All iPads Am I doing myself a disservice?

[vgamedude]

I decided a couple days ago (or I figured that I had) to go with a tablet other than the Ipad after becoming extremely disappointed and agitated at safaris performance (tab reloading) and the general lack of RAM they include, for reasons such as stated previously and because how is 1gb going to perform even further down the road with more intensive applications and what is probably going to be a heavier OS?

Having said all that boy am I having problems finding a tablet that looks as good as the Ipad. The nexus 7 comes pretty close but fails in some regards, namely I'm not so sure I'd like android on a tablet, secondly, only 32gb as the max storage option (absolute pants), thirdly I was going to go for a full size air this tablet is only 7 inches, and lastly the hardware on the nexus 7 as far as tech goes is already starting to age.

Next I looked at some microsoft tablets (mostly all hybrids). This was weird because I was at first DEFINITELY not in the market for a laptop but when I figured that I was prepared to spend 930 dollars on the Ipad well, that opens alot of prospects into the full computer area. So I had a looksy at the Venue 8, only shortly in person, seemed decent but again I would probably only use an 8 inch device for consumption and web browsing, not sure that that's something full windows is needed for or will excel at. After that I looked at the surface 2 and the surface pro 2. I don't believe I'd get windows RT mostly because of how terrible it is in the app department, but the surface pro 2 looked very nice, although again didn't have much of a chance with these either. The surface pro 2 has a very nice type cover which I liked ALOT, and it is very powerful, but again I wasn't even in the market for a laptop at first because I didnt really want to deal with viruses and the like. I even looked at the Macbook air but I didn't like the screen and I really wanted a touch screen. The only other tablets I've thought about are the dell venue 11 pro, and the Kindle hdx, but the kindle hdx is one I'm almost sure I won't get and I don't know much at all about the venue 11.


So in summary my question is this: I am someone who owns no laptop, no tablet either. Only a smartphone and a desktop. At present there is not much, if anything in the way of serious work I need to do on this new device. At most I'll probably use it for text books and things. I was prepared to spend alot of money on the air and at that point I was questioning the logic of such a decision when a laptop or the surface pro 2 would be about the same amount of money. My ONLY concern with the air, and yes it really is the only real negative for me currently is the RAM. And for some people that might not be a big deal I don't know but from using the Air lightly in the apple store it seemed to reload quite a bit, also as mentioned I'm very worried about the future prospects of this tablet.

I'm a very indecisive person and some tell me quite neurotic, maybe this gigantic post verifies that, but I'm just looking for educated input before I throw down cash or if I just keep it nestled in my wallet.

So, what should I do?

 

[Night Spring]

I think you should buy an iPad to try. See if the reloading truly bothers you. As I've said in other threads, it doesn't bother me, but it's impossible to say if it would bother you without taking it home and using it for a few days. Spending a few minutes with it at the store doesn't really give you a full picture. If you find it bothers you, you can return it.

As for how the 1GB RAM will perform in the future, nobody can really predict. If you think like that, you'll never buy any tech. Even if you buy an Android device, who knows how *that* will perform next year? Or if it will even get any future software upgrades? Say iPad Air 2 comes with 2GB RAM -- will that be enough to run iOS 9?

So, if I were you, I'd wait until iOS 7.1 is released, buy an iPad Air, try it, and if it performs adequately for you, then keep it. If not, return it. In the end, very few people NEED an iPad -- it's a very enjoyable device to have, but if thinking about it stresses you this much, IMO, it's not worth it.

 

[vgamedude]

I think you should buy an iPad to try. See if the reloading truly bothers you. As I've said in other threads, it doesn't bother me, but it's impossible to say if it would bother you without taking it home and using it for a few days. Spending a few minutes with it at the store doesn't really give you a full picture. If you find it bothers you, you can return it.

As for how the 1GB RAM will perform in the future, nobody can really predict. If you think like that, you'll never buy any tech. Even if you buy an Android device, who knows how *that* will perform next year? Or if it will even get any future software upgrades? Say iPad Air 2 comes with 2GB RAM -- will that be enough to run iOS 9?

