iPad **ALL NEW** iPad Air (Thoughts/Are you getting one?)

[Night Spring]

Not sure where they're going with the iPad and don't get me wrong, it's good at strict consumption, but for productivity it's a stillborn. Hitting a flight tomorrow for a long trip. I'd much rather have one device like the Surface... not even a laptop... I get the best of both worlds.

So get a Surface. If that fits your usage, then that's what you should get. Me, I prefer my tablet and laptop separate. Surface is too small for me to use as a laptop, and too heavy as a tablet. Perhaps if I traveled a lot, I'd want something like the Surface, but I don't, so I like my laptop to be 13 inches, and my tablet to be thin and have a more squarish aspect ratio like the iPad, rather than the longish ratio of the Surface.

 

[Rich5150]

I am getting a 128gb Space Grey wifi. I'm still on a 1st gen iPad 32gb i was going to get a 4 but i figured i would wait and see, Im glad i did i still think they should have dropped the 16gb model and shifted pricing accordingly but hey i don't run the company.

 

[Rogifan]

In that case only silly people would buy one in March as they would announce Ipad 7 in November.

The only reason they gave us two Ipads in a year was to rush out the Ipad mini and they had to change the lightning port.

I think small things like better cameras and touch ID tends to wait a year. Siri was an Iphone exclusive for one year!

You forgot about A6X. If anything the 3rd gen iPad shouldn't have come out when it did as the A5X chip wasn't that great.

 

[hallidc]

I've been waiting for the iPad mini with Retina for several months...but now I've changed my mind I'll be picking up a Space Gray iPad Air.

Have any of you used your iPhone as a hotspot for an iPad? How well does that work? Wondering if I should spend the extra for the LTE version or just use my iPhone 5s as a hotspot?

I use my iPhone as a hotspot for my iPad when there is no wifi available. It works quite well for me, the interest speed is rather fast, however its not "blazing fast". However thats based on the speed of my iPhones 3G/LTE.

If it were me, I would purchase the wifi version and just use the iPhone as a hotspot rather then cough out a few extra bucks for the LTE model.

 

[booksbooks]

So get a Surface. If that fits your usage, then that's what you should get. Me, I prefer my tablet and laptop separate. Surface is too small for me to use as a laptop, and too heavy as a tablet. Perhaps if I traveled a lot, I'd want something like the Surface, but I don't, so I like my laptop to be 13 inches, and my tablet to be thin and have a more squarish aspect ratio like the iPad, rather than the longish ratio of the Surface.

The Surface is too heavy for you? Says the guy who's been using an iPad 3/4 that weighs essentially exactly the same as a Surface... LOL.

 

[rtr1985]

Than my wife will get a upgrade from a iPad2 to a iPad5. She is more than happy with her ipad2, but doesn't mind when I upgrade. She just wen't from the iphone4s to the iphone5.

Ya, I usually just sell a month before anticipated release. Really not that bad of a hit on paying the difference except little more on releases, like this one, where it is a big hardware redesign.

 

[Night Spring]

The Surface is too heavy for you? Says the guy who's been using an iPad 3/4 that weighs essentially exactly the same as a Surface... LOL.

Sorry, I thought I heard that the Surface was heavier, I apologize if I was wrong.

However, hopefully I'll be rocking an iPad Air soon, while if I understand correctly, Surface 2 hasn't reduced weight that much from the original Surface.

 

[Ursadorable]

I'm passing on this gen iPad Air because..

1) No 802.11ac
2) No true pressure sensitive stylus.

The fingerprint thingy would be nice, but was never a deal breaker for me.

Here's hoping that next year will see an iPad Pro, with the above and hopefully a 13" display. In the meantime I just ordered a Panasonic Toughpad FZ-G1 and will see if I can triple boot Windows 7, Windows 8 and OS X on it.

 

[MartinAppleGuy]

Exactly how do you know it doesn't have 2 gb of RAM

And about A7X...

New iPads use A7, BUT it probably is NOT the same A7 found in iPhone 5s. If you watched the keynote, they said iPad Air offers 2x in CPU AND 2x in GPU performance compared to 4th gen. The normal A7 (in iPhone 5s) offers roughly the same GPU performance as A6X in 4th generation iPad. They also said iPad mini retina offers 4x in CPU and 8X in GPU over first generation which is also indicative of a faster GPU in iPad's A7 (iPhone 5s A7 is 4X faster in CPU and 4X faster in GPU than A5).

So... A7X... check
RAM... wait for teardowns

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Thank you very much. There appears to be so much confusion about A7(X) soc.

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Please read a few responses here. This chip (iPad A7) probably is the A7X, it's just that they've decided to drop the "X" from the name. It probably has everything A7X would have had (most importantly 6630 GPU!! compared to 6430 in iPhone 5s)

I believe it is due to simplifying naming throughout the board (IPad Air as well).

