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iPad iPad Air's screen deviance is driving me into the arms of refurb iPad 4

KhunJay

KhunJay

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 16, 2013
479
177
I've already returned an ipad air for a full refund...i am just not up to playing the exchange lottery when the chances of getting an evenly coloured screen seem so random.

Add to that the whole safari crashing debacle, allegedly due to the 1GB ram on 64-bit architecture....and I think this is too much for my nerves to handle.

Seriously considering getting a refurb iPad4 because it is a mature product, the last of its kind in terms of design and i think they really got it right.

The iPad Air by comparison is the first of its kind and can only get better, so maybe it would be wiser to wait for the 2nd or 3rd iteration.

Well, that's my thinking....any critiques?
 
andiwm2003

andiwm2003

macrumors 601
Mar 29, 2004
4,382
454
Boston, MA
I thought about buying a 4 but the price difference between the Air and the 4 is not big enough to justify buying the older version. By the time we have iOS7.3 most of the software problems will be fixed. However since it's a change in processor from 32 to 64 bit I expect many apps and future iOS versions to not fully support the iPad4. In the past an iPad was fully supported for 3 years. With the recent changes it might be that the 4 gets left behind much faster and for a minimal price difference I wouldn't take that risk.
 
KhunJay

KhunJay

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 16, 2013
479
177
Hmmm...it's all relative innit?

iPad 4 is only old tech, 'heavy' and less advanced after ipad air has been revealed.

Taken on its own merit, it seems to be a formidable machine...and it's but a year old. The 64 bit thing...I don't see many apps that have it yet...I'm mainly going to be reading mags and books on the thing, so I wonder if I'll be missing much.

I wanted the air because I was keen on the lightness and speed...but if Im lucky to get a refurb running ios6, I would not upgrade.

In any case, a friend has an ipad4 and it runs really fast on ios7.
 
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C

crouchingtiger

macrumors member
Feb 15, 2004
48
28
I did the same thing, not because of any objection to the iPad Air (which seemed quite nice when I checked it out on the Apple Store), but because of the monetary factor. Was able to score a new in box unit on eBay for almost $300 less than equivalent configuration for iPad air (32 GB 4G).

The iPad 4 is working out great, noticeably peppier than my previous iPad 3 and sufficiently light for me. Also, I did get the impression that it "feels" sturdier than the iPad Air, although not clear whether this is actually borne out in real world usage (I suspect not).
 
V

VicVendrell

macrumors newbie
Dec 6, 2013
16
0
I'm considering the same thing. It's not really the screen that I'm worried about, it's the seemingly troublesome combination between 1 GB of RAM and a 64-bit processor. Is that the reason for the crashes?
 
T

Triangle Man

macrumors member
Sep 24, 2012
86
0
In my opinion, I like the smaller form factor of the iPad air with the thinner border on the sides.
 
C

calvol

macrumors 6502a
Feb 3, 2011
995
4
I'm going back to an iPad 2 refurb, returning the Ultimate Crashing Machine on Monday.
 
KhunJay

KhunJay

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 16, 2013
479
177
Triangle Man said:
In my opinion, I like the smaller form factor of the iPad air with the thinner border on the sides.
Click to expand...

Yes...no one's disputing that....but it's an inconsistent machine on other fronts. Great design and dimensions....but is it performing like a big bucks device considering the extensive reports on the yellowish screen and the crashing ....I'm not swayed by the fact that many others love it...I'm not convinced just yet.
 
EDH667

EDH667

macrumors 65816
Nov 25, 2009
1,035
278
Northern California
KhunJay said:
Yes...no one's disputing that....but it's an inconsistent machine on other fronts. Great design and dimensions....but is it performing like a big bucks device considering the extensive reports on the yellowish screen and the crashing ....I'm not swayed by the fact that many others love it...I'm not convinced just yet.
Click to expand...


The crashing issue is reportedly being corrected by the new version of IOS 7, but
sounds like your mind is made up, enjoy your iPad 4.
 
S

seb1987

macrumors member
Jul 26, 2008
50
0
I'm doing the same I've been through 2 iPad Minis retinas and both have had screen bleed one of them has yellow strip at the bottom of the LCD I just want it to work and not have to fight to get a decent one
 
ucfgrad93

ucfgrad93

macrumors Core
Aug 17, 2007
19,532
10,820
Colorado
ZBoater said:
Yes. Buying old tech is a bad idea.
Click to expand...

andiwm2003 said:
I thought about buying a 4 but the price difference between the Air and the 4 is not big enough to justify buying the older version. By the time we have iOS7.3 most of the software problems will be fixed. However since it's a change in processor from 32 to 64 bit I expect many apps and future iOS versions to not fully support the iPad4. In the past an iPad was fully supported for 3 years. With the recent changes it might be that the 4 gets left behind much faster and for a minimal price difference I wouldn't take that risk.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I wouldn't get the 4.
 
