SpecEagle review · Apple
Apple iPad (3rd gen, Retina 2012) review: 2012 first Retina iPad.
SpecEagle Editorial·Mar 2012·$499
Overall
82/100
Class rank
#1 of 1
Tier
Vintage
Buy?
At the right price
The verdict, up front
iPad (3rd gen, Retina).
Apple's 2012 iPad 3 brought first Retina to iPad — 1536 x 2048 + first LTE option, replaced 6 months later by iPad 4.
01Display
88/10088/100 — right at the average for vintage phones of 2012.
TypeRetina IPS
Size9.7"
Resolution1536 x 2048
02Performance
76/10076/100 — right at the average for vintage phones of 2012.
ChipsetApple A5X
CPU1 GHz dual Cortex-A9
GPUQuad-core PowerVR SGX543MP4
RAM1 GB
03Camera
70/10070/100 — right at the average for vintage phones of 2012.
Main5.0 MP AF
FrontVGA
04Battery
84/10084/100 — right at the average for vintage phones of 2012.
Capacity11,560 mAh
Web10 h
05Software
86/10086/100 — right at the average for vintage phones of 2012.
What works
- First Retina iPad (1536 x 2048).
- 1 GB RAM bump.
- First LTE iPad option.
- 5 MP rear cam.
What doesn't
- Heat issues from A5X.
- 652 g heavier than iPad 2.
- Replaced 6 months later by iPad 4.
- Final iOS 9.3.6.
How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 1-phone cohort of vintage devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .