New iPad 3 Battery Problem: Guess What Apple Has to Say?

By Surojit Chatterjee | March 28 2012 9:57 AM

Apple has finally bowed to pressure from the media and has made a statement about the battery problems plaguing the new iPad device. What Apple had to say caught us off guard. We are unable to come to terms with what Apple said - whether what the company is saying is pure cover up or the truth.

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According to the company, the problems with the battery overcharging is just how iOS has been designed so users shouldn't get too excited over a problem that doesn't exist.

When charging the new iPad, the indicator shows it to be 100% full after some time, but continues to charge despite the icon saying, hey, battery done charging over here. What is really happening here is the battery discharging and recharging during the process.

AllThingsD got the chance to sit down with Apple executive Michael Tchao to talk about the battery problems facing the new iPad. As it turns out, the problems being talked about all over the Internet is not a problem, but a feature in iOS that has been around for quite some time and we just didn't noticed it.

That circuitry is designed so you can keep your device plugged in as long as you would like, Apple VP Michael Tchao told AllThingsD. It's a great feature that's always been in iOS.

A great feature that has always been in iOS, yet no one has ever seen it until now? This is due to the new iPad having a bigger battery Tchao said, which if you think about it, makes a lot of sense. However, it doesn't make it all true.

The man behind the first set of battery test, Dr. Soneira, came out to defend his report after Apple's response.

If the iPad has cell and Wi-Fi and background tasks running, then I agree with Apple that it will cycle down and up, Dr. Soneira said. But my lab tests were in Airplane Mode so that did not happen and I measured the true battery state...My essential point is simply that if the new iPad is fully charged overnight, then my tests show it will run 11.6 hours, which is 1.2 hours longer than if it just charged to 100% [on the meter], or 10.4 hours. This will matter to some users.

Now that you've read Apple's explanation, do you think it is legitimate, or just a cover up to take heat off a problem that the company plans to rectify with a fix later down the line? Leave your comments below.

(reported by Vamien MacKalin, edited by Surojit Chatterjee)

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