iPad 4 - 128GB

IamMetaldave

Apparently it's legit.

Apple has, by means of a press release, announced that its fourth-gen iPad will now offer up to 128GB of internal storage – double the previous maximum configuration of 64GB. Apple has sold in excess of 120 million iPads to date, and with Phil Schiller noting of the consumer’s preference to "work, learn and play on their iPads rather than their old PCs,” it would certainly make sense for the fruit company to offer the kind of capacity reflecting the change in habits.

The new 128GB versions of the fourth-gen iPad will be available as of next Tuesday, February 5th. Both the black and white, Wi-Fi + Cellular and Wi-Fi-only models will be available with the increased capacity, with prices starting at $799 for the iPad with Wi-Fi version. Meanwhile, the iPad with Wi-Fi + Cellular model will retail at $929 stateside, and both will be available in-store as well as online and through Apple’s resell partners.



As somebody who tends to buy the largest capacity of device, I am excited by the news, if a little surprised. When Apple pushed its iDevice range up to a maximum of 64GB, I thought the progression to 128GB would be a matter of formality, but with strong emphasis on selling its iCloud service post-iOS 5, it began to look as though 64GB would be the limitation. With other companies sniffing around for a slice of the fruit company’s market share, though, it would appear Tim Cook and his troops want to issue a reminder to the tech community, and what better way to do so than offering a great deal more storage space than any other mainstream slab on the market?



With the iPad now running all the way up to 128GB, it will be intriguing to see if the iPhone follows suit. The Cupertino’s market-leading tablet certainly benefits more from the larger capacity (larger apps, more likely to run HD video, and so forth), but seldom is a feature implemented on one and not the other. This release will surely prompt some iPhone users to call for more space, but for the time being, the company’s iconic slab is the only iOS device to reach these dizzy new heights.



Does the 128GB iPad 4 have you sold? Please share your thoughts via the usual mediums below!

Source.

HTML5!

So, more space you can't download to.

TBi

I've never filled a 16GB so don't need that much space. Interesting though.

Creamy Goodness

probably only useful for people whom travel a lot and want more movies for long haul flights.

nice to have the option nonetheless.

IamMetaldave

Yeah, I used to be convinced I needed more and more space until I start streaming my music on iTunes Match and Spotify, 16 GB is ample space not. And even that would be enough space for a few films for a long haul flight. I guess Apple are just looking to get ahead of the others with 128.

TBi

IamMetaldave wrote: »

And even that would be enough space for a few films for a long haul flight.

If not you can always just reduce the quality, full HD is nice but SD is fine on a screen that small.

who_me

I've virtually no songs or videos on my 16GB iPad, and am always struggling to squeeze my apps onto it. Would love 128GB, but it does seem a bit too pricey; reckon I could survive on 64GB, with my new-found anti-hoarding skills.

cuilteanna

Even the extra space won't tempt me back to a full size iPad, the mini is just so much handier to travel with. When there's a 128 mini I'll buy!

blackplum123

Have an ipad 3 16gb , the size of the hard drive makes me keep my ipad tidy of rubbish.......
its very kind of apple to offer 128ssd storage but they should really be adding a slot for an sd card. they want to squeeze out the last buck out of peoples pockets .

Just to say this will be my last ipad... tired of restrictions....

Creamy Goodness

ugh, it only took 8 posts to get on to the SD card debate. what's next USB so we can all have super dvd drives too?

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

DubDJ

Looks like there'll be no iPad refresh for March/April. Lots of products released for the end of the year.

blackplum123

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

ugh, it only took 8 posts to get on to the SD card debate. what's next USB so we can all have super dvd drives too?

That's just it, people want--- choice ---and that will be apples downfall!!!

Creamy Goodness

blackplum123 wrote: »

That's just it, people want--- choice ---and that will be apples downfall!!!

but no one is forcing you to buy an iPad, or are they?

blackplum123

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

but no one is forcing you to buy an iPad, or are they?[/QUOTE


wait and see, with competition on its tail , I.e. Samsung.
Apple are on the slippery slope... but there will always be the apple die-hards.
some day you will see the light.
I have to admit myself, it took me a while... but then it stares you in the face....

Syferus

DubDJ wrote: »

Looks like there'll be no iPad refresh for March/April. Lots of products released for the end of the year.

I can't believe anyone seriously thought Apple would release three iterations of the iPad in twelve months, two in little over six months was pushing it very far to begin with.

I'd be far more interested in 128GB iPod touch\iPhone because that's the device you're likrly to be using when you're on the go or otherwise unable to properky rely on a solid internet connection, there's way more music, podcasts and apps on my phone than my tablet.