So, if I were you, I'd wait until iOS 7.1 is released, buy an iPad Air, try it, and if it performs adequately for you, then keep it. If not, return it. In the end, very few people NEED an iPad -- it's a very enjoyable device to have, but if thinking about it stresses you this much, IMO, it's not worth it.

Well I haven't been obsessing too much, the past week or so is when I've been taking strong consideration to this purchase, but I have wanted an ipad for a while. My gut is definitely telling me the ipad will be the best and anything else is compromise but still the 1gb bothers me, it's just a matter of overhead, I mean with 2gb by today's mobile standards (especially for ios) that's a decent overhead, but 1gb doesn't sound like all that much.

The odd thing to me though is that there really aren't any people reviewing the ipad mentioning the ram negatively at all. I've only seen posts on here really stating its an issue and my slight usage at the apple store isn't exactly real world performance or enough to give an accurate run through.

The thing is though I do live about an hour and half from the apple store so returning it would be a bit of a hassle. How long do you even have to return it if you do not like it? Ideally I would like to purchase this before Christmas.

Also if one were to purchase apple care plus and a case do they refund that as well?

 

[Night Spring]

The thing is though I do live about an hour and half from the apple store so returning it would be a bit of a hassle. How long do you even have to return it if you do not like it? Ideally I would like to purchase this before Christmas.

Also if one were to purchase apple care plus and a case do they refund that as well?

If you buy it before Christmas, you have until January to return it. Google "Apple holiday return policy," and I think you'd find the exact date. You could also order online, which will let you mail back your return.

And yes, they accept returns of cases and Apple care, too.

 

[vgamedude]

If you buy it before Christmas, you have until January to return it. Google "Apple holiday return policy," and I think you'd find the exact date. You could also order online, which will let you mail back your return.

And yes, they accept returns of cases and Apple care, too.

January 7th. That's not bad, pretty good that apple gives that option.

Can you not mail returns if you purchased through the store? I don't know when I'll be able to go get this and as I've said I would prefer it before Christmas so going to get it at the store might be better provided I can return it online, or even if not perhaps.

 

[Night Spring]

January 7th. That's not bad, pretty good that apple gives that option.

Can you not mail returns if you purchased through the store? I don't know when I'll be able to go get this and as I've said I would prefer it before Christmas so going to get it at the store might be better provided I can return it online, or even if not perhaps.

I kind of doubt that you can return in-store purchases by mail. But you could call your nearest store and check. However, I think if you hurry up and place your order online now, you can get it before Christmas.

 

[vgamedude]

I kind of doubt that you can return in-store purchases by mail. But you could call your nearest store and check. However, I think if you hurry up and place your order online now, you can get it before Christmas.

Oh a rush how exciting heh. I still don't know what options I'm going to pick, I have like 50gb of data on my iphone id like to transfer to the ipad but getting 128gb and cellular like I originally wanted would be 929 dollars!

I have to think extra hard I suppose

 

[ohbrilliance]

There is hope that 7.1 fixes the memory leaks that cause tab reloads and crashes in Safari. I haven't exactly followed this, so search the forums for more information.

 

[From A Buick 8]

I would suggest that if you do get the iPad (and i think you should) that you stay off this forum until after the first of the year. Just enjoy your new device for a week or two.

Then if you are not happy go around and try some of the other tablets.

 

[Lucille Carter]

If you do not get the iPad, you will regret it!

Apple WILL fix the Safari problem in an update! These are just "growing pains" for iOS7.

If not I also own the 512gb Surface Pro2 and it is KILLER!

 

[Charliebird]

All tablets have their pros and cons. If you go to Android forums or Windows forums you'll find the same kind of endless banter. I was using my rMini last night and I though to myself I love this device (in a platonic way) Right now I'm using a Dell Studio desktop and it's a totally solid machine however I don't get the same kind of satisfaction using it. The nice thing about Apple is that they have great customer service. If you buy an iPad and the issues aren't ironed out you'll be able to get a refund. Just make sure to document everything and have fun because that's what this is all about.

 

[barkomatic]

I'd wait for Apple to fix the Safari reloading issue. There is really no excuse for a new generation iPad actually performing less effectively than an iPad 3 -- on anything. If they fix it then great, but if not then I don't see any reason to spend the money on this version.

