On the Timing of the Mid-Cycle iPad Refresh ⇥ marco.org

Marco Arment reflects on the spec bump that the big iPad received yesterday:

The timing of the update — just 6 months after the iPad 3, instead of the usual year — will anger a lot of iPad 3 owners. But the previous March releases of the iPad 2 and 3 were more problematic.

Many people give or receive iPads for the holidays, and their new gifts were one-upped by new models just a few months later. This undoubtedly caused some buyers not to give iPads as holiday gifts, waiting for the new models instead.

It was a curious choice, but I think it marks the shift to a fall update cycle. In other words, I don’t see another update coming in March or April. If you are annoyed, Apple will exchange your third-generation iPad, provided you purchased it within the past 30 days.