iPad Air 2 for $325 ? Is it worth it ? Brand new.

[bufffilm]

For older CPUs (pre-A6), not really. The old CPUs were pretty much just barely good enough to run the mobile OSes at release and a major firmware upgrade with some performance penalty. Beyond that and you get significant slowdown.

Right...but buying now, the Air2 or the Pro 9.7 are the only contenders.

If the Air2 came as a 256gb model (which of course, they don't)...with a $75-100 off sale, bringing the price down below $500...I'd be very tempted to buy then. That would set me up to comfortably wait till for an OLED iPad years later.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to get the Pro 12.9 v2, but if the Pro 10.5" debuts before that happens and depending on how it's spec'd, I may look at that instead.

 

[rui no onna]

Right...but buying now, the Air2 or the Pro 9.7 are the only contenders.

If the Air2 came as a 256gb model (which of course, they don't)...with a $75-100 off sale, bringing the price down below $500...I'd be very tempted to buy then. That would set me up to comfortably wait till for an OLED iPad years later.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to get the Pro 12.9 v2, but if the Pro 10.5" debuts before that happens and depending on how it's spec'd, I may look at that instead.

If you're already planning on buying by next year, then yeah, Air 2 is a safe choice. If purchasing now, though, naturally, Pro 9.7 should have better longevity than the Air 2 from this point onwards. Granted, probably best to wait out the Apple Keynote before purchasing. Even if there's no new model, there still might be some price cuts.

 

[bufffilm]

If you're already planning on buying by next year, then yeah, Air 2 is a safe choice. If purchasing now, though, naturally, Pro 9.7 should have better longevity than the Air 2 from this point onwards. Granted, probably best to wait out the Apple Keynote before purchasing. Even if there's no new model, there still might be some price cuts.

Neither the air2 (not enough space) nor the Pro 9.7 (no usb3, weak battery life) do it for me.

I'm either getting the pro 12.9" v2 or the Pro 10.5".

 

[Floris]

If I didn't have to pay import customs tax and vat on top of that. Nor shipping.. and can pay in dollars.. Then I'd buy that for $350, yep.

 

[Videomanmac]

Best Buy has the 9.7" Pro for $100 off. Just saying.

 

[Royksöpp]

If you're already planning on buying by next year, then yeah, Air 2 is a safe choice. If purchasing now, though, naturally, Pro 9.7 should have better longevity than the Air 2 from this point onwards. Granted, probably best to wait out the Apple Keynote before purchasing. Even if there's no new model, there still might be some price cuts.

A mild processeser bump won't guarantee longevity. Ram on the other hand will. They both have 2gb. However, the 12.9 with 4gb will outlast both of them in terms of performance and speed. As we all know ram can kill an iOS device in the long run. The 6s and Air 2 were significant upgrades from their predecessors. Any future upgrades will be minor with the exception of a few added bells and whistles. Until the smaller pro gets 4gb I would stay far away.

 

[crzdcolombian]

At Target if you have a Target Credit card the 32gb one is only $308. I bought two of them and gave them to my nieces for their Birthday

 

[rui no onna]

A mild processeser bump won't guarantee longevity. Ram on the other hand will. They both have 2gb. However, the 12.9 with 4gb will outlast both of them in terms of performance and speed. As we all know ram can kill an iOS device in the long run. The 6s and Air 2 were significant upgrades from their predecessors. Any future upgrades will be minor with the exception of a few added bells and whistles. Until the smaller pro gets 4gb I would stay far away.

I used to think this way but from personal experience (1GB RAM: iPad 3, 4 & Air), CPU/GPU is the bigger bottleneck for me. I'm pretty sensitive to performance so I'm already itching to upgrade long before lack of RAM becomes a major detriment.

Besides, it's not such a mild CPU bump. A8X was the same level as an Intel Atom CPU while A9X is comparable to Core M. That's a pretty significant improvement.

