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iPad This is why we can't have nice things. (Air 2)

R

Rocket Man

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 28, 2014
92
97
I have been frequenting these forums for years (mostly for their entertainment value ;)) but finally felt compelled to share my thoughts regarding the new iPad.

First let me just say that I wasn't overly impressed by the original Air. Having owned the iPad 3 (briefly due to its lack luster ability to drive its own retina screen) and iPad 4 I had a reasonable expectations. Yes... Apple made it much thinner than the iPad 4 but it seemed like whilst losing the heft it had also lost the feeling of something solid and expensive in your hand.

Combined with the fact that I felt like the quality of the screen appeared to be a step backwards (I hate that screen air gap with all my heart!) and the buyers remorse kicked in fairly fast but given that I had already promised my iPad 4 to my Mom there was no going back. The feeling that Apple was giving us just enough hardware to keep the more ravenous :apple: users on a never ending upgrade cycle didn't help.

Despite that I decided that since I could once again upgrade my moms iPad (the gen 4 of which she complained about its heft not surprisingly.. lol) to my gen 1 air and get sufficiently high trade in value for her old gen 4 that I would jump to the iPad Air 2 with little to lose but my faith in Apple.. Perhaps..

The new Air 2 may only be a little lighter and thinner on paper but somehow in the real world feels much more so. Would the thinness of the original Air had been enough if the battery life could be improved? Yes. But Apple likes to push form factor and technology. Once you live with it you will appreciate what Apple did. It feels solid too. Specially the screen feel.

The screen is laminated and doesn't suffer from backlight bleed or any non-sense display lottery BS Apple has feed us before (in my experience). AMEN. Its by far the best screen on an IPad and the biggest jump in screen quality since retina. To me that alone was a must buy feature.

In an almost secretively manner Apple has included 2gb of RAM on the Air 2. It's almost as if Apple is trolling everyone who called for it :D. It is very nice to have and I suspect it's the cause for the increased stability of the device.

The speaker makes the iPad vibrate ever so slightly. The sound doesn't distort mind you but the tablet does vibrate. First world problems... To me it's neither annoying or a concern but maybe I'm just not as OCD about Apple products as I used to be...

All in all this is to me the best iPad Apple could make (in my mind) and not the incremental upgrade most before felt like. Maybe Apple listens or maybe they are doubling down on their seriousness for the Tablet Market but either way the consumer wins.

-typed from my iPad Air 2-
 
I completely agree.

The iPad Air 2 is the best iOS product I have ever owned, and I've owned a LOT!

I don't understand why people say, it's a small incremental update and if you have an iPad Air there is no reason to upgrade. The iPad Air is still a great tablet, but there are lots of reasons to upgrade.

The screen is a lot nicer to look at thanks to lamination and the anti-reflective coating.

It's a lot thinner, and a bit lighter.

The A8X chips blows the A7 out of the water, and coupled with the 2GB of RAM, it's just begging for split screen multitasking, which will differentiate it hugely when (not if) it comes. You can quote me on this, when iOS9 is introduced in June, split screen multitasking will come to the iPad Air 2, and no other iPads.

Both cameras received upgrades, especially the back camera which seems on par with the iPhone 5S now.

And Touch ID.

All in one year, at the same price, infact you can get 64GB of storage for the price of 32GB last year.

Apple has done themselves a disservice calling it the iPad Air 2, because it the name suggests an incremental update, but it's the biggest update the iPad has seen since they went from the original iPad to the iPad 2.

Somebody will quote this, highlighting how each update doesn't matter to them, "Meh, don't use the camera - iPad Air is fast enough for me - Meh, don't want Touch ID," and that's fine for you, but it doesn't negate the fact that the iPad Air 2 is a massive update in almost every way over last years model.
 
I may not have brought up Touch ID but I absolutely love it. I like to keep my devices locked and the difference between having to type a password vs simply and briefly resting your finger on the Touch ID sensor in terms of speed convenience cannot be compared!

And like you mention, making the storage tiers 16/64/128 for those of us who were going for the 64gb or 128gb simply means a cool less $100 spent!

