Hello M:R Nation –
I think there might be some confusion among folks over the differences are between the different iPad models. So allow me to shed some light on some of the subtle and not so subtle differences.
Form the outside, you are not going to be able to notice much, if any differences at first glance. All 3 devices are 9.50″ x 7.31″ x 0.37″, all have a 9.7″ display and all sport a facetime and rear camera, but a great way to tell the difference between an iPad 2 and the others is the Siri function. All newer generation iOS devices have Siri.
Now to tell the difference between the The New iPad and iPad With Retina Display is very simple, just look at the bottom of the iPad. You will see The New iPad has the old 30 pin connector and the iPad With Retina Display sports the great new “Lightning” connector which looks like this:
iPad with Retina Display
Those are just some industry tips that we use here daily to identify what you are sending to us. While most folks get it right, we do have the occasional customer that orders the wrong service. Hopefully this can serve as a guide for those of you that are not quite sure. Moving forward, lets talk about the inside of these great devices.
This is where it can get complicated, so I won’t go too in depth. The iPad 2 had a lot less in common with it’s two successors when it comes to the internals. Take the glass/digitizer for an example. The iPad 2 has a completely different connector than the The New iPad and the iPad With Retina Display which share the same cable (Shown in the picture below).
In fact, the LCD is the same on the two successors as well. Now, we don’t usually disclose this type of information, but I want to make one thing clear, The New iPad and the iPad with Retina display use the SAME screen. So PLEASE, don’t fall for the marketing tricks of other companies and pay more for the iPad with Retina display, It is exactly the same and it should cost the same as The New iPad repair!
iPad Glass/Digitizer Cables
For further internal information, check out this comparison chart. It really shows some key differences and similarities between the 3 models.
iPad Comparison
As you can see, looks can be deceiving. While these 3 models look identical, they are for the most part different and different for the better. This is what Apple is known for. Taking something great and slightly improving it for the better.
Lastly, I want to shed some light on the biggest thing these 3 iPads have fiercely in common. Mission:Repair services all of them! We do the leg work on finding the differences and sourcing those different parts so you don’t have to deal with it:-)!
From screens to headphone jacks and everything in between, we are you one stop shop for iPad repair. I hope this post has helped you to identify what iPad you own. Even if it is not broken, it’s still good to just know. If it is broken, I hope find some of the links below helpful. Just click and enjoy!
Full-Service iPad 2 Repair Services and Upgrades!
Mission Repair - Specials and Gadget Info 
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