UPDATED: The new Apple iPad 3 continues to charge for more than two hours after it claims to already be fully charged, according to a company that tests the image quality of monitors and other technology.
Raymond M. Soneira, president of DisplayMat Technologies Corp, in the iPad shoot out, claims that a mathematical error mistakenly makes the iPad think it has finished charging when actually it hasn’t fully topped up.
“There is something wrong with the battery charge mathematical model on the iPad. It should not say 100 per cent until it stops recharging and goes from the full recharging rate of about 10watts to a trickle charging rate of about 1 watt,” Soneira told ZDNet.
In practice the new iPad 3 only starts reducing the charging power a full two hours after claiming it is fully charged, then 10 minutes later it drops down to the 1 watt rate that suggests the battery is full.
It’s another teething problem for the latest version of the iPad, which has seen some users complain about overheating issues.
The good news is that since this is a calculation problem and not an error in the battery itself it should be easy to fix in Apple’s next software update and we’ll update this article if we hear anything from Apple.
All Things Digital has obtained a quote from Apple VP Michael Tchao:“That circuitry is designed so you can keep your device plugged in as long as you would like…. it’s a great feature that’s always been in iOS.”
No matter where in that cycle a battery is, Tchao said, owners of the new iPad can expect the 10 hours of battery life that Apple has promised. The decision not to keep changing the battery status was designed so as not to distract or confuse users.
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