Early Battery Tests Between Wi-Fi and 3G iPad - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Early Battery Tests Between Wi-Fi and 3G iPad

iLounge posts some preliminary findings between the iPad Wi-fi and iPad 3G models. The 3G model was just released on Friday and includes 3G cellular data capabilities as well as GPS functionality.

Data services over 3G cellular tend to draw more power than on Wi-Fi alone. Apple's official specs show a 10% hit when using 3G vs. Wi-fi. Apple claims 10 hours of continous web usage on Wi-Fi, and 9 hours of usage on 3G with a single charge. iLounge's early tests show that these numbers seem reasonably accurate:

Our prior iPad with Wi-Fi battery tests found that Apple was generally at least a little conservative in its estimates; for instance, we put the Wi-Fi model through a web torture test with repeated 1-minute refreshes of a large, completely loaded page for 10 hours and 21 minutes on 50% brightness over 802.11n. Repeating the exact same test on the Wi-Fi + 3G model with 3G turned on and Wi-Fi turned off, the iPad achieved 8 hours and 38 minutes of continuous reloading and displaying -- 22 minutes shy of Apples estimate.

Popular Stories

iOS 27 Next to iPhone

Here's When iOS 27 Rolls Out Around the World

Sunday September 13, 2026 3:00 am PDT by
Apple is about to release iOS 27, which will finally deliver more advanced Siri AI capabilities as well as a variety of other refinements, improvements, and new features to iPhones. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at Wednesday's iPhone event that it will be releasing iOS 27 sometime tomorrow – Monday, September 14. iOS 27 won't be the only release on...
deep black iphone 18 pro

Apple Says iPhone 18 Pro Max Sold in U.S. Differs in One Way

Saturday September 12, 2026 3:27 pm PDT by
As noted by Nicolas Lellouche, who writes for the French tech website Numerama, Apple has updated its tech specs pages for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max to clarify which models are equipped with its new C2 cellular modem and where. Apple now says the iPhone 18 Pro has a C2 modem worldwide, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max uses the chip in every country except for the U.S. According...
iphone duo

IMAX Reacts to iPhone Duo's 1:1.4 Aspect Ratio Displays

Friday September 11, 2026 4:42 am PDT by
Production theater company IMAX has responded in a mixed way to Apple's embrace of a 1:1.4 aspect ratio on the iPhone Duo's inner and outer displays. The boxier ratio happens to be very close to the classic "full-frame" IMAX 1.43:1 aspect ratio, which comes from the geometry of the company's original 15-perforation/70mm film system. In response to an X post from someone wondering if we'll see...