 

[bufffilm]

A mild processeser bump won't guarantee longevity. Ram on the other hand will. They both have 2gb. However, the 12.9 with 4gb will outlast both of them in terms of performance and speed. As we all know ram can kill an iOS device in the long run. The 6s and Air 2 were significant upgrades from their predecessors. Any future upgrades will be minor with the exception of a few added bells and whistles. Until the smaller pro gets 4gb I would stay far away.

Well if you're waiting for 4gb on the Pro 9.7", you probably won't see that with the next refresh.

There's a chance that the Pro 10.5" -may- come w/3gb RAM instead of 2gb RAM, but I think it will be 2018 and possibly OLED...to see RAM increases across the Pro line.

 

[Channan]

I used to think this way but from personal experience (1GB RAM: iPad 3, 4 & Air), CPU/GPU is the bigger bottleneck for me. I'm pretty sensitive to performance so I'm already itching to upgrade long before lack of RAM becomes a major detriment.

Besides, it's not such a mild CPU bump. A8X was the same level as an Intel Atom CPU while A9X is comparable to Core M. That's a pretty significant improvement.

Not really. With the A8X having a triple-core processor and the A9X being only dual-core, the A9X is only a decent improvement in single-core tasks, but it's still not a massive improvement. The really heavy lifting will be about the same on both.

It's definitely a combination of processor + RAM considering the iPad 3 and iPad Air have the same amount of RAM, since the iPad Air lasted much longer than the iPad 3, but Apple's processors are far outpacing their software, so RAM is starting to become the bottleneck in performance. That's why the iPad Air performs so badly, especially at multitasking, while the iPad Air 2 is still fast and smooth.

 

[bufffilm]

Not really. With the A8X having a triple-core professor and the A9X being only dual core, the A9X is only a decent improvement in single-core tasks, but it's still not a massive improvement. The really heavy lifting will be about the same on both.

It's definitely a combination of processor + RAM considering the iPad 3 and iPad Air have the same amount of RAM, but the iPad Air lasted much longer than the iPad 3, but Apple's processors are far outpacing their software, so RAM is starting to become the bottleneck in performance. That's why the iPad Air performs so badly, especially at multitasking, while the iPad Air 2 is still fast and smooth.

I agree...the performance jump from a8x to a9x wasn't that big a leap.

Anyone going from the Air2 to Pro 9.7" who didn't need the Pencil support only bought an incremental bump, though the sound on the latter -was- a nice jump.

My opinion anyways...

 

[ghsDUDE]

Well if you're waiting for 4gb on the Pro 9.7", you probably won't see that with the next refresh.

There's a chance that the Pro 10.5" -may- come w/3gb RAM instead of 2gb RAM, but I think it will be 2018 and possibly OLED...to see RAM increases across the Pro line.

Why do you think that? The 7 Plus comes with 3gb of RAM.

I can't see Apple sticking with 2gb of RAM in any "Pro" iPad during their next update.

 

[smorrissey]

ios 10 just runs fine on my air 2 i wish i could say the same regarding my iphone 6s

 

[bufffilm]

Why do you think that? The 7 Plus comes with 3gb of RAM.

I can't see Apple sticking with 2gb of RAM in any "Pro" iPad during their next update.

If there is a Pro 10.5" next year, that may come w/3gb.

I don't believe they will release a 4gb RAM ipad 9.7"-10.5" without bumping the 12.9" up also. So I think we may have to wait until 2018 before we see that happening.

 

[Channan]

ios 10 just runs fine on my air 2 i wish i could say the same regarding my iphone 6s

How so? I had an iPhone 6s for about 2 weeks until last Wednesday and it ran perfectly fine for me. I also have an iPhone SE that also runs great on iOS 10.

 

[rui no onna]

Not really. With the A8X having a triple-core processor and the A9X being only dual-core, the A9X is only a decent improvement in single-core tasks, but it's still not a massive improvement. The really heavy lifting will be about the same on both.

Actually, it's just an okay bump for multi-threaded tasks (of which I probably use very few). On single threaded, it was anywhere from 30-90% faster (iirc, it seems around 60% faster on average).

