good comparison for most cases), the NDK (Native Developer Kit) lets developers write performance-critical bits of their applications in native code.

And key parts of the Android OS are native code. Google didn't reimplement WebKit in Java for the Android web browser...

 

[molitors]

Great review!

Still no Flash support, probably never will be

For the Lulz, go watch Flash on Xoom video on YT or Engadget to see how bad that thing is. Not having Flash is not a big downside as it once was. Having crappy Flash that drains your batteries is probably worse.

 

[metafor]

Linpack for Android is a Java app running under the Davlik VM. It's good for comparing the CPU of two devices running the same version of Android and for comparing improvements to the VM itself between versions of Android on the same device; however, it's not terribly meaningful for comparison to other platforms.

It's still going to reflect performance then since everything on Android runs via Davlik.

Not really. Anyone concerned with performance -- especially FP performance -- will likely opt to use Android's NDK and write the NEON routines. Android's VM currently only spits out low-performance VFP instructions.

Native code running on iOS, on the other hand, will likely either be SIMD optimized or at the very least, use scalar NEON code. This makes a big big big difference. More than 5x in certain cases.

It should be noted that most things native to the OS (such as the GUI) that make use of the CPU utilize NEON code natively. So Linpack on Android isn't a particularly good benchmark for....well anything really.

It's not even particularly useful for comparing processors on the same version of Android as it doesn't actually utilize any of the performance-centric instructions of ARMv7, it spits out legacy VFP instructions. I guess if you were overly concerned about how well the CPU can run slow-mode instructions, it's useful....

 

[Mannymal]

This is by far the best iPad 2 review I have seen so far.

I am strongly considering getting one, even though my cellphone is Android, my computer is Windows 7, and I hate iTunes. HATE it. I couldn't stand it when I had an iPhone. Is it as necessary for the iPad experience?

 

[THX]

$100 is a "huge" discount on a $500-$800 device? I definitely get why many users of the original iPad wouldn't upgrade, but I can't imagine being in the market and saving $100 by getting a thicker, clunkier device without cameras (lame camera or not, FaceTime on iPad seems more valuable to me than it does on iPhone).

He's just trying to spam his website like he just did on Ars' facebook page.

 

[cecilroytoo]

Great review. The upgrade looks sufficient to upgrade, can't wait to buy one.

 

[metafor]

This is by far the best iPad 2 review I have seen so far.

I am strongly considering getting one, even though my cellphone is Android, my computer is Windows 7, and I hate iTunes. HATE it. I couldn't stand it when I had an iPhone. Is it as necessary for the iPad experience?

iPad runs iOS just like the iPhone. Almost identical save for the larger screen and certain tablet-friendly UI elements. So yes, to get everything out of it, you need iTunes.

 

[Telemachos]

I have an iPad 1 and rarely bother to sync it to my main system. Usually I'll only do it for system upgrades. The rest of the time I'll just buy apps directly from the App Store. The caveat is that I don't listen to a lot of music on my iPad (and when I do it's usually streaming) -- if I watched a lot of iTunes media then I probably would need to sync more regularly.

 

[Gary Patterson]

I am not impressed with this derivative release and will not be upgrading. I had expected much more than this, particularly an updated display. It's not even a good deal for new iPad customers who don't own the first iPad, they can buy an original iPad for a huge discount and still get a very usable tablet without the lame cameras.

My full thoughts here:

5 Reasons Why the iPad 2 Sucks
(old man rant link removed)

Derivative? As in "derives from the iPad 1?" A version two product must be deriving from the previous version - that's not a valid criticism of a product.

Your list of reasons is a bit thin, but I have to ask why you thought a speed upgrade is a reason *not* to upgrade. Seems like exactly the opposite to me. As for getting a "retina" display, well, that's pretty much not possible right now, and you shouldn't pay attention to rumours.

This is a solid upgrade. It's not necessarily worth paying for a new tablet if you've got the previous one though. That's down to individual choices. I wouldn't get it, but plenty of people will.

 

[**RTS**]

McDonald's is going to win the tablet space just as soon as they ship one.

Only if I can get fries with it.

 

[Cervus]

I purchased a discounted iPad 1 32-gig Wifi, and I'm very happy with it. I find there's a lot of media, mainly text (via apps like Flipboard and Pulse) that's a lot easier to "consume" on a tablet than on a larger computer screen. I haven't really missed Flash so far, but I have my PC for that in any case. I'm planning to use AT&T's Hotspot tethering when I travel since I have an iPhone 4.

