There are reports coming from the US where Apple customers who’ve purchased the third generation iPad within 30 days are able to get the device replaced with the latest fourth generation version. Would Malaysians be able to swap their recently purchased third generation iPad with the new fourth-gen version?
The short answer is most probably not.
We called Apple customer support for some clarification and while they were willing to hear customers out on a case-to-case basis, the reality is this:
It will be more than 30 days till the fourth generation iPad hits Malaysia. This means by the time the new iPad gets here, your 30-day replacement window will very likely be up.
Even if your purchase is within the 30-day window when the fourth gen iPad is launched here, Apple is more likely attend to purchases made from the online Apple Store than the one made via authorised resellers. For iPads purchased via authorized Apple retailers, the chances of you scoring a free upgrade will be almost zero.
But we’ve heard of some interesting stories from people who bought their Apple gear from authorized resellers and still managed to get one-to-one swaps simply because they were not satisfied with their purchase. Of course these cases are few and far between, so you will have to be extremely lucky or persistent or both to get your recently purchased and already obsolete third generation iPad replaced with the new fourth generation one.
All we can say is, all the best!