I'm loving this tablet so much more than any iPad before it and that's the Apple magic that keeps me on the hook :D
 
Rocket Man said:
The screen is laminated and doesn't suffer from backlight bleed or any non-sense display lottery BS Apple has feed us before (in my experience).
Click to expand...

Sure it does, read some of the impressions. Some have already returned/exchanged their Air 2 from uneven tint or back light bleed.
 
I absolutely agree. It's a MUCH better tablet then the Air 1. As someone who owns both (well I sold my Air... but I have owned both) I can tell you... it's something you can FEEL. It's just that much snappier... a joy to use.. something that my experience with the iPhone 6 and its buggy builds hasn't always been. Ironically since being able to jailbreak it, my 6 is behaving a lot better.
 
jabingla2810 said:
I completely agree.

The iPad Air 2 is the best iOS product I have ever owned, and I've owned a LOT!

I don't understand why people say, it's a small incremental update and if you have an iPad Air there is no reason to upgrade. The iPad Air is still a great tablet, but there are lots of reasons to upgrade.

The screen is a lot nicer to look at thanks to lamination and the anti-reflective coating.

It's a lot thinner, and a bit lighter.

The A8X chips blows the A7 out of the water, and coupled with the 2GB of RAM, it's just begging for split screen multitasking, which will differentiate it hugely when (not if) it comes. You can quote me on this, when iOS9 is introduced in June, split screen multitasking will come to the iPad Air 2, and no other iPads.

Both cameras received upgrades, especially the back camera which seems on par with the iPhone 5S now.

And Touch ID.

All in one year, at the same price, infact you can get 64GB of storage for the price of 32GB last year.

Apple has done themselves a disservice calling it the iPad Air 2, because it the name suggests an incremental update, but it's the biggest update the iPad has seen since they went from the original iPad to the iPad 2.

Somebody will quote this, highlighting how each update doesn't matter to them, "Meh, don't use the camera - iPad Air is fast enough for me - Meh, don't want Touch ID," and that's fine for you, but it doesn't negate the fact that the iPad Air 2 is a massive update in almost every way over last years model.
Click to expand...

No, it is not a massive update. It's an update but you can't just throw out the fact that many people with an Air simply don't care about these new features or won't benefit from them. The faster chip is nice but only if the software takes advantage of it. Day to day use isn't much different. The screen "update" is of minimal value according to several reviews I've read. One mm thinner is a LOT thinner to you? OK...?

Just saying, nothing here is a fact. It's mostly subjective. Just like most updates are. The Air was a "massive update" when compared to the earlier gen iPads as far as I'm concerned.
 
Rocket Man said:
The new Air 2 may only be a little lighter and thinner on paper but somehow in the real world feels much more so.
Click to expand...

I agree - after playing with an Air 2 in-store last week.

I have a 4 myself. When the Air 1 came out, I played with a demo model and it was a "meh" experience: Not much different from the 4.

The Air 2, OTOH, has earned the "Air" moniker just on physical "feel". It's more responsive too.
 
s2mikey said:
No, it is not a massive update. It's an update but you can't just throw out the fact that many people with an Air simply don't care about these new features or won't benefit from them. The faster chip is nice but only if the software takes advantage of it. Day to day use isn't much different. The screen "update" is of minimal value according to several reviews I've read. One mm thinner is a LOT thinner to you? OK...?

Just saying, nothing here is a fact. It's mostly subjective. Just like most updates are. The Air was a "massive update" when compared to the earlier gen iPads as far as I'm concerned.
Click to expand...

Software will improve, and only time will tell, but the iPad Air has performance and memory to spare, it's very likely to be the only currently sold iPad to get multi window support.

But the iPad Air 2 isn't a software update, it is a hardware update. And apart from changing the design, they have updated almost every single part.

1.4mm thinner actually, almost 20%. So yes, it's a a lot thinner when you are talking about something that was already really thin.