IamMetaldave

blackplum123 wrote: »

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

but no one is forcing you to buy an iPad, or are they?[/QUOTE


wait and see, with competition on its tail , I.e. Samsung.
Apple are on the slippery slope... but there will always be the apple die-hards.
some day you will see the light.
I have to admit myself, it took me a while... but then it stares you in the face....

That's unbelievably condescending!!

DubDJ

Syferus wrote: »

I can't believe anyone seriously thought Apple would release three iterations of the iPad in twelve months, two in little over six months was pushing it very far to begin with.

I thought the same about the iPad mini/4th Gen at the end of the year. Just over half a year after the last update. It was a very modest update so they could of easily released an update February or March.

godtabh

Its interesting that the article says that more and more people are using the ipad as their pc. If an ipad could truly function like a pc ie downloads, run "pc" applications etc I think things like a 128gb ipad would something I'd go for.

At the momement I just done see the need for a 128gb ipad/iphone etc. 16gb in both do me

Gumbo

blackplum123 wrote: »

wait and see, with competition on its tail , I.e. Samsung.
Apple are on the slippery slope... but there will always be the apple die-hards.
some day you will see the light.
I have to admit myself, it took me a while... but then it stares you in the face....

Nah, ive seen the grass on the other side, it's not as green as some people make it out to be.

Syferus

I don't even attempt to use my tablet for work or heavy duty stuff, it's for dinner table/couch browsing, mobile video viewing and the odd app.

Touch is great for forums or texts but even the external keyboards have come across as an inadequate solution for long-form typing or data input.

DubDJ

I've the 64GB iPad and I find I'm always pushing for space. Have all my music, photos and videos on it which takes up 25GB but the rest goes to apps. Recently had to delete another big app too free up space. It's apps like GTA, MC3 and Need For Speed that take up big chunks of space. I find myself regularly running out of space. And I hate deleting them and loosing all my game data.

IamMetaldave

DubDJ wrote: »

I've the 64GB iPad and I find I'm always pushing for space. Have all my music, photos and videos on it which takes up 25GB but the rest goes to apps. Recently had to delete another big app too free up space. It's apps like GTA, MC3 and Need For Speed that take up big chunks of space. I find myself regularly running out of space. And I hate deleting them and loosing all my game data.

Does Game Centre not look after game data? Like saves etc?

DubDJ

IamMetaldave wrote: »

Does Game Centre not look after game data? Like saves etc?

Nope, some games have iCloud backup built in but very few. Games like Cut The Rope and Vice City can be deleted and your data is saved on iCloud. Game Centre does save high scores and achievements but if you were to delete Angry Birds for example you'd loose all your game progress.

squonk

A few points struck me when I read about this update earlier today.

I use my iPad for music, books, photos and video. When I've been away I've used it also as a back up device for the SD card in my SLR to store shots via the camera kit. You really don't feel taking up a lot of space that way. I'm sure photographers who want to be mobile will appreciate the extra space as will anybody who wants to do video editing on the god. Now, the question arises whether either of these activities are better done sitting in front of an iMac but for those using the iPad for such things, I'm sure they'll be grateful.

I use Plex to manage my film and TV media and one of the nice new features provided b the software is the ability to sync movies and latest episodes of TV shows to the iPad. Plex transcodes the media into MP4 so size isn't a huge issue but a large iPad does give a lot of leeway to pick a lot of your favourite shows and have new episodes sync to your iPad so that you can watch them on flights or during holidays. It removes the need to actively think about available space which is a good thing.

So far so good but on the downside, as an iPad owner who bought my current iPad 3 64Gb last March, I have a second chance to feel aggrieved at this latest model. My trusty iPad 3 is now instantly devalued further, and it's only 4 months since the last iPad refresh as well. I sucked up the last update as I saw they were realigning their release calendar so I began to consider whether I would go for the iPad 5 next Christmas or not. I'm not so keen to roll with the changes this time however.

Things seem to have definitely moved on since Steve headed to the great big Infinite Loop in the sky. It is starting to look like the accountants and marketeers are taking over at Apple. Assuming a product release realignment would have gone ahead under Steve, I believe he would have either upped the device capacity at the iPad 4 launch by bullying suppliers or some other means, or else decided that 64Gb was top capacity for now and released a 128Gb at the next product iteration. As is, this looks like a reaction to the 128Gb Windows Surface device. Who is to say that if Samsung introduce a 256Gb tablet mid year that we won't see a copycat move by Apple soon afterwards (though they would probably wait for the next refresh at Christmas in that case.. or you'd hope).

