New iPad overheating?

So far I haven't experienced any overheating on my new iPad 64gb/4g but I'm not using a case yet. When I got the unit home, I used it for a bit before charging it fully. So far I haven't really noticed any significant warmth coming from the device. I've played a few games on it (Angry Bots/Samurai II Dojo to test out Unity 3D support for the new Retina display) and it didn't get hot at all. I can't say I really noticed any warmth either. I'm going to watch a movie tonight and see how that goes. I do not have a case for it though and I'm only using wifi (no sim card installed yet.) I also have auto-brightness enabled (and slider set to ~60%.)

I wonder how many people with overheating issues are using a case?

I just bought my New iPad (iPad3) [32GB WIFI only] yesterday and after restoring from the cloud and using it for a bit, I had noticed a good amount of heat from the left corner as well. Then as I was doing research found this forum and decied to test this while watching a video or playing a game and noticed that the back of the iPad got extreamly hot.

I am going to try and run through a couple of full drains and full re-charge on the battery and see if that improves it at all.

It might be worth mentioning whether your iPad is wi-fi only, or includes 4g.

Does the heat issue occur more often in 4g tablets? There is a manufacturing difference between the two, and 4g may demand more power by design, even when it's not being accessed. Or the level of brightness may make more of a difference on the 4g design than wi-fi only.

The forum could collectively figure out a few baseline assumptions until Apple offers more information.

Heat: Warm, but not uncomfortable

iPad: 64gb, Wi-Fi only

Bright: 80%

Battery Cycles: Still using its initial charge

It's doing it on all the new iPad's.

Mines a Black / 32Gb / Wi-Fi Only model.

Bringing it to Apple at 5:00est and going to try a replacement. Doubt the other new iPad model will fix, but it's worth a shot. It took 8 hours to get from 2% charge to 79%! Plus it was getting very hot. See what happens, and will stay posted...

Using the charger that came with mine I got about 20% in an hour

Thanks to everyone who was claimed theirs has got Hot also ..this is becoming something apple can't ignore forever

Mines 32 gig white wifi only and it gets Hot

Good point, let's post specs. From what it appears so far, it's affecting both 4G and wifi models.

Mine:

32GB Verizon 4G, black, cellular data turned off.

case 1: Uncomfortably warm while browsing at ~75% brightness.

case 2: Very hot, borderline impossible to hold after running a 3d game for 30 minutes on full brightness (no overheating error message though). In comparison, iPad 2 got uniformly warm, but not this hot.

iPad 16gb Wi-Fi model.

Overheating to much. I even burn my lap on my first day. Not comfortable to use at all.

Will try to drain the battery, but not to much hope on it.

Will definately change it for iPad 2 in worst case. Very disappointed.

Mine's a 32 GB Wi-Fi only model. I've discharged the battery and didn't use it while it re-charged. It didn't seem to make a difference. I mainly use Safari and it gets too warm within 30 minutes. The NetFlix App will cause it to overheat and display the error message saying it needs to cool down within 30 minutes.

From reading the comments, it seems like a bad batch has been shipped since some people aren't having the problem.

WARNING - is there a danger of electric shock?

OK, so here I am in front of my iMac, corded extended keyboard, reading your post. I reach a hand over to feel the back of the new iPad, which is sitting in an Apple dock charging a few inches away from the keyboard (screen on). And ZAP, as soon as my fingers touch the back of the iPad, I get a sharp little electric shock on the part of my wrist that happens to be touching the aluminum corner of the keyboard.

I put a finger of one hand on the back of the iPad (bottom left) and then touch the edge of the keyboard with a finger of the other hand, and there is a very intense burning sensation on the finger touching the keyboard.

I am in Europe (maybe it is a European voltage thing) -- but it seems to me that there is definitely a danger of electric shock.

So while I was maybe nearly electrocuted, I can at least report that my iPad is not too hot.

Well, let's have a lesson in electronics shall we. Firstly, I mean no disrespect to anyone here but I would like to shed some light on this topic.

We all know processors generate heat. LEDs generate heat. Wireless radios generate heat. Even batteries generate heat. I have a third gen 64Gb Wifi only. I upgraded from a first gen for the retina display and the quad core graphics.

