Honestly, if you bought an iPad in early 2012, you probably remember the exact moment your heart sank. It was October 23, 2012. Tim Cook stood on stage at the California Theatre in San Jose, and while everyone expected the new iPad mini, he pulled a "one more thing" that left the tech world—and recent buyers—completely stunned.
He announced a new full-sized iPad. Just seven months after the previous one launched.
The release date iPad 4th generation followed almost immediately, with Wi-Fi models hitting shelves on November 2, 2012. Cellular versions trailed by a few weeks, landing in mid-November. It was a move that broke Apple’s predictable yearly rhythm and effectively turned the "New iPad" (the 3rd gen) into a legacy product before many people had even finished paying off their credit card bills for it.
The Chaos of the 2012 Launch Timeline
To understand why this date matters, you have to look at the mess of that year. Apple usually waited 12 months between refreshes. Not this time. The 3rd generation had launched in March, and by November, it was officially discontinued. Gone.
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It was a wild time for the 35 countries in the first wave, including the US, UK, and Canada. If you were in China or Brazil, you had to wait until December. Then, just to keep things interesting, Apple dropped a massive 128 GB version on February 5, 2013.
Why the rush? Basically, the iPad 3 was a beautiful experiment that couldn't quite keep up with its own screen. That 2048x1536 Retina display was gorgeous, but the A5X chip inside was sweating. It got hot. It stuttered. Apple knew they needed a fix, and the release date iPad 4th generation was that fix.
What Actually Changed Under the Hood
People called it a "spec bump," but it was more of a heart transplant.
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- The Processor: They swapped the struggling A5X for the A6X. Apple claimed it was twice as fast. In reality? It actually felt that way. Apps that took 30 seconds to load suddenly popped open in 15.
- The Connector: This was the big one. It was the end of the line for the chunky 30-pin dock. The iPad 4 introduced the Lightning connector.
- The Camera: They finally killed the grainy VGA front camera. You got a 1.2 MP FaceTime HD camera instead, which made video calls look like they belonged in the 21st century.
The weirdest part? It looked identical to the old one. If you didn't look at the bottom charging port, you couldn't tell the difference between the "old" six-month-old tablet and the brand-new one. It weighed 1.44 pounds—a bit of a brick by today's standards—and kept the same 9.7-inch footprint.
Why the iPad 4th Generation Still Matters Today
It’s easy to look back and call the iPad 4 "just another tablet," but it actually set the stage for how Apple handles hardware today. It was the first time we saw Apple willing to cannibalize its own products to maintain performance leads.
It lasted a long time, too. While the iPad 3 struggled to run later versions of iOS, the iPad 4 hummed along until iOS 10.3.4. It didn't get the cut-off until years later. Even after the iPad Air replaced it in late 2013, Apple actually brought the 4th gen back from the dead in March 2014 to replace the aging iPad 2 as the entry-level model.
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The Collector's Reality and Use Cases
Is it useful in 2026? Sorta. But mostly no.
The battery in these things was massive—11,560 mAh—because it had to power that power-hungry Retina screen. If you find one in a drawer today, the battery might still hold a charge, but the software is a brick wall. Most modern apps won't download. You’re limited to what’s already on there or very specific legacy versions of apps like Netflix or YouTube, provided you can even get them to sign in.
Actionable Next Steps for iPad Owners
If you still have one of these 2012 relics, don't just throw it in the trash. Here is what you should actually do:
- Check the Model Number: Look at the back. If it says A1458, A1459, or A1460, you have the 4th gen.
- Digital Photo Frame: The Retina display is still objectively sharp. Load it with photos, plug it in, and use it as a high-end picture frame.
- Dedicated Music Server: Since it has a headphone jack (remember those?), it makes a great dedicated player for an old stereo system using the Music app or local files.
- Recipe Station: It's great for the kitchen. Just keep it away from the sink. The screen is big enough to read a recipe from across the counter.
The release date iPad 4th generation wasn't just a day on the calendar; it was a pivot point. It proved that in tech, "new" is a very temporary status.