There are implications for the brand here as well and customer perception. People buying top of the line iPads are paying $800 to own them and have a right to complain if their product is devalued quickly after purchase. We're not dealing with cheap crappy Android tablets here and this is a problem. If you've paid $120 for some crap Android tablet, you can't complain if specs change shortly afterwards. I've considered my iPads a 2 year investment up until now. For the first year you've had the latest iPad and for the second you have a good, supported device that works well and by year 3 you are probably ready to upgrade if you wish. Now if I'm likely to have my iPad relegated to 'former model' status within months, I might just decide to hang on an extra year before upgrading again. Ultimately I might just get tired of this altogether and look elsewhere, though that being said, I haven't looked at Windows 8 Surface yet and Android isn't an option. At this point, the number of iPad models is also becoming cluttered. I'm assuming we now have 4 separate size variants i.e. 16,32,64 & 128Gb on offer, then you have WiFi or WiFi&Cellular, Black or White, Mini or Full. Any more 'additions' to the range and it'll become hard to keep track of what offerings the company actually has. It's all starting to look like the beginnings of the Scully era again when there were so many Mac models you could hardly keep up with them.

TBi

squonk wrote: »

So far so good but on the downside, as an iPad owner who bought my current iPad 3 64Gb last March, I have a second chance to feel aggrieved at this latest model. My trusty iPad 3 is now instantly devalued further, and it's only 4 months since the last iPad refresh as well. I sucked up the last update as I saw they were realigning their release calendar so I began to consider whether I would go for the iPad 5 next Christmas or not. I'm not so keen to roll with the changes this time however.

How exactly is yours more devalued? It's an addition to the range, the same as the iPad 4 just with more ram and a higher price point. The current iPad 4 hasn't been reduced in price.

I don't understand the logic...

squonk

My mistake. I thought it was a direct replacement for the 64Gb at the $709 price point. Makes it still a very expensive proposition at $799. I misread.

flyguy

Great they're making a 128gb version. I won't need it (yet) but 16gb isn't enough anymore on the iPhone so I got a 32gb iPhone 5 and followed suit when I got the iPad mini. Now with ever increasing file size, camera improvements and HD video etc surely we can assume with the launch of the next line of iPhones/iPads that 32gb will be the standard (smallest available) storage size?!
Wishful thinking I guess...

Dades

I think anyone aware of the iPad 5 "leaks" showing an iPad Mini style profile and complete slimming up would be a bit mad to buy now, tbh. (Even if the new model won't be released until the Autumn.)

IamMetaldave

Dades wrote: »

I think anyone aware of the iPad 5 "leaks" showing an iPad Mini style profile and complete slimming up would be a bit mad to buy now, tbh. (Even if the new model won't be released until the Autumn.)

At the same time, what are they gonna add to it to justify the wait? Retina, a6x and that capacity is awesome for a tablet.

leemaree

When is the 128 model available? it doesn't mention it on the apple ireland site

Pipmae

Dades wrote: »

I think anyone aware of the iPad 5 "leaks" showing an iPad Mini style profile and complete slimming up would be a bit mad to buy now, tbh. (Even if the new model won't be released until the Autumn.)

Okay now my head is officially wrecked.... I want to buy the iPad Retina for the OH's 40th birthday in March. I can get it from the US at a saving of approx €150 over the Irish price. But that option is only available to me short term (American aupair heading home on holidays for a week willing to bring one back for me). OH has the iPad 1 and hasn't upgraded yet (in spite of him being an Apple addict). Oh what to do......

BTW we have three iPad Mini's in the house since Christmas. Our two daughters and me.

DubDJ

Pipmae wrote: »

Okay now my head is officially wrecked.... I want to buy the iPad Retina for the OH's 40th birthday in March. I can get it from the US at a saving of approx €150 over the Irish price. But that option is only available to me short term (American aupair heading home on holidays for a week willing to bring one back for me). OH has the iPad 1 and hasn't upgraded yet (in spite of him being an Apple addict). Oh what to do......

BTW we have three iPad Mini's in the house since Christmas. Our two daughters and me.

It's still a brilliant device and is so much better compared to the iPad 1. But it will (most likely) get a big redesign in the coming months, probably towards the end of the year. Bringing it in line with the iPad mini design (according to rumours and speculation). If you plan on buying now go ahead, the new iPad could possibly be released 10 months from now. It's a long wait.

Dades

IamMetaldave wrote: »

At the same time, what are they gonna add to it to justify the wait? Retina, a6x and that capacity is awesome for a tablet.

Slimmer and lighter. The screen is already awesome, but the obvious thing that has to done is get the weight down. It just weighs too much to use comfortably in your hand for any length of time. You have to lie it on something in reality. With a tablet - weight is a big factor.

Pipmae wrote: »

Okay now my head is officially wrecked.... I want to buy the iPad Retina for the OH's 40th birthday in March. I can get it from the US at a saving of approx €150 over the Irish price. But that option is only available to me short term (American aupair heading home on holidays for a week willing to bring one back for me). OH has the iPad 1 and hasn't upgraded yet (in spite of him being an Apple addict). Oh what to do......

