The fourth-generation iPad (marketed as iPad with Retina display, colloquially referred to as the iPad 4)[15][16] is a tablet computer produced and marketed by Apple Inc. Compared to its predecessor, the third-generation iPad, the fourth-generation iPad maintained the Retina Display but featured new and upgraded components such as the Apple A6X chip and the Lightningconnector, which was introduced on September 12, 2012. It shipped with iOS 6.0, which provides a platform for audio-visual media, including electronic books, periodicals, films, music, computer games, presentations and web content. Like the iPad 2 and the third-generation iPad, it has been supported by five major iOS releases, in this case iOS 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. The upcoming iOS 11, which was announced on 5 June 2017, will not have support for the fourth-generation iPad because of hardware limitations.

It was announced at a media conference on October 23, 2012 as the fourth generation of the iPad line, and was first released on November 2, 2012, in 35 countries, and then through December in ten other countries including China, India and Brazil. The third generation was discontinued following the fourth's announcement, after only seven months of general availability.[17]

The device is available with either a black or white front glass panel and various connectivity and storage options. Storage size options include 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB, and 128 GB; the available connectivity options are Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi + Cellular with LTE capabilities.

The fourth-generation iPad received primarily positive reviews and was praised for its hardware improvements as well as the Retina display, which was also featured in the device's predecessor. Furthermore, benchmarks reveal that the fourth-generation iPad is able to perform CPU-reliant tasks twice as fast as its predecessor. During the first weekend of sales, an aggregated amount of 3 million fourth-generation iPads and iPad Minis were sold.