2018 iPad

[joeblow7777]

Specs are on Apple's site.

No laminated display, or true tone (if you care about that). Externally it appears to be the same as the 2017 model. Seems like they just gave it an A10 chip and Pencil support.

I'm also a bit disappointed that it's 1st gen TouchID. Never would have thought that would matter to me, but my 8 Plus has spoiled me! I guess such compromises have to be made to keep the price down.

 

[Richard8655]

If you already have the 5th generation (which I’m very happy with), not worth considering any upgrade.

 

[joeblow7777]

If you already have the 5th generation (which I’m very happy with), not worth considering any upgrade.

Agreed. Not at all worth it coming from last year's model. However, I'm considering upgrading from a Mini 4.

 

[Jetcat3]

I love Apple, but a joke of an upgrade. Sorry.

 

[DaveTheRave]

How does this compare coming from the original first generation iPad Air?

 

[Falhófnir]

If you already have the 5th generation (which I’m very happy with), not worth considering any upgrade.

*Unless you want pencil support

 

[Richard8655]

I think Apple just wants a big new model show every year to grab the limelight, no matter how minor the update. Publicity and marketing is the game.

 

[EugW]

How does this compare coming from the original first generation iPad Air?

Big improvement. Double the RAM or more and way faster SoC.

 

[Richard8655]

Anyone know if they bumped up the RAM on today’s model? That would be a nice improvement too.

 

[joeblow7777]

I love Apple, but a joke of an upgrade. Sorry.

Again, depends on what you're coming from. No one, not even Apple, expects you to upgrade your iPad every year. Coming from say an Air 2/Mini 4 or older, it's a pretty significant performance jump and Pencil support.
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Anyone know if they bumped up the RAM on today’s model? That would be a nice improvement too.

Probably won't know until someone actually has their own unit to review, but my gut is telling me 2GB.

 

[Richard8655]

Probably won't know until someone actually has their own unit to review, but my gut is telling me 2GB.

Agreed. It would probably pressure their cost structure and compete even more with the Pro.

 

[Falhófnir]

Anyone know if they bumped up the RAM on today’s model? That would be a nice improvement too.

It's possible as there is a variant of the A10 that has 3GB Ram onboard for the iPhone 7 plus... Most likely as it is a budget model it will be using the version for the 7 with 2 though

 

[Jetcat3]

Again, depends on what you're coming from. No one, not even Apple, expects you to upgrade your iPad every year. Coming from say an Air 2/Mini 4 or older, it's a pretty significant performance jump and Pencil support.
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But see that’s just it, I’m not so sure this device is that much of an upgrade over the Air 2 and Mini 4 with their laminated displays coupled with anti-reflective coatings. The Air is 6.1 MM thick and weighs less than this device too, and we’re talking 4 years between these two devices! I understand they are different products aimed at different markets but still. We shouldn’t be back pedaling in 2018!

 

[EugW]

Again, depends on what you're coming from. No one, not even Apple, expects you to upgrade your iPad every year. Coming from say an Air 2/Mini 4 or older, it's a pretty significant performance jump and Pencil support.

Not really for the Air 2. The Air 2 and 2017 iPad are the same speed for multi-threaded applications. In fact, they are pretty much identical actually.

So if it's not worth it to upgrade from the 2017 to the 2018, then it's probably not worth it to upgrade from the 2014 Air 2 to the 2018 either.

The advantage of the 2017 and 2018 is they support hardware HEVC decode, but then again, the 2014 Air 2 has the best screen and is smaller and lighter than both the 2017 and 2018.

 

[Falhófnir]

Not really for the Air 2. The Air 2 and 2017 iPad are the same speed for multi-threaded applications. So if it's not worth it to upgrade from the 2017 to the 2018, then it's probably not worth it to upgrade from the 2014 Air 2 to the 2018 either.

View attachment 755748

The advantage of the 2017 and 2018 is they support hardware HEVC decode, but then again, the 2014 Air 2 has the best screen and is smaller and lighter than both the 2017 and 2018.

The 2017 blows the Air 2 out of the water on single core and graphics performance though

 

[EugW]

The 2017 blows the Air 2 out of the water on single core and graphics performance though

Single core is not very relevant. Graphics are important if you play games, but it should be noted that most games for the time being are built to support the Air 2's speeds for graphics... which by the way is close to the A9. Remember, the iPad Air 2 uses an A8X.

 

[joeblow7777]

I know a many of the power users around here will disagree with me, but 2GB of RAM still feels quite adequate for iOS to me. Not sure how it will hold up in the future though...

 

[Falhófnir]

Single core is not very relevant. Graphics are important if you play games, but it should be noted that most games for the time being are built to support the Air 2's speeds for graphics.

Single core is what influences system fluidity... I'd say that's important!

 

[Newtons Apple]

I know a many of the power users around here will disagree with me, but 2GB of RAM still feels quite adequate for iOS to me. Not sure how it will hold up in the future though...

I will agree as iOS does well with 2gb.

But many want to have 20 tabs open, I max out at 2 or 3.

 

[joeblow7777]

I will agree as iOS does well with 2gb.

But many want to have 20 tabs open, I max out at 2 or 3.

Same here. My iPad is never going to be my workhorse device. Even on my laptop I seldom exceed 5 or 6 tabs to be honest.

 

[EugW]

Single core is what influences system fluidity... I'd say that's important!

We have both the A8X iPad Air 2 and A9 iPhone 6s.

System fluidity on the iPad Air 2 even in iOS 11 isn't a significant issue... not surprisingly since multi-threaded performance is very important for that.

 

[sunapple]

I guess the iPad Pro is still worth buying. Maybe they’ll update those too later this year.

 

[Richard8655]

I guess the iPad Pro is still worth buying. Maybe they’ll update those too later this year.

I’m guessing the Pro will see more robust discounting in the coming weeks, as today’s model is now more competitive on the processor side.

 

[JPack]

Not really for the Air 2. The Air 2 and 2017 iPad are the same speed for multi-threaded applications. In fact, they are pretty much identical actually.

View attachment 755748

So if it's not worth it to upgrade from the 2017 to the 2018, then it's probably not worth it to upgrade from the 2014 Air 2 to the 2018 either.

The advantage of the 2017 and 2018 is they support hardware HEVC decode, but then again, the 2014 Air 2 has the best screen and is smaller and lighter than both the 2017 and 2018.

Single core is not very relevant. Graphics are important if you play games, but it should be noted that most games for the time being are built to support the Air 2's speeds for graphics... which by the way is close to the A9. Remember, the iPad Air 2 uses an A8X.

The iPad (2017) blasts the Air 2 out of the water in terms of speed, especially for games. The iPad (2018) will take that one step further.

Multi-core GeekBench scores for the Air 2 don't translate to real world performance because almost nothing uses the 3rd core in A8X.

Single core performance matters far more. Most apps are optimized for single or dual core because the vast majority of devices (i.e. iPhone) has 2 cores. Not to mention the difficulty in writing apps for 3 cores.

 

[EugW]

The iPad (2017) blasts the Air 2 out of the water in terms of speed, especially for games. The iPad (2018) will take that one step further.

Multi-core GeekBench scores for the Air 2 don't translate to real world performance because almost nothing uses the 3rd core in A8X.

Single core performance matters far more. Most apps are optimized for single or dual core because the vast majority of devices (i.e. iPhone) has 2 cores. Not to mention the difficulty in writing apps for 3 cores.

Surfing most definitely uses all three cores. There is a large overall speed performance increase going from A8 to A8X.