Anyone else buying Air 2 over pro?

[wesley8631]

I have an iPad 4 and have been wanting to replace it since last year. Waited out til this week, wanted to get the pro, then got disappointed by the 2GB of RAM. In my country, a refurb Air 2 with cellular 128GB (i do have a data only sim i have been using on my older phone.) costs a little cheaper than the 32GB wifi iPad Pro. Wanting to know what would be the decision of people
1) Wanting to buy a new 9.7 Inch iPad

And
2) Considering 32GB is enough for me if i delete obsolute apps when neccessary and that i buy a OTG-esque device for videos for the Pro (if i do buy it.) , is it truely justifiable getting the pro over the Air 2?

With the RAM info being out, i think that the Pro 9.7 would be really behind the 12.9 on performance after a few iOS updates. Or should i wait for the performance benchmarks tests to be out before making a decision? I wish to use the 9.7 tablet i am buying for around 4-5 years, for studies and mild gaming and entertainment. Would the Air 2 significantly be slower than the Pro in a few years or is the update of the Air 2 really negligable (No use for a Cam, pencil support)


Thank you.

 

[seattlecard]

Waited for the Pro but based on price versus value, went and bought a 64Gb Air 2 today. Great device. For me, price matters.

 

[Wackery]

Ipad air 2 for me, camera hump is a deal breaker

 

[estabya]

Geekbench scores are putting the 9.7" Pro (multicore) at about 25% faster than the Air 2. Single core, which is arguably the more important one, is about 75% faster than the Air 2. Amount of memory of course is the same.

I don't really see the Pro blowing the Air 2 out of the water any time soon. That being said, if you plan to have this tablet last you 4/5 years, you're really better off buying the best one available within your budget. Especially since there is a good chance that the Pro will get 1 or 2 more software updates than the Air 2 will. Plus, there will be more features withheld from the Air 2 vs the Pro as time goes on and more updates come out.

 

[wesley8631]

Ipad air 2 for me, camera hump is a deal breaker

Yeah the camera hump is a slight concern too, altthough i think adding a case should mitigate this issue. Thanks for the input!

Waited for the Pro but based on price versus value,went and bought a 64Gb Air 2 today. Great device. For me, price matters.

Yup, price matters to me too, which is why i am deliberating over the longevity of the Pro over the Air 2 because i certainly won't be spending another few hundred on another iPad anytime soon!
Thanks for the input!

Geekbench scores are putting the 9.7" Pro (multicore) at about 25% faster than the Air 2. Single core, which is arguably the more important one, is about 75% faster than the Air 2. Amount of memory of course is the same.

I don't really see the Pro blowing the Air 2 out of the water any time soon. That being said, if you plan to have this tablet last you 4/5 years, you're really better off buying the best one available within your budget. Especially since there is a good chance that the Pro will get 1 or 2 more software updates than the Air 2 will. Plus, there will be more features withheld from the Air 2 vs the Pro as time goes on and more updates come out.

Hmm you are definitely right on the part about updates and the Air 2 still being a powerhouse. I guess I'll have to think
1) How much longer the Pro outlives the Air. Not too sure how benchmarks would affect performance too much, would have to see videos on tasks when the Pro's released!
2) And whether new updates would outweight the value of cellular connectivity and extra storage.
Thanks for the input!

 

[parajba]

I for one am in the same situation.
Don't have any iPad and was eagerly waiting for the Air 3. The new iPad 9.7" is such a disappointment. It is simply too expensive for what it really is. I could not care less about the smart case and pencil. 90% leaning towards an Air 2 64GB but I will wait until the benchmark tests.

 

[estabya]

Hmm you are definitely right on the part about updates and the Air 2 still being a powerhouse. I guess I'll have to think
1) How much longer the Pro outlives the Air. Not too sure how benchmarks would affect performance too much, would have to see videos on tasks when the Pro's released!
2) And whether new updates would outweight the value of cellular connectivity and extra storage.
Thanks for the input!

As far as my personal opinion goes, I have an Air 2 that I got on launch day and have been EXTREMELY happy with it. The idea of getting a Pro 9.7 isn't even tempting. That's sayings something for me considering the fact that I have owned every iPhone and iPad since 2011, usually upgrading right upon release. With this new iPad I just don't see the appeal. The CPU isn't leaps and bounds ahead of the Air 2, the Apple pencil and keyboard are of no use to me, and the other upgrades are not enough to justify an upgrade. Also, having had a cellular iPad for the last year and a half, it would be a real pain for me to have to go back to wifi only, which ups my buy in cost if I want to upgrade.

So it kinda depends on what you plan to use it for, but I can't imagine you wouldn't be happy with the Air 2 unless the Apple pencil or keyboard are important to you. Right now if you can get a 128Gb LTE Air 2 for less than the entry Pro I would go that route.

I for one am in the same situation.
Don't have any iPad and was eagerly waiting for the Air 3. The new iPad 9.7" is such a disappointment. It is simply too expensive for what it really is. I could not care less about the smart case and pencil. 90% leaning towards an Air 2 64GB but I will wait until the benchmark tests.

Geekbench is out. (or at least a single Geekbench score has been reported)

Air 2
Single core: ~1800
Multi core: ~4500

Pro 9.7
Single core: ~3000
Multi core: ~5100

Keep in mind that the Air 2 has 3 cores while the Pro only has 2.

 

[DJTJ]

I waited to upgrade from my 16gb (aka no space shouldn't even be sold) ipad air to the announcement monday. Yesterday I picked up a 64gb ipad air 2. It was $609 cdn. The ipad "pro" was going to be $999. Couldn't justify an extra $400 for a bit more speed and a pencil I will never use. (That also costs $150 extra!!)

 

[TrueBlou]

I for one am in the same situation.
Don't have any iPad and was eagerly waiting for the Air 3. The new iPad 9.7" is such a disappointment. It is simply too expensive for what it really is. I could not care less about the smart case and pencil. 90% leaning towards an Air 2 64GB but I will wait until the benchmark tests.

If your not interested in things like the Pencil, then the Air 2 is still a very good buy and certainly not a slouch in the power department.

 

[cakbar]

Im in the same boat. I have been waiting for a while to upgrade my IPad 4 and was excited about the pending release. While I like some of the improvements, the price increase isn't sitting well with me. Money isn't an issue, but I don't like to feel that I have been conned by a simple change in name. All the upgrades are pretty much what you would expect from a device that is 1 1/2 years old. I think there would be a larger outcry about the price increase if they had called it the Air 3, which it basically is.

The 64gig Air 2 is selling in the refurbished store for $419US. So for $180 less, I can get a product that easily meets my needs and has an extra 32gb storage. The pencil and keyboard would be useless for me.

I will probably take my gf's air 2 to the Apple Store and compare them side by side before making a decision. This is the first time I've felt a need to get a hands on at the Apple Store before giving them my money.

 

[Psychobueller]

Same situation here. I have a 64gb Air 1. Was going to upgrade to Air 3 128gb. I am really underwhelmed about the improvements because of the price increase. Now I'm considering picking up a Air 2 64gb. Guess I'll wait to play with the Pro 9.7" and see if it feels any faster. Honestly the Air 1 is fine for what I use it for. But my son needs an iPad so I was going to move it along to him.

 

[maratus]

Getting a Surface Pro 4 over the iPad, enough with RAM lacking iOS devices for me.