iOS 5.1.1

This update contains improvements and bug fixes, including:

• Improves reliability of using HDR option for photos taken using the Lock Screen shortcut
• Addresses bugs that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks
• Fixes bugs that affected AirPlay video playback in some circumstances
• Improved reliability for syncing Safari bookmarks and Reading List
• Fixes an issue where ‘Unable to purchase’ alert could be displayed after successful purchase

iOS 5.1.1, which arrives as Build 9B206, is available for the following devices via iTunes, Apple’s site, and over-the-air download directly from the devices:

• Third-generation iPad: Wi-Fi, AT&T/GSM, Verizon
• iPad 2: Original Wi-Fi, New Wi-Fi (with A5 die shrink), AT&T/GSM, Verizon/CDMA
• Original iPad

• iPhone 4S
• iPhone 4: GSM, CDMA
• iPhone 3GS

• iPod touch: fourth-generation, third-generation

How big is big?

If we look at some of Apple’s own iPad we can see how Retina iPad graphics affects file size. It’s not a perfect comparison, since Apple also added some features to the apps it updated with Retina compatibility, but it’s still informative:

• Keynote went from 115MB to 327MB
• Numbers increased from 109MB to 283MB
• Pages went from 95MB to 269MB
• iMovie ballooned from 70MB to 404MB (add iMovie Trailers support)

These apps increased their file sizes by a factor between 2.5 and 3.

Suppose a new 16GB iPad owner wants to load up the tablet with Apple’s Retina-display ready apps: the iWork suite, the iLife suite, iBooks, Find My Friends, Find my iPhone, iTunes U, and Remote. That’s 2.24GB of apps before you’ve downloaded a single third-party app, or synced a single song, photograph, or video. Remember too that a 16GB iPad really only offers the user around 14GB of storage space; the other two gigabytes go towards the operating system and stock apps. So now your 16GB iPad offers you fewer than 12GB of storage space.

Does it just affect new iPad owners?

Perhaps the most worrying effect of the new iPad’s Retina display is its impact on older owners of both iPads and iPhones. Universal apps that run on both devices will become much larger even if you don’t own a Retina-display iPad.

Apple hasn’t coded a means by which your iPhone could ignore iPad-only assets when it installs universal apps. In fact, most developers will choose to keep art assets specifically for the first two iPads, in addition to new art exclusively for the third-generation iPad; trying to force the older iPads to show downscaled versions of Retina iPad artwork would slow things down too much, developers tell me.

So we end up with a situation where iPhones contain iPad graphics they can’t use, iPads contain graphics for other iPads they don’t want, and iPads hold onto iPhone-specific graphics they don’t need.

Is there anything I can do?

Unfortunately, when asking yourself which iPad to get today you will have to focus on the pricier 32GB or 64GB models, because once developers update their apps for the new iPad’s Retina display, 16GB simply won’t be enough.

For new iPhone purchases you should also consider the 32GB and 64GB models.

The main features of the new iPad are a better screen, a faster processor, better camera, 4G mobile networking and voice dictation.

There are a number of answered questions regarding the new iPad, so here are all the details we’ve been able to dig up about Apple’s newest tablet.

What’s the new iPad’s screen resolution?

Like the iPhone 4 and 4S, the new iPad has a Retina display — a term Apple uses to describe a screen with a high-enough pixel density that you can’t discern individual pixels at normal viewing distances. The Retina display for the iPad boasts a resolution of 2048-by-1536 pixels — over 3.1 million pixels in total — at the same 9.7-inch (diagonal) screen size as before, for a pixel density of 264 pixels per inch. (For a point of comparison, a 1080p TV has a resolution of just 1920 by 1080 pixels.) Apple also says the new iPad’s display offers 44 percent better colour saturation than the screen on the iPad 2.

Will my current apps still work with the new screen resolution?

All existing iPad apps should work fine with the new screen, but those updated for the Retina Display will look much better.

Apple has updated pretty much every one of its own iPad apps for Retina display: the iWork suite, GarageBand, iMovie, Remote and Find My Friends. The new iPhoto app also supports Retina displays.

Are the new iPad’s cameras any better than the iPad 2’s?

