More iPad Battery Notes: 25-Hour Hotspot Life, 2-Amp Current Draw from Discharged State

Much has been made of the increase in battery capacity in the new iPad over the past week and a half, including its impact on charging and heat issues experienced by consumers. More recent discussions have focused on the device charging beyond the 100% indicator.

A few other tidbits related to the device's battery are gaining some exposure, information which may help users plan how they use their iPads. First, a report from AnandTech addressing battery life has been gaining renewed interest for its revelation that users running a Verizon iPad in personal hotspot mode can see as much as 25 hours of battery life to provide connectivity for their other devices. That number has also been confirmed by The Verge.

While Verizon is including personal hotspot functionality in its iPad data plans at no extra charge, AT&T has yet to announced whether it will even support the feature at all, noting only that it is "working with Apple" on the issue.

ipad 3 amps
Meanwhile, VR-Zone notes that the new iPad can draw as much as 2 amps of current when charging the battery from a nearly-depleted state, pushing the capacity of charging connections such as computer USB ports. Apple's supplied iPad power adapter provides for up to 2.1 amps of current from a wall outlet, and the company has long noted that this method offers the fastest charging on any iPad. Users can, however, still charge the device using the smaller 1-amp adapter included with an iPhone or by connecting the dock connector cable directly to a computer's USB port. VR-Zone notes:

As you can see in the video below, the iPad in question only had seven percent battery life remaining and at this point it's sucking 1.98A. That's a lot of power and we were told by Gigabyte that they've seen it hitting just over 2A. That said, as you might've noticed from the picture above, this quickly drops once the iPad begins to charge, but considering a standard USB 2.0 port only delivers 500mA and even a USB 3.0 port will only deliver 900mA, you have to wonder how much Apple cares about PC owners.

The new iPad carries a 42.5 watt-hour battery, roughly 70% larger in capacity and size than the 25 watt-hour battery found in the iPad 2.

Related Roundup: iPad
Buyer's Guide: iPad (Caution)
Related Forum: iPad

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...

Top Rated Comments

Peace Avatar
166 months ago
Just plug the damn thing into a wall outlet. Good grief. Apple supplies one with it. Why not use it?
Score: 50 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TimUSCA Avatar
166 months ago
I think the new iPad sucks.

We appreciate your feedback, appletroll289.
Score: 49 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jamesryanbell Avatar
166 months ago
I think the new iPad sucks.

You're in the minority. The display alone puts it *WAY, WAY* ahead of the previous two generations. It's the one to have.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
markyr17 Avatar
166 months ago
As you can see in the video below, the iPad in question only had seven percent battery life remaining and at this point it's sucking 1.98A. That's a lot of power and we were told by Gigabyte that they've seen it hitting just over 2A. That said, as you might've noticed from the picture above, this quickly drops once the iPad begins to charge, but considering a standard USB 2.0 port only delivers 500mA and even a USB 3.0 port will only deliver 900mA, you have to wonder how much Apple cares about PC owners.
That is absolutely ridiculous. Because a PC owner's USB port doesn't supply as much power as the included charger for the 3rd generation iPad, Apple is screwing over their PC owning customers? :rolleyes:

EDIT:

It's not like Apple can just go back and change the USB port specs. Obviously the iPad needs this amount of power to run their device, and they're not making it require so much power just to be jerks. That comment make absolutely no sense to me.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
camnchar Avatar
166 months ago
you have to wonder how much Apple cares about PC owners
Apple cares so much they included a charger so PC owners can charge their iPad from the same outlet they plug their PC into.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Small White Car Avatar
166 months ago
you have to wonder how much Apple cares about PC owners.
How many netbooks can charge over USB from a PC?

Seems like you should be pointing those out to me, VR-Zone, if you're trying to prove to me that this is something that devices with screens like this should be doing. I'm assuming it's a long list for you to make a comment like that. Would be nice of you to share.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)