The iPad 2 has a 25wH battery. The third gen has a 42.5wH battery. Considering that is close to twice the battery power in nearly the same space and the battery life is close to the same time one can infer that we are burning twice the power than the iPad 2. Anytime you are using power, heat is generated as a loss in the system. More power burned, more heat. Now add to that using the wireless radios, either Wifi or LTE (which is a power hog). There is more heat. Now turn on your backlight LEDs. These things all add up. Now I would like to talk about another heat topic in electronics.

Thermal Runaway.

What is thermal runaway? If you think back to high school physics when you learned the basics of electronics we all know that resistance in a circuit causes heat when a current flows through it. a toaster is a perfect example. Current flows through a high resistance wire and heat is generated. It's not a good example because this is not thermal runaway. The system is designed so the heat generated does not push the resistance too high. The air flow allows enough cooling to have the coils stop their temperature rise at a point of equilibrium. When an electronic circuit gets hot it's resistance goes up automatically. This in turn causes more heat to generate and the cycle is repeated. The new iPad is designed as a power house tablet. It's amazingly powerful at 3d gaming and graphically intensive applications. Mine does get hot. Very hot when I am playing sky gamblers while plugged in. With the display at 100%. I honestly didn't expect it to run cool did you? It gets warm when surfing, but hot it I lay it on my bed like it is now. Warm watching a movie, hot when it is on a non thermally conductive surface. I don't have a case for the back as I want the heat to get out. It has no fans nor any vents. It's a passively cooled system. If it gets too hot to hold after playing a game for a while, I lay it down, back directly against my granite countertop for a minute or two and it cools right off. Just holding it while playing it never gets TOO hot though it can get uncomfortable. It I lay it on the bed while paused, just for a minute, then it gets real hot.

Think about what you are all complaining about. You want more power, faster wireless speeds, better display and more battery but you don't expect this comes at a price?

I for one LOVE my new iPad.

No, doesn't seem to be static electricity. I have repeated it several times and it is pretty freaky. If you have a similar set-up (iPad charging and screen on near a corded Apple extended keyboard attached to a running iMac) I suggest you be careful. It is a continuous electrical current feeling in the finger touching the keyboard's aluminum corner when I am simultaneously touching the back left bottom corner of the iPad with the other hand. At first I thought it was a static shock...as I described, I happened to have my wrist touching the metal corner of the keyboard while reaching to test the heat on the back of the iPad which was charging in the dock.

I have an iPad 3 64gb wifi only. My iPad is also rather warm on the bottom left hand corner. I have owned an iPad 1 and an iPad 2, and I haven't experienced this sort of heat before. Is it software or the hardware itself?? I don't know about everyone else, but I like to know that the product I have purchased works properly.

Mine is impossibly hot still after a full battery drain. I took it to the store and they said there isn't a problem with overheating and that it felt "normal" to them...wouldn't give me a replacement.

This is bad service Apple. I demand an answer here. I love your product, but this is rediculous.

I just came back from my apple store and I told them that I have a child 9 years old who loves to play with the iPad but he is asking for his Ipad 2 witch I sold to buy this one, he doesn't want to use this one couse is getting hot I explain ; and this guy told me that they have a lot of people today on the store telling him the same and he said that's normal couse the new iPad is all battery and I told him I don't care if it is all battery or not I want a products that Me and my son can enjoy and he said with stupid tone I can give you and iPad 2 back if u want , I saw him and ask him will apple do anything with this ? He said no, this is NORMAl. I said thank you.

Shame on you apple I am very disappointed.

I also took mine to Apple, and wouldn't swap it out. They just kept saying its normal. All they did was reset my iPad, saying it was a software related problem. Not hardware. So I'm here now waiting for my backup to restore, and not expecting this is the fix... Told him if its still doing it, that i could then get a replacment. Software really? I'm going to keep posted.

Oh to the guy who gives us a lecture about Thermal Runaway... Dude, this is tablet meant to be held, without uncomfort. Yes, the iPad has been beefed up with better graphics, screen, ect... That does not mean is ok to be hot! Customers don't need a lecture about how thinks work. We just simply want a device that works correctly, and comfortably, which the first two did. Period!