My point was, you may not care about these new features, but it doesn't mean they aren't there and they aren't real. The iPad Air 2 is a significant upgrade over last years model. The iPad Air is still great, and Apple still sell it, but for that extra $100 you are getting a substantially better product that will get at least another year of updates and support.
 
I just picked up an iPad Air and it's the first ipad I've ever owned, I absolutely love it, but now you guys are making me feel like I made the wrong decision. I just couldn't afford the new latest and greatest Air 2. Is my Air not going to last and be quickly outdated? #
 
jabingla2810 said:
I completely agree.

The iPad Air 2 is the best iOS product I have ever owned, and I've owned a LOT!

I don't understand why people say, it's a small incremental update and if you have an iPad Air there is no reason to upgrade. The iPad Air is still a great tablet, but there are lots of reasons to upgrade.

The screen is a lot nicer to look at thanks to lamination and the anti-reflective coating.

It's a lot thinner, and a bit lighter.

The A8X chips blows the A7 out of the water, and coupled with the 2GB of RAM, it's just begging for split screen multitasking, which will differentiate it hugely when (not if) it comes. You can quote me on this, when iOS9 is introduced in June, split screen multitasking will come to the iPad Air 2, and no other iPads.

Both cameras received upgrades, especially the back camera which seems on par with the iPhone 5S now.

And Touch ID.

All in one year, at the same price, infact you can get 64GB of storage for the price of 32GB last year.

Apple has done themselves a disservice calling it the iPad Air 2, because it the name suggests an incremental update, but it's the biggest update the iPad has seen since they went from the original iPad to the iPad 2.

Somebody will quote this, highlighting how each update doesn't matter to them, "Meh, don't use the camera - iPad Air is fast enough for me - Meh, don't want Touch ID," and that's fine for you, but it doesn't negate the fact that the iPad Air 2 is a massive update in almost every way over last years model.
Click to expand...

I agree with both of you....can't stress enough how pleased i am for the leap from iPad 3
 
jabingla2810 said:
I completely agree.

The iPad Air 2 is the best iOS product I have ever owned, and I've owned a LOT!

I don't understand why people say, it's a small incremental update and if you have an iPad Air there is no reason to upgrade. The iPad Air is still a great tablet, but there are lots of reasons to upgrade.

The screen is a lot nicer to look at thanks to lamination and the anti-reflective coating.

It's a lot thinner, and a bit lighter.

The A8X chips blows the A7 out of the water, and coupled with the 2GB of RAM, it's just begging for split screen multitasking, which will differentiate it hugely when (not if) it comes. You can quote me on this, when iOS9 is introduced in June, split screen multitasking will come to the iPad Air 2, and no other iPads.

Both cameras received upgrades, especially the back camera which seems on par with the iPhone 5S now.

And Touch ID.

All in one year, at the same price, infact you can get 64GB of storage for the price of 32GB last year.

Apple has done themselves a disservice calling it the iPad Air 2, because it the name suggests an incremental update, but it's the biggest update the iPad has seen since they went from the original iPad to the iPad 2.

Somebody will quote this, highlighting how each update doesn't matter to them, "Meh, don't use the camera - iPad Air is fast enough for me - Meh, don't want Touch ID," and that's fine for you, but it doesn't negate the fact that the iPad Air 2 is a massive update in almost every way over last years model.
Click to expand...

It's silly to upgrade to a new iPad if you have the previous version. Sure it's nice, but definitely not worth it. It's not much lighter than the iPad Air, which is more important than anything for me. Weight > thinness. I'm not saying the changes aren't worthwhile, I believe that people who had the previous iPads before the Air should consider upgrading. But not people who do have the Air, which just came out last year. Just my two cents.
 
Drew.89 said:
I just picked up an iPad Air and it's the first ipad I've ever owned, I absolutely love it, but now you guys are making me feel like I made the wrong decision. I just couldn't afford the new latest and greatest Air 2. Is my Air not going to last and be quickly outdated? #
Click to expand...

Don't sweat it. The Air 1 is a primo device.
I love mine, and played with the Air 2 at the Apple Store... For my usage, there isn't much difference. Sure I'd love one, but the Air 1 ain't no slouch.
 
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