S

seb1987

macrumors member
Jul 26, 2008
50
0
Doesn't fix the crappy screens they have been using though! I don't see 64bit playing a big part other than with games which I don't use. I just don't want to fight with screen bleed and uneven displays all because Apple don't want to use Samsung we suffer.
 
V

VicVendrell

macrumors newbie
Dec 6, 2013
16
0
Is it true that the iPad Air feels a lot less sturdy and premium than previous generations? I know there has to be some kind of trade-off for all that weight loss, but just how noticeable is it? Does it bother anyone?
 
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cababah

macrumors 68000
Jun 11, 2009
1,891
504
SF Bay Area, CA
VicVendrell said:
Is it true that the iPad Air feels a lot less sturdy and premium than previous generations? I know there has to be some kind of trade-off for all that weight loss, but just how noticeable is it? Does it bother anyone?
Click to expand...

It's the bi-product of being thinner and lighter. Bricks often feel very sturdy and solid...
 
frank4

frank4

macrumors regular
Oct 17, 2011
186
40
OP it might be an idea to just wait a couple of months and then buy another iPad Air in hopes the display quality issues have been solved, if you think most Airs have issues at this time.

I am in a similar boat. In the picture of Prince William and Kate at the link below, William's hand and both faces have a green tinge shown on my iPad Air. Not noticeable to some people probably, but they look normal on my iPad 2 and Mac Mini with Samsung monitor. Actually almost everything on my 2 week old Air has a slight green overtone. It's a small but annoying defect, I'm not sure if I'll try an exchange, the Air is excellent in other respects.

I have an LED TV with a similar issue and I was able to fix it myself by using a hidden factory settings menu that let me access RGB gain and offset parameters (called White Balance in this TV), I just reduced the green a little and also adjusted the tint control. But there does not seem to be an iPad app to do that. I wonder if Apple has a secret RGB adjuster app for use by their technicians.

http://mosaic5.com/france/royaume-uni-combien-rapporte-la-famille-royale/
 
MisakixMikasa

MisakixMikasa

macrumors 6502a
Aug 21, 2013
776
2
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
ZBoater said:
And this means what exactly?
Click to expand...

You do realized Apple is still selling iPad 2 with exactly same price almost 2 years ago and iPad mini 1 with only $30 discount. Stuffs inside these things are almost 3 years old. If you say buying old technology is bad idea, then selling these old technologies with high profit margin is pure rip off
 
ZBoater

ZBoater

macrumors G3
Jul 2, 2007
8,497
1,322
Sunny Florida
MisakixMikasa said:
You do realized Apple is still selling iPad 2 with exactly same price almost 2 years ago and iPad mini 1 with only $30 discount. Stuffs inside these things are almost 3 years old. If you say buying old technology is bad idea, then selling these old technologies with high profit margin is pure rip off
Click to expand...

Ok, let me get this straight. iPad 2 launched with a price of $499 for 16GB wifi.

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/03/02Apple-Launches-iPad-2.html

iPad 2 selling today is $399.

My math is a bit rusty, but is believe there's a $100 price difference here.

According to YOU, this is "exactly the same price".

Are you intentionally trying to mislead, or are you just trolling? :confused:
 
MisakixMikasa

MisakixMikasa

macrumors 6502a
Aug 21, 2013
776
2
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
ZBoater said:
Ok, let me get this straight. iPad 2 launched with a price of $499 for 16GB wifi.

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/03/02Apple-Launches-iPad-2.html

iPad 2 selling today is $399.

My math is a bit rusty, but is believe there's a $100 price difference here.

According to YOU, this is "exactly the same price".

Are you intentionally trying to mislead, or are you just trolling? :confused:
Click to expand...

Dude... Apple is selling $399 for 3 years old technology, and I said exactly same price almost two years ago. Remember iPad 2 launched March. 2011. Then dropped priced on March 2012. If you count, it is almost 2 years. as I said. So, yes, I am not intentionally trying to mislead nor I am trolling. You should try to improve your reading skill and try to improve your thinking skill as well.

Come on, $399 for 3 years old thing is absurd, no mention soon will be obsolete iPad mini selling for $30 less than launch price.
 
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