For those who recently purchased an iPad Air 2, would you be irked by an Air 3 in the Spring?

[learn2]

Air 2 came with 8.4.1 and I kept it there. It performs very well on 8.4.1 and there is nothing that 9 has to offer (yet) that makes the upgrade a must have (the Air 2 screen size is just too small for truly useful split screen and slide over,.

My Air 2 came with a diffrent flavor of iOS 8 than my iPad 3 was running, and I had to upgrade them both to 9 in order to restore a backup of my old ipad onto my new ipad.

While the air screen is too small for split screen work where you're using both apps equally, slide over is actually pretty handy. A typical use case for me is to peek at my claendar while answering an email. Ad blocking in Safari is also nice.

 

[mtneer]

The situation with the iPad 3 was different. The iPad 3 was replaced about ~6 months after it was released as a new model. So, it is understandable that people were upset.

However the Air 2 has been out for a year now. Without the iPad Pro, Apple would have been in a cadence to refresh that model right now. So, anyone buying the iPad Air 2 today, should knows that they are buying SOC's that are a year old, not something that was released a couple of months ago.

 

[newellj]

The situation with the iPad 3 was different. The iPad 3 was replaced about ~6 months after it was released as a new model. So, it is understandable that people were upset.

However the Air 2 has been out for a year now. Without the iPad Pro, Apple would have been in a cadence to refresh that model right now. So, anyone buying the iPad Air 2 today, should knows that they are buying SOC's that are a year old, not something that was released a couple of months ago.

By the same token, anyone buying a Mini 4 today should realize that they're buying a less capable hardware platform than the Air 2. So where does that leave the Apple iPad lineup???

 

[mtneer]

By the same token, anyone buying a Mini 4 today should realize that they're buying a less capable hardware platform than the Air 2. So where does that leave the Apple iPad lineup???

Haha.. That's not a mystery. Apple wants people to buy that higher margin iPad Pro. They are giving it a great launch cushion by holding back the other two iPad's from A9 derived SOC's. I am keenly watching what Apple does with the iPad lineup next year.

 

[newellj]

Dunno. The iPP is so *huge* that it seems to me that it's really aimed at a nearly totally different market than the 9.7 and Mini iPads. I could be totally wrong...

 

[Liquinn]

Haha.. That's not a mystery. Apple wants people to buy that higher margin iPad Pro. They are giving it a great launch cushion by holding back the other two iPad's from A9 derived SOC's. I am keenly watching what Apple does with the iPad lineup next year.

Could Apple discomfit the 128GB in the Air 2 and force people to buy the 128 Pro?=[

 

[Traverse]

Has any one tried a recent build of iOS 9.1 on an older iPad? If that helped performance I could be tempted to keep my iPad 3.

There is a noticeable general performance boost, but it's still not "snappy."

 

[Traverse]

I just installed the 5th beta. Safari speed and scrolling are a little better, but it doesn't really boost system wide performance. I'm still get keyboard lag and weird lag when I tap an icon.

 

[Silver Idaten]

I think an Air 3 would be a minute upgrade anyway. I also truly believe the Air 2 will be the last of the 'regular' sized iPads to enjoy an AX chip, I think that'll be a selling point for the Pro going forward.

 

[mtneer]

Could Apple discomfit the 128GB in the Air 2 and force people to buy the 128 Pro?=[

It is possible, but I do not think likely.

 

[sracer]

Could Apple discomfit the 128GB in the Air 2 and force people to buy the 128 Pro?=[

No.

 

[Traverse]

Could Apple discomfit the 128GB in the Air 2 and force people to buy the 128 Pro?=[

I agree with @sracer. The iPad Air and Pro are aimed at two different audiences and Apple really wouldn't benefit by trying to shove consumers toward the pro.

As a side note, 32GB for $799 is OUTRAGEOUS!

 

[davygee]

We may start seeing the iPad annoucements (minus the Pro) moved back to March/April time again. I fully expect the iPad Mini 4 to remain the same until 2017. We are due an iPad Air 3, which will more than likely have the same A9X, it should hopefully be announced early next year. Remember that Apple now have extra products to give air time to with the Watch and AppleTV.

The iPhone will remain with September and possibly v2.0 of the AW will be announced in September 2016. And we could see a March/April date for new iPad announcements. Realistically though we should only have annual updates for the iPhones and updates every 2 years for the iPads, Apple Watches and AppleTV's.

 

[Q-Dog]

It's a tool. Buy what you need, when you need it.

 

[jpgr15]

<deleted>

 

[Septembersrain]

No point in feeling any remorse. Apple will always give out upgrades on their time table. I just have to enjoy what I have and if I choose to get something more new, I'll just have to sell what I have and save up.

Luckily most iDevices have good resale value so I usually end up only having to pay a small portion out of pocket to upgrade. So if suddenly an iPad Air 3 shows up, I'll evaluate the difference for a month or so and then if I want it I'll get it. I just got my Air 2 about 2 weeks ago. It takes me some time to evaluate if I want something or not.

