The third generation iPad ( marketed as the new ipad, colloquially reffered to as the iPad 3) is a tablet computer, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. The third device in the iPad line of tablets , it added a retina display , the new Apple a5x chip with a quad - core graphics processor , a 5 megapixel camera , nd 1080p video recording , voice dictation , and support for LTE networks in north America . It shipped with ios 5.1, which also provides a platform for audio visual media , including electronic books , periodicals , films, music, computer games , presentations , and web content .