Apple Event · 2012
Introducing the third-generation iPad with a Retina display, A5X chip, 5MP iSight camera, and 4G LTE, alongside the new Apple TV with 1080p HD content.
Watch the keynote
Full replay of the March 7 event.
The new iPad features a stunning Retina display, the A5X chip with quad-core graphics, and a 5MP iSight camera capable of recording 1080p HD video. With ultrafast 4G LTE connectivity and up to 10 hours of battery life, it delivers an incredible experience for work and play.
The new Apple TV brings 1080p HD video to your living room, with movies, TV shows, Netflix, and more. Enjoy a refined interface, access your content through iCloud, and wirelessly stream or mirror content from your iPhone and iPad with AirPlay.
Apple completes the iLife suite for iOS with iPhoto, alongside major updates to iMovie and GarageBand. Edit and enhance photos with Multi-Touch, create Hollywood-style movie trailers, and make music together with Jam Session.
1 min read · Written by Invite Archive
Apple's invitation for March 7, 2012, said We have something you really have to see. And touch. It showed a close-up of an iPad screen, and the hint was obvious: a Retina display was coming to iPad.
Tim Cook spoke about what he called the post-PC era, then introduced the third iPad. Apple called it simply the new iPad:
It started at $499 and went on sale March 16. Apple also introduced a new Apple TV with 1080p video at $99 and iPhoto for iOS, completing the set with iMovie and GarageBand.
The display was praised as the best on any tablet, and reviewers said text looked like print. To drive it, the new iPad was slightly thicker and heavier than iPad 2, and some owners reported that it ran warm.
The name was the bigger surprise. Apple dropped the number, which made it hard to tell iPads apart, and the confusion only grew when Apple replaced the new iPad just seven months later at We've got a little more to show you with a faster model using the new Lightning connector. Many buyers felt their new iPad had become old too soon. See the full iPad timeline.