It added a Retina Display, the new Apple A5X chip with a quad-core graphics processor, a 5-megapixel camera, HD 1080p video recording, voice dictation, and support for LTE networks in North America.

[6] It shipped with iOS 5, which provides a platform for audio-visual media, including electronic books, periodicals, films, music, computer games, presentations and web browsing.

Six variations of the third-generation iPad were offered, compared to nine in the United States and Canada, although some countries had only the Wi-Fi only model.

Each variation was available with black or white front glass panels, with options for 16, 32, or 64 GB of storage.

Initially, the cellular version was titled and marketed worldwide as the "Wi-Fi + 4G" model, but due to regional differences in classification of 4G (LTE) connectivity outside of North America, Apple later rebranded and altered their marketing to call this the "Wi-Fi + Cellular" model.

[14] It gained mostly positive reviews, earning praise for its Retina display, processor and 4G (LTE) capabilities.

On February 9, 2012, John Paczkowski of All Things Digital stated that "Apple’s not holding an event in February—strange, unusual or otherwise.

[25][26] On February 29, 2012, Apple announced a media event scheduled for March 7, 2012, at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

[35] The April 20, 2012, release added a dozen countries including South Korea and Malaysia.

[41] It can also access the App Store, a digital application distribution platform for iOS developed and maintained by Apple.

The service allows users to browse and download applications from the iTunes Store that were developed with Xcode and the iOS SDK and were published through Apple.

[41] The third-generation device has an optional iBooks application, which displays books and other EPUB-format content downloaded from the iBookstore.

[52] The third-generation iPad does not support iOS 10 due to hardware limitations and performance issues.

On July 22, 2019, Apple released iOS 9.3.6 for the WiFi + Cellular models of the third-generation iPad to fix issues caused by the GPS Week Number Rollover.

Researchers demonstrated within hours of the product release that the third-generation iPad can be "jailbroken" to use applications and programs that are not authorized by Apple.

[57][58] One of the main reasons for jailbreaking is to expand the feature set limited by Apple and its App Store.

[60] Users install these programs to personalize and customize the interface,[60] adding desired features and fixing annoyances,[61] and simplify app development by providing access to the filesystem and command-line tools.

[64] The display resolution is 2,048 by 1,536 (QXGA) with 3.1 million pixels—four times more than the iPad 2—providing even scaling from the prior model.

[7] The tablet is manufactured either with or without the capability to communicate over a cellular network; all models can connect to a wireless LAN.

Apple sells a "camera connection kit" with an SD card reader, but it can only be used to transfer photos and videos.

High-power USB ports found in newer computers and accessories provide full charging capabilities.

Apple offers several other accessories,[80] most of which are adapters for the proprietary 30-pin dock connector, the only port besides the headphone jack.

[15][16][18] According to Walt Mossberg of All Things Digital, the new model "has the most spectacular display...seen in a mobile device" and holds the crown as "the best tablet on the planet.

"[66] Jonathan Spira, writing in Frequent Business Traveler, claimed that it "seems to make everything sharper and clearer.

"[92] The claimed superiority of the A5X over the Tegra 3 processor was questioned around launch time by competitor Nvidia; some benchmarks later confirmed the iPad's superiority in graphics performance, while other benchmarks show that the Tegra 3 has greater performance in some areas.

[93][94] Consumer Reports gave the third-generation iPad a top rating and recommendation, claiming that the tablet was "superb", "very good", and "very fast", and that the 4G network, the Retina display, and overall performance were positive attributes.

"[19][95] As with the preceding models (see the parent article on the iPad), iOS' closed and proprietary nature garnered criticism, particularly by digital rights advocates such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, computer engineer and activist Brewster Kahle, Internet-law specialist Jonathan Zittrain, and the Free Software Foundation who protested the iPad's introductory event and have targeted the iPad with their "Defective by Design" campaign.

[97][98] Apple said that "customer response to the new iPad has been off the charts and the quantity available for pre-order has been purchased.

"[35] Despite the delayed shipping, many users chose to purchase the iPad online instead of waiting in line at the Apple Store.