Given he already has an iPad and there's several others in the house... I'd hold off. I don't see much point in giving him a long-awaited upgrade only to see a total redesign six months later! Just my opinion, of course!

I wanted to buy an iPad 2 before release, but when it didn't have a better resolution as suggested by some, I waited a whole year for the 3!

IamMetaldave

I see these are available from Apple now.

iPad Apple Store.

Wifi €809, Wifi/Cellular €939.

princemuzzy

having had the mini since xmas i dont think i can go back to a full size one now the ipad 2 has been in the house since the day it was released herself and the kids still use it but i just cant now its too big and awkward compared to the mini even before getting the mini i hardly ever used it

eeloe

I'm not sure about the 128gb, personally I'll have no need for it I'd imagine.

I went for a 16gb mini, and it's still pretty empty, I use mine as a post PC device, it's used for browsing and YouTube and email while on the couch/in bed and so on.

If I have any heavy hitting work, I'll do it up stairs in the studio on the iMac.

In saying that tho, 128gb would be handy for photographers, loading images through the camera connection kit, showing customers the images and deleting the ones not needed!

TBi

eeloe wrote: »

If I have any heavy hitting work, I'll do it up stairs in the studio on the iMac.

For stuff that needs the power of the PC/Mac I sometimes use VNC/Remote desktop to log onto the PC to do it. Works a treat

Use either Jump or iTeleport to remote log in.

IamMetaldave

I'm still yet to even get an iPad.. Every time I do, there's a new one on the horizon.

murpho999

Apple's pricing on storage capaciity is ridiculous.

€300 range from 16gb to 128gb is just not justified in my opinion especially with cloud options etc.

manual_man

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

probably only useful for people whom travel a lot and want more movies for long haul flights.

nice to have the option nonetheless.

i agree, micro sd card slots are great

IamMetaldave

murpho999 wrote: »

Apple's pricing on storage capaciity is ridiculous.

€300 range from 16gb to 128gb is just not justified in my opinion especially with cloud options etc.

Yeah the increase of price on each increment just makes no sense.

manual_man

IamMetaldave wrote: »

Yeah the increase of price on each increment just makes no sense.

i think Apple WILL eventually offer micro sd expansion. It's getting to the stage already where many are looking to other options, storage needs are increasing and many just can't justify the extra outlay for some extra GIG. for a long time Apple were so far ahead of the crowd that most were willing to fork out the extra, i don't think that's the case anymore, but at least we the consumers have good genuine alternatives now, that can only be good

IamMetaldave

manual_man wrote: »

i think Apple WILL eventually offer micro sd expansion. It's getting to the stage already where many are looking to other options, storage needs are increasing and many just can't justify the extra outlay for some extra GIG. for a long time Apple were so far ahead of the crowd that most were willing to fork out the extra, i don't think that's the case anymore, but at least we the consumers have good genuine alternatives now, that can only be good

You'd wonder if they will.. With this increased capacity the need for an SD card is significantly reduced. As for taking up the other options, I wouldn't be too pushed, I'm an Apple, also I've invested heavily in their AppStore.

Creamy Goodness

apple offering SD slots in portable devices? nope, never, they are getting rid of optical media from their portable devices (macbooks) they won't introduce something they believe - and rightly so - is dead.

IamMetaldave

I'd defo agree that CD/DVD drives are dead, but SD? I dunno, still a huge amount of them used for cameras etc, that there is enough reason to add them, like was said above, for the photographers.

Creamy Goodness

camera connection kit solves this for photographers. everyone else is in the minority.

DubDJ

An external SD card slot goes against everything Apple are designing at the moment. They don't want you taking out the battery, memory cards or any of that. Everything is integrated, especially with the unibody style designs. They've even stopped using removable batteries for their MacBooks.

Unless they release a budget iPhone for the Chinese market then I don't see them doing it anytime soon. They are loosing the battle in China though as a lot of people simply can't afford an iPhone. I'm sure they have a trick up their sleeve to take some marketshare back.

manual_man

wifi sd cards a handy way to connect and transfer to tablets now

whiterebel

manual_man wrote: »

wifi sd cards a handy way to connect and transfer to tablets now

And to swap films and music illegaly, which means Apple will never bring it in. Their deal with the record companies means they can't be seen to facilitate piracy, hence their crippling of Bluetooth.

manual_man

whiterebel wrote: »

And to swap films and music illegaly, which means Apple will never bring it in. Their deal with the record companies means they can't be seen to facilitate piracy, hence their crippling of Bluetooth.

I didn't know that. i thought once you had a wifi connection you could transfer