Chances are I'd probably upgrade in 2 years. However, I reckon by the time that rolls around, the iPad Air 2 will probably feel like the iPad 4 does now (bit slow but serviceable) while the Pro 9.7 will feel more like the Air (still mostly ok). Besides, I wanted 256GB anyway. Lack of a 256GB model is the primary reason I didn't upgrade my iPad back in 2014.

 

[Channan]

Actually, it's just an okay bump for multi-threaded tasks (of which I probably use very few). On single threaded, it was anywhere from 30-90% faster (iirc, it seems around 60% faster on average).

Chances are I'd probably upgrade in 2 years. However, I reckon by the time that rolls around, the iPad Air 2 will probably feel like the iPad 4 does now (bit slow but serviceable) while the Pro 9.7 will feel more like the Air (still mostly ok). Besides, I wanted 256GB anyway. Lack of a 256GB model is the primary reason I didn't upgrade my iPad back in 2014.

See, I never owned an iPad Air, but I did have an iPad mini 2 briefly - which has the exact same specs as the iPad Air - and performance was pretty awful by the time I sold it. By the time the iPad Air 2 is like the iPad 4 and the iPad Pro is like the iPad Air, I won't want to use either device.

 

[rui no onna]

See, I never owned an iPad Air, but I did have an iPad mini 2 briefly - which has the exact same specs as the iPad Air - and performance was pretty awful by the time I sold it. By the time the iPad Air 2 is like the iPad 4 and the iPad Pro is like the iPad Air, I won't want to use either device.

Honestly, iOS 8 was just bad on any iPad that wasn't an Air 2. I find JavaScript loading and web browsing to be significantly improved on iOS 9. That said, it wasn't something that affected me much until I started browsing Tumblr. Prior to that, majority of my usage was just comics/manga, ebooks, text-heavy webpages and HBONOW so I was somewhat immune to older iPad+iOS 8's deficiencies until late last year.

Was incredibly tempted to get the Pro 12.9 but it didn't have 256GB and the increased weight and size would have been a major compromise. Granted, by then I was getting pretty fed up with my Air on iOS 8 (couldn't do OTA since I had like 200MB free space) that if Apple had released a Pro 12.9 256GB or Pro 9.7 128GB, I would've upgraded immediately.

 

[Channan]

Honestly, iOS 8 was just bad on any iPad that wasn't an Air 2. I find JavaScript loading and web browsing to be significantly improved on iOS 9. That said, it wasn't something that affected me much until I started browsing Tumblr. Prior to that, majority of my usage was just comics/manga, ebooks, text-heavy webpages and HBONOW so I was somewhat immune to older iPad+iOS 8's deficiencies until late last year.

Was incredibly tempted to get the Pro 12.9 but it didn't have 256GB and the increased weight and size would have been a major compromise. Granted, by then I was getting pretty fed up with my Air on iOS 8 (couldn't do OTA since I had like 200MB free space) that if Apple had released a Pro 12.9 256GB or Pro 9.7 128GB, I would've upgraded immediately.

I had the mini 2 on iOS 9. It wasn't really bad for single tasks, but it was completely awful once I tried to do any kind of multitasking. Browsing the web was fine until I tried dealing with more than one tab. Using one app at a time worked, but the iPad started lagging as soon as I tried switching back and forth between apps and they would constantly close in the background. I really don't think the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 4 would be that much better than the iPad Air and iPad mini 2/3 if the latter had 2GB of RAM.

 

[rui no onna]

I had the mini 2 on iOS 9. It wasn't really bad for single tasks, but it was completely awful once I tried to do any kind of multitasking. Browsing the web was fine until I tried dealing with more than one tab. Using one app at a time worked, but the iPad started lagging as soon as I tried switching back and forth between apps and they would constantly close in the background. I really don't think the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 4 would be that much better than the iPad Air and iPad mini 2/3 if the latter had 2GB of RAM.