Here is my guess work;

CPU

iPhone 5S A7=2X A6(1.3Ghz)
iPad Air A7 = 2X A6X(1.4Ghz)

So the A7 in the iPad Air is clocked at either 1.4 or 1.5Ghz.

GPU

iPhone 5S A7-2X faster than A6 ( the jump was 28.8Gflops to 76.8Gflops so is in fact a 2.67X jump).
iPad Air A7- 2X faster A6X (A6X I'd basically outputting at the same perfromce as the iPhone 5S's A7; and also remembering this would most liekely be a 2.67X increase too; therefor the GPU in the iPad is 2.67X 76.8= 205Glfops roughly.

This is only an estimation but the A7 in the iPad Air is certainly not the same A7 clocked as the same as the iPhone 5S, and the GPU is either way overclocked(450Mhz G6430, from 200Mhz for the 5S) or is using the G6630 clocked at 350Mhz (most likely).

Haven't added up the Mini's but I guess apple will try to make the iPad Air feel faster so I think the increased clock speed and better GPU will be more powerful than the mini 2). $100 is too more for just a 1.8 inch increase and a lower PPI. I also expect 2Gb of DDR3 RAM in the Air, but only 1Gb in the mini. Remember that Apple need to lower specs in some ways as the development cost in pruducing the retina display for that size will eat a lot into the total build cost. Think of it as the iPhone 4 vs iPod 4. They were made to look exactly the same at the keynote in terms of specs and screen, and the iPod ended up having a lower quality retina screen and only 256Mb of RAM comapired to 512Mb in the iPhone 4. I see this happening with the mini retina, at least it will be a good enough upgrade from a first gen mini for anyone anyway whether it has as much RAM as the iPad Air, as high clock speed or as higher GPU output perfromance.

 

[Truefan31]

I hope consumers that aren't satisfied with these updates vote with their wallets. The price and lack of overall updates should encourage competition. That's how you get apple to do more than an incremental update once a year

 

[kazmac]

probably

I was in the "no" camp before Tuesday's announcement, now I think I will.

I would like my 2010 iMac to last until mid 2015 if possible before I buy a new system. So I am thinking an iPad Air would be a good stop gap for most of the stuff I do on my iMac (save for online classes and heavy duty screenwriting/writing), but outside of those an iPad works.

Looking at it this way, I am over the consumer only skittishness I had with previous iPads.

The lighter weight will be a boon as well. I am going to wait. I want to investigate the Air and the Retina Mini in store before I jump. While I do not like the price increase of the Retina Mini, if I can use it as well as a full size (i.e. no reading issues like the 1st gen mini), that extra $100 in my pocket means a lot.

 

[Carl Sagan]

Mini or Air...hmmmm, decisions decisions.

Good to see the Mini is available with 128gb.

It really is a dilemma now..! Really can't decide which one to get now...

 

[pik.]

It really is a dilemma now..! Really can't decide which one to get now...

same here...

I guess I will decide as soon as I go to the apple store in 1 week...

the ipad4 seems so much heavier than the iPadMini and I think the new Air is going to be groundbreaking in that area...

 

[iapplelove]

Have you personally ordered something online and picked it up in the Apple store on "release" day? I will check for that, I'm hoping I can order at 12:00AM PST and then pick up when the store opens that'd be nice.

i did. iPad 3

 

[LincolnsiPod]

I've always been one to get the latest and greatest, but what held me back this time was how the new form factor basically forces most of the accessory industry to play catch-up again. In addition, it'll be a while before we really start to see the benefit of a 64-bit advancement, if we ever do (I wonder if we'd even see a real world difference for most apps except maybe heavy photo/video editing.)

There are some new cases coming out already, but I have a really nice smooth back shell and a keyboard cover from LUVVITT that now works perfectly. Getting an iPad Air now means my options are very limited and would require going with brands whose products I find lacking or subpar. I love my iPad, especially now that the 7.0.3 seems to have fixed the lag and keyboard issues I had before.

So with everything working great and the keyboard allowing me to use my iPad as a quasi-Surface device, it's hard to justify an upgrade. A refurbished Air (or even waiting a little longer for the next iPad update) makes more sense to me.

BTW, what will the next iPad update be called? iPad Airier?

 

[braddick]

I am suspicious most- certainly not all negative iPad3 talk is from those parroting what they've either read or heard.

I keep searching for issues and problems every time I use my iPad3 and truly have yet to stumble on anything major, let alone minor.

 

[yegon]

It really is a dilemma now..! Really can't decide which one to get now...

I've made my mind up now. I do enjoy using the big iPad quite a lot more for browsing/magazines etc, but 75% of my usage is at work or travelling, and for those purposes the Mini is unmatched. Unmatched, that is, if you prefer not carrying a bag. I generally don't carry a bag whenever possible, meaning I simply wouldn't take an iPad Air out most of the time. I can't really put into words what a revelation the current Mini has been by virtue of it slipping so easily into my work jacket pocket.

