Timing is everything in tech. But for anyone who bought a brand-new tablet in early 2012, the release date ipad 4 felt like a glitch in the Matrix.
Honestly, it was a move that nobody saw coming.
Apple usually waits a year between updates. It’s the rhythm we all grew used to. But with the fourth-generation iPad, they threw the rulebook out the window and updated their flagship tablet just seven months after the previous one hit shelves. It was a "blink and you missed it" moment that left a lot of early adopters feeling, well, a little burned.
The Day Everything Changed: November 2, 2012
If you’re looking for the exact release date ipad 4 officially landed in stores, it was November 2, 2012.
The announcement happened a few days earlier, on October 23, during a packed event at the California Theatre in San Jose. Most people were there to see the very first iPad mini. That was the "big" news. But Tim Cook had a "one more thing" energy that morning, unveiling a full-sized iPad refresh that caught the tech world off guard.
Pre-orders kicked off on October 26, and by the following Friday, the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB Wi-Fi models were out in the wild.
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If you wanted the cellular version, you had to wait a couple more weeks. And if you were a power user hunting for the massive 128GB version? That didn’t actually join the party until February 5, 2013. It was a staggered rollout that felt a bit messy compared to Apple’s usual surgical precision.
The Seven-Month Itch
The "iPad 3" (officially called "The New iPad" back then, which was confusing) came out in March 2012.
By October, it was dead.
Apple literally pulled it from the store. One day it was the pinnacle of tablet tech; the next, it was a discontinued relic. This created a PR nightmare. People who had dropped $500+ in the summer were suddenly holding "old" hardware by Halloween. Apple actually had to extend its return policy to 30 days at some retail stores just to keep the peace with customers who had just bought the third-gen model.
Why Did They Do It?
You might wonder why Apple would risk annoying their most loyal fans.
The answer boils down to two things: a tiny plug and a huge processor.
Basically, the iPhone 5 had just launched with the Lightning connector, killing off the old, wide 30-pin dock. Apple wanted their entire lineup to match before the holiday shopping season. They didn't want parents buying an iPhone 5 and an iPad 3 for Christmas only to realize they needed two different sets of cables.
Then there was the heat.
The iPad 3 was the first to have a Retina display, but the A5X chip inside was sort of... struggling. It ran hot. It felt a little laggy in high-end games. The iPad 4 brought the A6X chip, which Apple claimed doubled the speed. It wasn't just a marketing gimmick; benchmarks at the time showed the iPad 4 was a beast. It handled that high-resolution screen with the grace the previous model lacked.
What You Actually Got for Your Money
In 2012, the pricing was classic Apple. It’s weird to look back at these numbers now that Pro models push toward two grand.
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- 16GB: $499
- 32GB: $599
- 64GB: $699
- 128GB: $799 (released later)
The design didn't change at all. If you put an iPad 3 and an iPad 4 next to each other, you couldn't tell the difference unless you looked at the charging port. The iPad 4 was still a heavy slab—about 1.4 pounds of aluminum and glass. It felt premium, but man, your wrists would feel it after twenty minutes of reading.
The Tech Specs That Mattered
Aside from the Lightning port and the A6X chip, the front-facing camera got a massive bump.
It went from a grainy VGA sensor to a 1.2MP FaceTime HD camera. In the era of Skype and the early days of FaceTime, this was huge. Suddenly, you didn't look like a blurry potato during video calls. The rear camera stayed the same 5MP "iSight" sensor, which was fine for the time but nothing to write home about.
The Wi-Fi was also upgraded to dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz), which helped with the frustrating connection drops people were seeing in crowded houses. It was a "refinement" update in every sense of the word, even if the timing was chaotic.
The Long Journey to Obsolescence
The iPad 4 had a surprisingly long life for a "gap" device.
It was eventually discontinued in October 2014 when the iPad Air 2 arrived, but Apple actually brought it back briefly as a budget option to replace the iPad 2. It was the "old reliable" of the lineup for a long time.
Software-wise, it hit a wall at iOS 10.3.3 (or 10.3.4 for cellular models). Because it was built on a 32-bit architecture, it couldn't make the jump to the 64-bit world of iOS 11.
Is it still useful today?
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Honestly, barely. Most modern apps won't even download because they require iOS 13 or 14 at a minimum. However, because it has that gorgeous Retina display, people still use them as digital photo frames, dedicated music players for old speaker docks, or very basic e-readers.
Actionable Steps for iPad 4 Owners
If you still have one of these living in a drawer, don't just throw it in the trash. Electronic waste is a real problem, and there are ways to squeeze a little more life out of it.
- Check the Battery: If the screen is bulging, the battery is swelling. Stop using it immediately. If it still holds a charge, you’re in the clear.
- Use Web Versions: Since the App Store is mostly a ghost town for this device, use Safari. You can still access YouTube or Netflix via the browser, though it might be a bit slow.
- Dedicated "Smart Home" Controller: If you have older smart home tech that still supports iOS 10, you can wall-mount the iPad 4 to act as a permanent light switch or thermostat controller.
- Recycle Properly: If it's truly dead, take it to an Apple Store. They’ll recycle it for free, and while you won't get trade-in value for a device this old, you'll at least know the lithium and aluminum aren't ending up in a landfill.
The iPad 4 remains a fascinating piece of tech history—not because of what it did, but because of when it arrived. It was the device that proved Apple was willing to cannibalize its own products to stay ahead of the curve.