 

[darkowl]

Personally I feel this is a bit of a "meh" upgrade, more like an iPad 1.5

But that doesn't matter, because I think the things that are most exciting are going to come in software upgrades, not hardware... I mean, once they add a high-DPI display, there's not much more to do in terms of hardware, until some major new innovation comes out (lasers or holograms or something ). So it's a great device, but I'm more excited about what they do with iOS 5. Hopefully widgets and non-crap notifications.

 

[bedward]

This is a solid upgrade. It's not necessarily worth paying for a new tablet if you've got the previous one though. That's down to individual choices. I wouldn't get it, but plenty of people will.

QFT. Retina was a pipe dream, although I'd be lined up now for the Canadian launch if that had actually happened. But I think it's pretty clear that the iPad 2 is the state of the art in tablets right now, unless you're willing to spend scads of money for some random feature that Apple didn't include and you desperately need.

 

[Jakelshark]

Mine should be arriving Tuesday or Wednesday...zomg!

 

[SuperDave]

First Apple product I could actually see myself owning, as a card-carrying Death Before Applefag. Don't have a need for such a device, but it's a compelling piece of hardware. I worry that Apple has defined the specific targets which could bestow competitive advantages with its' limitations, though. Can somebody exploit those weaknesses within the prevailing "long-term is thirty months" mindset?

No. But, an entirely new market having been defined, there will be those who are comfortable with their segment-domination plans not bearing fruit for a couple years down the road. Apple has never struck me as a company whose navigational intent extends much over the horizon; more power to them, because the course they sail is fair-winded indeed, but much like Android's inroads against the iPhone they define themselves as far more capable of taking the new ground than holding it.

I, and my wallet, await the second generation of the response.

 

[clee]

Typo on page five: "reacharge" (would've submitted this using the in-page editor, but it doesn't seem to be available?)

 

[effgee]

The ugly
• ...
• Still no Flash support, probably never will be

All a matter of perspective - I for one am glad that there's a platform with a complete range of devices that not only keeps all Flash content away from me, but that also got the ball rolling on one of the banes of the interwebs (*) being on its way out.


(* - Flash being used as a technology to create entire websites and/or navigational systems; this shit can't go away fast enough.)

 

[Player_16]

$100 is a "huge" discount on a $500-$800 device? I definitely get why many users of the original iPad wouldn't upgrade, but I can't imagine being in the market and saving $100 by getting a thicker, clunkier device without cameras (lame camera or not, FaceTime on iPad seems more valuable to me than it does on iPhone).

To my understanding, you can connect a webcam to the iPad and use it accordingly thru Skype. I'll admit, I don't have one yet but, with that $100 savings, you could buy a decent webcam and do a bit of FaceTime on that 'thicker, clunkier device without camera' device.

 

[apoclypse]

Wow! I didnt think the iPad had that much of performance advantage compared to the Xoom. It's actually quite embarrassing for moto after all that work they did to push it out early and they still got outclassed. All the hype Nvidia put into their platform and now all they can do is push their next iteration, they've been outperformed. The gnu alone outshines tegra2.

Anyway, I want to say that once the Hulu app was released I now couldn't care less about flash on the device. If a site is flash only then I don't need to see it. Most flash sites I care about are video sites and now that most video sites are using hmtl5 I really haven't had too many issues. Even on my Mac, I use click to flash to block flash sites and view videos in html5 video. For everything else "there is an app for that".

 

[Dac]

Solid review.

I've had my iPad 1 since June 2010, and it's been quite nice, especially the Kindle IOS App.

Not enough here for me to seriously consider an 'upgrade from iPad 1 to 2.

And -bleych- to the white iPad -- it's just -wrong-.

 

[Kethinov]

Add to the list of ugly: it is still impossible to install apps from any source other than the App Store. The day Apple allows users to opt-in to installing apps from non App Store sources is the day I become an iOS customer. And if they ever restrict OSX to an App Store only policy, I'm dumping Apple entirely.

 

[**RTS**]

Add to the list of ugly: it still impossible to install apps from any source other than the App Store. The day Apple allows users to opt-in to installing apps from non App Store sources is the day I become an iOS customer. And if they ever restrict OSX to an App Store only policy, I'm dumping Apple entirely.

They already have a jailbreak for it. So, yes, you can.

 

[Kethinov]

They already have a jailbreak for it. So, yes, you can.

Jailbreaking is not an option. We've been over this dozens of times on this forum. Voiding your warranty with third party hacks is not an acceptable solution. Apple needs to provide a supported opt-in for folks who want to install apps from outside the App Store. You know, like Android. It isn't hard.