The new tablet comes with the latest release of the operating system, iOS 4.3, and Jobs pointed out that Apple has now paid out over $2bn to iOS developers, and that the majority of the firm's revenues now come from "post-PC products" (iPhone, iPod touch, iPod and iPad). The main improvement in 4.3 is a major performance boost for the Safari browser, Apple having migrated the Nitro JavaScript engine from Mac OS X to iOS. The new OS release will also enable iTunes home sharing via Wi-Fi.
In hardware terms, the most interesting feature is the A5 dual-core processor, keeping the iPad on the cutting edge in terms of silicon - dual-core Android tablets are just starting to come to market. The chip is the A5, a successor to the A4, which is custom designed for Apple by Samsung and similar to that firm's Hummingbird range. The A5 claims up to twice the performance of the A4, and is nine times faster in graphics performance.
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