The 3rd generation iPad, often referred to simply as the iPad (3rd generation), was released by Apple in 2012, marking another significant step in the evolution of tablet technology and set the iPad apart from other emerging entrants.
The standout feature of this device was its Retina display, which offered an impressive resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels on a 9.7-inch screen, twice that of the earlier generatons. This provided incredibly sharp and vibrant visuals, setting a new standard for tablet displays which carried through to 6th Generation iPad’s.
Under the hood, the iPad (3rd generation) was powered by the A5X chip, designed to handle the increased demands of the Retina display and doubling of the RAM to 1GB. This allowed for an incremental improvment in performance and graphics, making the device capable of handling the growing number of tasks and types of multimedia demands which were being created for the device.
Other changes included an upgraded Rear camera to 5MP from 0.9MP which was far more capable, upgraded bluetooth to 4.0, and 4G connectviity for the celluar variant.
| Release Date | March 16, 2012 |
| Price | From USD$ 499 |
| Model No | A1416 (WiFi), A1430/A1403 (Celluar) |
| Software Support | End Of Life- iPadOS 9.3.5 |
| Variants | 16, 32GB & 64GB Storage, WiFi & Celluar |
| Colours | Black, White with Silver rear |
| CPU | 1 GHz dual-core A5X |
| Memory | 1GB LPDDR2 |
| WiFi | 2.4ghz Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Screen | 9.7″ IPS 2,048 x1,536 px (264 ppi) |
| Camera | Front: 0.3 MP, Rear: 5.0 MP |
| Connector | 30 pin dock connector |
| Security | Pin Code |
| Apple Pencil | No |