Apple's third-generation iPad arrived with specifications that seemed designed to answer every criticism of its predecessors simultaneously. The headline feature was the Retina display — a 2048 x 1536 pixel screen with 264 pixels per inch that Apple claimed exceeded the resolution limit of human visual acuity at normal viewing distances. The result was text and images so sharp that the previous generation's screen, which had seemed perfectly good before the announcement, immediately looked soft by comparison.

The A5X chip provided enough processing power to drive that high-resolution display while also powering what Apple was calling the iSight camera — a 5-megapixel sensor borrowed from the iPhone 4S and capable of recording 1080p video. Previous iPad cameras had been notable mainly for being not very good; this one was actually usable.

The 4G LTE connectivity transformed the cellular iPad from a slightly faster version of its predecessor to something genuinely fast enough to stream video without frustration.

The combination created a device that was notably more capable than the iPad 2 it replaced while being virtually identical in size, weight, and form. This is a pattern that has defined Apple's iPad strategy: meaningful internal improvements packaged in industrial design stable enough that accessories, cases, and muscle memory carry over.

Reviewers were, by this point, accustomed to the cycle: Apple announces specifications that seem like marketing superlatives, critics test them and find they're largely accurate, consumers buy in large numbers. The third-generation iPad was the continuation of a product category Apple had essentially invented — and evidence that the inventors were still paying close attention.