I did briefly, stupidly, contemplate getting a 16gb wifi Air to accompany it, but I've absolutely decided against it now. I'm kind of sick of syncing, updating multiple iPads (1st world prob) so having one will be more efficient. I use an aging MBA around the house mostly, so I've decided to instead maybe get a retina 15" mbp in the new year. Since it'll never, ever leave the house, the size/weight bump is a non issue.

I am suspicious most- certainly not all negative iPad3 talk is from those parroting what they've either read or heard.

I keep searching for issues and problems every time I use my iPad3 and truly have yet to stumble on anything major, let alone minor.

Yup. I was slightly irked when the iPad 4 came so quickly, but I got over that quickly and my launch iPad 3 has been a champ since I bought it. For some activities it's a tad slower than I'd like, but these moments are honestly rare. I've no doubt the iPad 4 is blazing fast in comparison, but that didn't immediately render my 3 a turkey. I personally feel the upgrade from a 3 to a 4 was utterly pointless, bar people who do lots of photo related productivity etc or very heavily into iOS gaming.

 

[neilmacd]

Just got back from my local Apple Store after returning a 13" rMBP after 1 day

I never realised how perfectly suited my iPad was to me! I really wanted to like the MacBook and it's a beautiful thing to use but on a practical level it turns out it was almost useless to me.

So I'll be getting an iPad Air absolutely no question.

 

[Carl Sagan]

same here...

I guess I will decide as soon as I go to the apple store in 1 week...

the ipad4 seems so much heavier than the iPadMini and I think the new Air is going to be groundbreaking in that area...

So confused. I want the Air screen size but also love the sheer mobility of the Mini!

 

[Starlifter]

Normally I upgrade, but waiting this time...

I'm usually quick to upgrade (I currently have an iPad 3 and iPad mini - both 64GB with LTE) but, this time I will wait for one more cycle to get Touch ID and then will get the iPad Air 128GB/LTE.

 

[Davidkoh]

I've been waiting for the iPad mini with Retina for several months...but now I've changed my mind I'll be picking up a Space Gray iPad Air.

Have any of you used your iPhone as a hotspot for an iPad? How well does that work? Wondering if I should spend the extra for the LTE version or just use my iPhone 5s as a hotspot?

I currently have a ipad 4 with cellular and most of the time where I dont have wifi i have to tether to get the full experience. Updating or downloading large apps is blocked while on cellular, quality of some video streams are lower on cellular and so on. Using my phone as a wifi hotspot have none of these limitations. I am not purchasing a cellular iPad again due to this.

 

[rui no onna]

I currently have a ipad 4 with cellular and most of the time where I dont have wifi i have to tether to get the full experience. Updating or downloading large apps is blocked while on cellular, quality of some video streams are lower on cellular and so on. Using my phone as a wifi hotspot have none of these limitations. I am not purchasing a cellular iPad again due to this.

Can't say I've noticed a quality difference with Netflix video streaming.

That said, it is stupid that you can't update larger apps from a cellular iPad when you can easily do the same with the iPad tethered to the iPhone. One nice thing about having cellular on both, I can tether the iPhone to the iPad and vice versa to download large apps/updates on both devices.

 

[ValSalva]

I am suspicious most- certainly not all negative iPad3 talk is from those parroting what they've either read or heard.

I keep searching for issues and problems every time I use my iPad3 and truly have yet to stumble on anything major, let alone minor.

I feel the same way. I've been happy with my iPad 3. No problems, even after updating to iOS 7.

The iPad Air may be hard to resist due to the weight difference. Apple is making this difficult. I was planning to just get a Retina iPad Mini this year. The Air makes me want both

 

[caesarp]

I am suspicious most- certainly not all negative iPad3 talk is from those parroting what they've either read or heard.

I keep searching for issues and problems every time I use my iPad3 and truly have yet to stumble on anything major, let alone minor.

Weight. And awkward center of balance. It wants to tilt down when holding in portrait mode. The dif in weight alone makes me want to replace my 3 with the air.

 

[rui no onna]

The iPad Air may be hard to resist due to the weight difference. Apple is making this difficult. I was planning to just get a Retina iPad Mini this year. The Air makes me want both

Yeah, Apple's muddied the waters a bit this year:

• There's only a $100 price difference between the iPad mini with Retina and iPad Air.
• Both mini 2 and Air have essentially the same hardware, just different form factors.
• There's only a 138g difference in weight between then Air and mini 2 compared to 344g between the iPad 3/4 and the original iPad mini.
• mini 2 is 23g heavier than the mini.
• Air will be released on November 1, no firm release date for the mini 2 and supply issues are anticipated.

I'd really like the mini 2 but I need to have it delivered before Thanksgiving holidays. If I can't get it by then, I think I'll just skip again this year. That or wait for refurbs.