Hope You Bought the 64GB iPad … New Apps are 2.5 – 3x Larger!

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Hope You Bought the 64GB iPad ... New Apps are 2.5 - 3x Larger!

I was checking out some screenshots and photos from the new iPad over at Macrumors, which all hailed from the much-reported early delivery 3rd generation iPad from Vietnam that is getting loads of press … and I noted a quote from Vietnamese site Tinhte.vn regarding the size of the original apps:

The sizes of these Retina-enabled apps appear to be about 2.5-3x the size of their original counterparts.
These applications are developed by Apple has been upgraded to support the Retina screen, for example with Keynote (iWork software sets), this application previously only 115MB capacity but its latest version is 327MB. Numbers from 109MB or 283MB up to, from 95MB to 269MB Pages, iMovie from 70MB to 404MB.

Existing iPad apps are automatically pixel-doubled to take up the full screen on the new iPad, but appear noticeably less sharp than native Retina graphics.

Now this really shouldn’t come as a surprise – Apple upped the ‘download over 3G’ limit from 20MB to 50MB. Now quick and without pulling out a calculator (or calculator app, more likely) – what is that ratio? 2.5:1! So it seems like Apple already knew that apps taking advantage of the retina screen would see a large bump in size.

So what does this mean for new buyers? Well, the apps above used to total at ~390MB, but will now occupy nearly 1.3GB! There are definitely more things going into the size bump than screen resolution – iMovie got a considerable bump in features as well. But here is the reality – that 16GB model suddenly became a micromanagement nightmare for anyone who makes significant use of the iPad for gaming or media of any type!

More than ever I really wish Apple had doubled the storage capacity, because while I have managed to keep at least 15GB free at all times over the last year (I have 20GB free now), something tells me it is going to get much harder once I start using the new iPad.

What model iPad did you grab, and what are your thoughts on the larger file size for most apps?

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About the Author

Michael Anderson
I have loved technology for as long as I can remember - and have been a computer gamer since the PDP-10! Mobile Technology has played a major role in my life - I have used an electronic companion since the HP95LX more than 20 years ago, and have been a 'Laptop First' person since my Compaq LTE Lite 3/20 and Powerbook 170 back in 1991! As an avid gamer and gadget-junkie I was constantly asked for my opinions on new technology, which led to writing small blurbs ... and eventually becoming a reviewer many years ago. My family is my biggest priority in life, and they alternate between loving and tolerating my gaming and gadget hobbies ... but ultimately benefits from the addition of technology to our lives!