iPad 4 vs. iPad 3 Specs: Features Are Very Similar, Is the New Apple Tablet Worth the iPad 3's Phasing Out?

The fourth generation of the iPad (iPad 4) is set for preorders on the Friday morning of Oct. 26, but that didn't help Apple from immediately removing the iPad 3 from its iPad listings.

The iPad 3 made its debut only six months ago - March 2012. The iPad 4 made its surprising debut on Oct. 23 during Apple's October Keynote where it was speculated the iPad Mini would debut, and it did, but after the iPad 4's presentation.

Upon the end of the keynote, Apple.com updated the site for the latest iPads but absent was the iPad 3.

iPad 3 users were furious following the news of the new iPad successor.

So what are the differences between the iPad 3 and iPad 4? Is it worth the six-month change and phasing out?

Display/Dimensions:

The iPad 3 and iPad 4 have the same dimensions with a length of 241.2mm, width of 185.7mm, and 9.4 for depth. The third and fourth generation tablet also weighed 652g, or approximately 1.44 pounds.

Screen:

The iPad 3 and iPad 4 also have the same screen features and measurements.

The screen is measured at 9.7-inches with a pixel resolution of 1,536x2,048 and 264 pixels per inch (ppi).

Both tablets also have Retina Display, although the iPad 4 is being referred to, not only as the fourth generation, but the "iPad with Retina Display."

The screens for the tablets are also scratch-resistant with oleophobic coating.

Memory:

The iPad 3 and iPad 4 do not offer a card slot and offer 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB variants.

Wireless Connectivity:

The third and fourth generation tablets offer the same wireless connection, from Bluetooth version 4.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n.

Camera:

The rear-facing cameras are the same. The rear-facing camera has five-megapixels with 2,592x1,944 pixel resolution.

The front-facing camera does see a difference. The iPad 3's secondary camera uses Video Graphics Array resolution, which is 640x480 while the iPad 4 is 1.2-megapixels and uses 720p at 30 frames per second (fps) compared to the third generation's 480p at 30fps.

Operating System:

A definite change is the operating system (OS). The iPad 3 starts with the iOS 5.1, with YouTube and Google Maps, but can be upgraded to the latest iOS 6. The iPad 4 automatically comes up the iOS 6 with the new Apple Maps and Passbook apps.

Processor:

The iPad 3 uses Apple's A5X chip while the iPad 4 uses the latest A6X, which has been tested to run twice as fast compared to its predecessor.

Battery (Time):

The battery capacity is the same, with 11,560mAh, using up to 42.Wh. The two tablets, on standby, can last up to 720 hours while talk time can go up to 10 hours.

Colors:
Simply put, both available in black and white.

To conclude, there are many similar features outside the front-facing camera and A6X, yet the iPad 2 remains an option for purchase.