I've become used to iOS closing tabs and apps in the background. Even with 2GB RAM, it still happens anyway and I expect even with 4GB it'll still happen (albeit less often). Besides, during the time I was starting to get frustrated with the Air, it wasn't like the Air 2 was better than the Pro 9.7. It was just cheaper.

On the whole, web browsing is actually improved since now, Safari seems to cache webpage and browsing info on disk. I'd occasionally have a tab left open for a week (forum threads) and when I get back to it, the tab will refresh but the page it shows is a week old and I'll be back in the same location I left it in. Content blockers help a ton, too. Nice thing with the Pro is it can re-render cached pages very, very quickly.

Mind, for my use case, I pretty much just want the foreground app to be super fast. For that, I reckon fast CPU trumps more RAM in most cases. My multi-tasking consists of using multiple devices (2x iPads and iPhones).

And honestly, even if I did have an Air 2, I would've still upgraded to the Pro 9.7 for 256GB.

 

[Channan]

I've become used to iOS closing tabs and apps in the background. Even with 2GB RAM, it still happens anyway and I expect even with 4GB it'll still happen (albeit less often). Besides, during the time I was starting to get frustrated with the Air, it wasn't like the Air 2 was better than the Pro 9.7. It was just cheaper.

On the whole, web browsing is actually improved since now, Safari seems to cache webpage and browsing info on disk. I'd occasionally have a tab left open for a week (forum threads) and when I get back to it, the tab will refresh but the page it shows is a week old and I'll be back in the same location I left it in. Content blockers help a ton, too. Nice thing with the Pro is it can re-render cached pages very, very quickly.

Mind, for my use case, I pretty much just want the foreground app to be super fast. For that, I reckon fast CPU trumps more RAM in most cases. My multi-tasking consists of using multiple devices (2x iPads and iPhones).

And honestly, even if I did have an Air 2, I would've still upgraded to the Pro 9.7 for 256GB.

Well yeah, if I had the original Air, I probably wouldn't have upgraded to the Air 2. But I definitely won't upgrade to the Pro either from the Air 2.

I just think the performance increase from the Air 2 to the Pro is not even close to the increase from the Air to the Air 2, and I'm not necessarily talking about just processing speed. I just mean in overall use.

 

[Math889]

If I had an original IPad Air, I would upgrade to the Air 2.Its a no brainer! More RAM , significant performance increase ... and other goodies that the original IPad Air doesn't have

 

[rui no onna]

I just think the performance increase from the Air 2 to the Pro is not even close to the increase from the Air to the Air 2, and I'm not necessarily talking about just processing speed. I just mean in overall use.

Yeah, the relative performance difference between Air and Air 2 is larger than that between Air and Pro. Still, for someone who is considering buying a new iPad (either Air 2 or Pro), the performance improvement is nothing to scoff at.

Personally, looking strictly from the performance viewpoint, I likely wouldn't upgrade if I had an Air 2, either. That said, large storage is one of my must haves. If Apple releases a 512GB iPad next year for, say, around $1200 with LTE, I'm likely gonna upgrade again.

 

[Channan]

Yeah, the relative performance difference between Air and Air 2 is larger than that between Air and Pro. Still, for someone who is considering buying a new iPad (either Air 2 or Pro), the performance improvement is nothing to scoff at.

Personally, looking strictly from the performance viewpoint, I likely wouldn't upgrade if I had an Air 2, either. That said, large storage is one of my must haves. If Apple releases a 512GB iPad next year for, say, around $1200 with LTE, I'm likely gonna upgrade again.

It's definitely faster and will perform better. No arguments here.

The question is simply whether it's worth an extra $200, and for most people I'd say not. I realize there are other things you get from a Pro besides a faster processor, but specifically talking about performance, I don't believe it's worth the extra money for the Pro, whereas I would definitely recommend getting the Air 2 over the Air even for $200 more.

 

[smorrissey]

How so? I had an iPhone 6s for about 2 weeks until last Wednesday and it ran perfectly fine for me. I also have an iPhone SE that also runs great on iOS 10.

which processor do you have Samsung or smc?