The new iPad’s front camera is the same quality camera with VGA resolution as the iPad 2′s. The camera on the back, however, has been upgraded significantly. Whereas the iPad 2’s back camera could take photos and videos at 720p resolution (1280 x 720 pixels), the new iPad sports a 5 megapixel (2592 by 1936 pixels) camera, much like the one in the iPhone 4, called an iSight camera. The new camera offers improved sharpness, and it supports auto-exposure, auto-focus, auto-face-detection, auto-exposure lock, auto-focus lock, and works a lot better in low light. It can record 1080p video, and it uses the iPad’s improved processing power to provide image stabilization.

How much RAM is in the new iPad?

At this time there is no concrete evidence as to the amount of RAM in the new iPad, although it is rumoured that it has 1GB, compared to just 512MB in the iPad 2. A definitive answer will We’re sure our friends over at iFixit will take apart a new iPad soon enough, and will be able to give us a definitive answer.

What’s new about the processor and graphics?

The new iPad gets a significant increase in power over the iPad 2 thanks to a new, dual-core A5X processor, which also contains a quad-core graphics processing unit (GPU). Whilst the core dual-core processor runs at the same speed, the A5X’s graphics performance is twice as fast as the iPad 2 so that developers can take advantage of the Retina Display and increase the level of detail in their apps.

Does the new iPad offer 4G wireless?

Like its predecessors, the new iPad is available in versions with just Wi-Fi and versions with both Wi-Fi and cellular networking capabilities. But this time around, the cellular models include 4G/LTE wireless, along with additional 3G-network compatibility.

The new iPad is 3G capable, and supports 850, 900, 1900, and 2100 MHz UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA networks and 850, 900, 1800, and 1900 MHz GSM/EDGE networks.

That may not mean much to the average person, but the main differences from the previous iPad are the additions of three faster wireless technologies: LTE, HSDPA, and HSPA+, which offer theoretical maximum download speeds of 73, 42, and 21 Mbps, respectively, compared with a maximum HSPA download speed of 7.2 Mbps on the iPad 2.

How does the Retina Display and 4G/LTE connectivity affect battery life?

The iPad 2 claimed 10 hours of battery life for Wi-Fi surfing, movie watching, and music listening, or 9 hours of 3G surfing. Despite having a screen and wireless connectivity that use more power, and a more-powerful processor, the new iPad claims to offer identical battery life.

Is the new iPad larger than the iPad 2?

The new iPad is the same height and width as the iPad 2, however the Wi-Fi and 3G models are each 0.6mm thicker than the previous models. The new iPads are also slightly heavier than the iPad 2, the Wi-Fi model weights 51g more and the 4G model 55g more. While the size and weight does not seem like much, the additional volume inside the new iPad is most likely taken up with battery to ensure it maintains the same battery life of the iPad 2. Indeed, the new iPad’s battery capacity is 42.5 watt-hours, compared to 25 watt-hours for the iPad 2.

What about personal hotspots?

The new iPad includes software for setting up a personal hotspot, just as you can do on the iPhone 4 and 4S. This feature lets you share your cellular-data connection between up to 5 connected devices at a time. The personal hotspot feature is carrier dependant.

Do I still need to be on a Wi-Fi network to use FaceTime?

Apple didn’t announce any changes to FaceTime, so, yes, you’ll still be restricted to Wi-Fi if you want to video chat with the grandparents.

What’s this Bluetooth 4.0 about?

The new iPad includes Bluetooth 4.0, the latest version of the Bluetooth standard. Bluetooth 4.0 includes all the features of Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, so existing Bluetooth accessories should work fine. Bluetooth 4.0 has a new protocol called Bluetooth low energy, which allows for devices that require much less power to operate and connect. Examples of devices that might take advantage of Bluetooth low energy are exercise and medical devices such as heart-rate and blood-sugar monitors. Bluetooth 4.0 might also be a boon for artists who want to use pressure-sensitive styluses.

Does the new iPad have Siri?

When Apple introduced the iPhone 4S, it introduced two software features that are often combined, Siri and dictation. There’s no Siri in the new iPad, but the dictation features have made the move. Just as with the iPhone 4S, the new iPad features a microphone button on its virtual keyboard. Press it and speak, and your words will be translated into written text. Like the 4S, the new iPad’s dictation feature supports U.S., British, and Australian English, as well as French, German, and Japanese.

The dictation feature only works when connected to a Wi-Fi or mobile network, as a data connection is required.

Does the Smart Cover still work?

Yes, the new model has the same magnetic Sleep/Wake feature as the iPad 2. Although Apple has a different model number for the new iPad Smart Cover it will work on both the new iPad and iPad the models. The original Smart Cover models will fit the new iPad, as well.