I still have my Mini 3 and decided I like it more in form factor than I do the Mini 4. So if I sold my Air 2, I could hold out quite a while for the Air 3 and still have an iPad.

 

[ucfgrad93]

No. It's a tool. I buy what I need and am not motivated by having to have the very latest tech.

Same with me. If it still does what I need it to do, then I really don't see a need to upgrade.

 

[ppfd]

I too bought an iPad 3, made the move from the original iPad. Tried a mini 2 when it was completly refreshed, didn't like the mini at all. Jumped up to the air 2 and love it.

I more than likely will "look" at the new iPad if it is released in the spring. If Best Buy is running a trade in again, that would tempt me to buy a new model. While it is a neat device, I don't really have a use for the pro. And the prices put it up there in the laptop range as has been mentioned plenty of times. I'm actually looking at macbook airs now.

Anyone else wish apple would bring back the original iPad case?

 

[Cakefish]

I've just ordered a refurbished Air 2 today. I already know that it's pretty much guaranteed that Apple will announce the A9X powered Air 3 in the early spring which will be twice as powerful, slimmer, lighter and maybe even a higher resolution display. At least I can feel good in the knowledge that I got some money off my refurbished purchase, which I wouldn't be able to do with buying an Air 3 brand new. Hopefully refurbished iPads live up to their good reputation.

Though if they do announce the Air 3 with an A9X next year it'll still be 'last year's tech', much like the Air 2's A8X is today. So I guess they could also plonk an A10X in there, though that would leave nothing exciting for their second gen iPad Pro as well as the real breadwinners, the iPhone 7 (Plus). So it kind of leaves Apple in a predicament. I still think that an A9X inclusion with an announcement in spring will be the most likely outcome. I predict that they'll pair it with 'only' 2GB RAM to keep the first gen Pro relevant.

 

[sjleworthy]

if i purchased an iPad Air 2 today, knowing the possibility of a new Air in spring, I'd not be bothered, else I'd not have bought today. I'd wait.

if i wasn't aware of Apple's possible update dates then that wouldn't bother me either, because if it did bother me I'd have previously made it my business to make myself aware of possible updates not to be caught out.

 

[jazz1]

I've just ordered a refurbished Air 2 today. I already know that it's pretty much guaranteed that Apple will announce the A9X powered Air 3 in the early spring which will be twice as powerful, slimmer, lighter and maybe even a higher resolution display. At least I can feel good in the knowledge that I got some money off my refurbished purchase, which I wouldn't be able to do with buying an Air 3 brand new. Hopefully refurbished iPads live up to their good reputation.

Though if they do announce the Air 3 with an A9X next year it'll still be 'last year's tech', much like the Air 2's A8X is today. So I guess they could also plonk an A10X in there, though that would leave nothing exciting for their second gen iPad Pro as well as the real breadwinners, the iPhone 7 (Plus). So it kind of leaves Apple in a predicament. I still think that an A9X inclusion with an announcement in spring will be the most likely outcome. I predict that they'll pair it with 'only' 2GB RAM to keep the first gen Pro relevant.

Unfortunately I think your right on the RAM being kept lower than the iPadPro. I think people should be able to buy the size iPad they need, and have the benefit of the best tech across the whole line.

 

[Cakefish]

Unfortunately I think your right on the RAM being kept lower than the iPadPro. I think people should be able to buy the size iPad they need, and have the benefit of the best tech across the whole line.

Well it's not just Apple that's guilty of doing this. Every company in the mobile tech industry is currently making their smaller devices lower powered.

The only <5" Android device that is anywhere close to the flagship specifications is the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact. That's exactly the reason why I've chosen it as my next phone. Even then it has 2GB instead of 3GB in the regular sized Z5, so it's not perfect.

This doesn't excuse Apple, of course, but it's a problem across the entire industry.

Of course, some sacrifices are bound to happen because of the laws of physics. We have to expect that. Smaller devices have smaller battery capacities and so need lower powered SOCs for equivalent battery life. Sony got around this by increasing the thickness of the Z5 Compact, something that Apple will be extremely unlikely to ever do. I know I'd personally prefer a slightly thicker device in exchange for equivalent power to the larger model.

 

[Septembersrain]

Unfortunately I think your right on the RAM being kept lower than the iPadPro. I think people should be able to buy the size iPad they need, and have the benefit of the best tech across the whole line.

So do you think that the iPad Mini and iPad Air are always going to be one year behind? If they keep the RAM the same in both, what do you think they'll do with the processors?

 

[Cakefish]

So do you think that the iPad Mini and iPad Air are always going to be one year behind? If they keep the RAM the same in both, what do you think they'll do with the processors?

I would guess most likely an A9X with a release in spring, just slightly lower clocked and with less RAM when compared to the iPad Pro. A9 will be reserved for the Mini 5 with a release in autumn. A10X for the Pro 2. A10 for iPhones.

They could alternatively go for an A10 instead, though that could risk taking the wind out of the sails of both the iPad Pro 1st gen as well as the iPhone 7's.

 

[AppleRobert]

For the price I got the Air 2 for, I couldn't even care less about the IPad Pro for that matter.