“Paying attention to just a few common sense pointers will pay off with a longer battery lifespan and battery life for your iPad. The most important thing is to keep your iPad out of the sun or a hot car, including not leaving it locked up in a hot trunk during summer. Heat will degrade your battery’s performance the most,” is the advice at . “Your iPad is designed to work in conditions ranging from 0° to 35° C. But keeping your iPad as near room temperature as possible (22° C) is ideal.”
Apple also advises that charging the iPad while in certain carrying cases may generate excess heat, which can affect battery capacity. If the iPad gets hot during charging, it should be removed from its case. The iPad doesn’t have a fan to keep it cool so it should always be kept out of direct sunlight or temperatures above 35° C. If the iPad overheats, a yellow warning sign will pop up on the screen with the notice “iPad needs to cool down before you can use it.”
“In my opinion, not Apple tested, but in-house tested, the iPad should not be in the sun in the Kingdom during the summertime or subjected to any serious heat for that matter, and Apple states so in the manual,” said Mishaal Alireza, managing director, i.zone, the leading Apple Premium Reseller in Saudi Arabia. “Doing so degrades the battery life to some extent depending on just how hot it is. Depending on what type of heat, after a while it might shut down. So you can get away with it briefly, but I highly recommend not exposing an iPad to direct sunlight, nor would I leave it in a car in this weather.”
He added, “I am of course talking about Saudi Arabia’s weather, not a sunny day in California. There is a huge difference in temperatures, and more importantly humidity! The humidity in Jeddah currently is unbearable for both humans and iPads.”
Alireza mentioned that iZone recently opened its largest store in the Kingdom at Al-Andalus Mall in Riyadh and its location at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) opens at the end of next week. He encouraged consumers to come to any iZone store if they have questions about the operation of any Apple-branded device.
“We recommend that people be smart about their iPads in general,” remarked Alireza. “Don’t leave it lying around. Get a case or cover for it. Get a ZAGG invisibleSHIELD on the front or full body to protect the iPad from scratches and get a cleaning kit to keep fingerprints off the screen. Basically treat your iPad like you would treat anything valuable!”
Good advice to follow. Now, if only Apple would consider sticking to its own guidance in its advertising. A California-based law firm, Scott Cole & Associates, has filed a class action lawsuit in the US against Apple, Inc. The suit alleges that Apple engaged in a marketing campaign that promised functionality of the iPad outdoors and/or in warm conditions indoors, yet the device may shut down quickly in such situations.
Since launching the iPad in April, Apple has advertised the product at as suitable for warm environment use, including as an outdoor e-reader, an over-the-stove cooking aid and a vehicle interactive mapping tool — usages that the lawsuit claims are unrealistic. The lawsuit doesn’t state that the iPad is defective. It simply contrasts the real specifications of the device, compared with how the iPad is being advertised. Any damage settlement would be years in the future, as would a court order instructing Apple to stop certain advertising claims. One effect of the lawsuit is the highlighting of the iPad’s sensitivity to hot, sunny conditions.
Scott Cole, the principal attorney for the plaintiffs, clarified that if the lawsuit is certified as a class action, then anyone who purchased the iPad in the United States or over the Internet would be eligible to participate in the case, wherever their principle residence might be.
“I have a firm believe that companies should advertise as accurately as possible. When Apple puts images in its commercials of people putting the iPad on Vecro and attaching it to a motorcycle gas tank, it gives people the impression that this really is a product that can be used in any environment,” commented Cole. “If the advertisements hadn’t been as they were, this case would not have been filed.”