Can I use my iPad 2 case with the new iPad?

The iPad 2 and the new iPad are the same width and height but the new models are slightly thicker. This difference is small enough that most cases designed for the iPad 2 should fit the new model, although cases that fit exceptionally snugly, or are designed with especially fine precision, might have issues.

When will the new iPad be launched?

The new iPad models will be available on March 16 in the U.S., Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, and Hong Kong. One week later it’ll roll out in 25 more countries.

If you’re in a country where the new iPad will be available March 16, you can pre-order from the online Apple Store now.

New features include the ability to delete photos from Photo Stream, camera face detection now highlighting all faces in a picture, a slightly redesigned Camera app UI for the iPad, Genius Mixes and Genius playlists for iTunes Match users, improved audio for movies and TV shows, podcast controls for playback speed and a 30-second rewind for the iPad.

Also announce were fixes for bugs affecting battery life.

Many users have noted iOS 5 resulted in a decrease in battery life, with some iPhone 4S users noticing drastic loss of charge throughout a day. A number of features were suggested as possible culprits, including a bug in iOS’s automatic time-zone functionality, location services, and more.

Apple responded to the complaints, stating that it had found “a few bugs that are affecting battery life” and promising a software update to address those issues.

In addition to the battery-related fixes, iOS 5.0.1 also brings multitasking gestures to users of the original iPad. Apple also says that the update fixes problems with Documents in the Cloud — the file-syncing part of its iCloud service — and improves voice recognition for Australian users of the iPhone 4S’s dictation feature.

A few security vulnerabilities were addressed in iOS 5.0.1 as well. These included, allowing an app to execute arbitrary, unsigned code due to a flaw introduced by iOS 4.3’s Nitro JavaScript engine. Apple also repaired a hole that allowed someone to bypass the passcode lock on an iPad 2 by using a Smart Cover.

iOS 5, for the first time, allows you to update your device without connecting it to your Mac or PC. To do so, go to Settings –> General –> Software Update, and then tap the Download And Install button. Alternatively, you can still connect your device to your computer and perform the update via iTunes.

Whilst some people were surprised that this new iPhone was not radically different in looks from the iPhone 4 or was not called the iPhone 5 it is clear that this is a completely redesigned phone utilising the iPhone 4’s existing exterior.

So other than it looks the same as the iPhone 4, what defines the iPhone 4S?

Speed – The most significant specification change to the iPhone 4S from its predecessor is the bump to Apple’s A5 dual-core processor, which is twice as fast as the iPhone 4 with seven times the graphics speed. While the speed increase will enable developers to do new things by utilising a superior graphics engine in their apps, it won’t really make a fundamental difference yet. Perhaps the best reason to opt for the iPhone 4S’s faster processor is that it should help run future versions of iOS better, as was the case for the 3GS.

Camera - The iPhone 4S bumps the resolution of its digital stills from 5 megapixels to 8 megapixels and its HD video capture resolution from 720p to 1080p. The improvement, particularly in conjunction with the speedy shot time and home screen camera launching feature of iOS 5, continues the new emphasis on imaging. Indeed, there are now a host of add-on lenses created for the iPhone 4 that should work well with the iPhone 4S’s identical body.

Memory – The iPhone 4 was launched with 8GB, 16GB and 32GB memory options. The new iPhone 4S is available with 16GB, 32GB and a massive 64GB option.

Siri - The showstopper of the iPhone 4S launch was the announcement of the Siri app that is integrated into core functions of the handset as well as Wolfram Alpha for getting answers directly from the internet. Just talk to Siri as you would to a person: “Do I need an umbrella?” or “Any great burgers around here?” or “Where’s the closest ATM?” Siri not only understands what you say, it knows what you mean. It figures out the right apps to use to find the right answer. Then, just like a personal assistant, it answers you. Siri makes phone calls, sends messages, schedules meetings, sets reminders, and more. How much more? Just ask, and Siri tells you that, too.

Apple announced that the iPhone 4S was now a World Phone meaning it can roam on all global networks including US CDMA. Previously, the iPhone 4 came in two separate models (GSM and CDMA). Improvements have also been made to the internal aerial, with the iPhone 4S having two aerials that automatically switch to the best signal, even during conversations.

To some there are two main failings of the new iPhone 4S, a change in the physical design and a larger screen, which would have both been welcome. The question is, does the improvements to the iPhone 4S justify an upgrade from the iPhone 4?