CES is coming up in January, and there will be some next generation tablets announced then in all likelihood.

 

[vgamedude]

I'd wait for Apple to fix the Safari reloading issue. There is really no excuse for a new generation iPad actually performing less effectively than an iPad 3 -- on anything. If they fix it then great, but if not then I don't see any reason to spend the money on this version.

CES is coming up in January, and there will be some next generation tablets announced then in all likelihood.

Some next generation that will likely release next November right? That's a while to wait.

I think I may have over exaggerated this issue in my mind by reading on this forum, the one user who even said specifically to stay off this forum through the first week of ownership may have a point. The answer may simply be to see how the device works for me.

I do like using screen protectors though so if I get one of those and then have to return the air ill be out some money but that's not too bad. I think that if I go for any other tablet I will feel like I have gimped myself until I give the ipad a go. After all It really was the first modern day tablet.


I should note that while reloading on my iPhone 4S running ios 6 is sort of annoying it is expected and also worked around kind of easily, I expect that even though the new ipad has some software bugs that it will probably reload less still than my 4s. Is that a fair assumption to make?

 

[barkomatic]

Some next generation that will likely release next November right? That's a while to wait.

I think I may have over exaggerated this issue in my mind by reading on this forum, the one user who even said specifically to stay off this forum through the first week of ownership may have a point. The answer may simply be to see how the device works for me.

I do like using screen protectors though so if I get one of those and then have to return the air ill be out some money but that's not too bad. I think that if I go for any other tablet I will feel like I have gimped myself until I give the ipad a go. After all It really was the first modern day tablet.


I should note that while reloading on my iPhone 4S running ios 6 is sort of annoying it is expected and also worked around kind of easily, I expect that even though the new ipad has some software bugs that it will probably reload less still than my 4s. Is that a fair assumption to make?

I wouldn't make that assumption no. We've learned over and over again that a newer generation of anything doesn't necessarily equal better performance--though it *usually* does. Like most companies, Apple will often cut corners in certain areas in order to improve others without raising the price.

It usually takes people a month or two for the thrill of owning a new gadget wears off and one can assess it objectively. At first, you would have thought the iPad Air was the best thing since man landed on the moon. Now, people are stepping back and noticing that the little things that seemed insignificant before are really annoying.

However, if you do decide to order it then why not wait on getting accessories (like a screen protector) until you decide? If the iPad Air works out for you then go all in.

 

[vgamedude]

I wouldn't make that assumption no. We've learned over and over again that a newer generation of anything doesn't necessarily equal better performance--though it *usually* does. Like most companies, Apple will often cut corners in certain areas in order to improve others without raising the price.

It usually takes people a month or two for the thrill of owning a new gadget wears off and one can assess it objectively. At first, you would have thought the iPad Air was the best thing since man landed on the moon. Now, people are stepping back and noticing that the little things that seemed insignificant before are really annoying.

However, if you do decide to order it then why not wait on getting accessories (like a screen protector) until you decide? If the iPad Air works out for you then go all in.

Because I wouldn't want to scratch the screen by using it naked nor would I want to damage it in anyway.

I'm still unsure though the more I read the more the ram bothers me, but I've flip flopped considerably over the past week. The other day I was dead set on passing up the ipad.

I'm just very disappointed that all of these issues are stemming from the problem that apple neglected to double the ram for a 10-15 dollar extra price. They give people about 30 dollars free in apps with purchases of the ipad but couldn't take half of that and actually make the device completely excellent?

 

[deeddawg]

Just my $0.02

Remember that the people who are happily off using their gadgets don't usually post a lot about it. Just not a lot of motivation to start a bunch of "spent a couple hours websurfing my favorite sites tonight" threads.

IMHO it's not been conclusively determined that the problem people face with tab reloading or safari crashing is caused solely by the quantity of RAM. IMHO it's far more likely a software matter. Time will tell; it'll be fixed (or significantly improved) in a future iOS update or it won't ever be fixed until a new hardware version is released.

Will the above problem affect you? All depends on your usage patterns. Do you know that you visit the same sites and use your ipad the same way as someone experiencing the problem? Or do you have your own usage patterns? Best thing to do is find a unit to try out for a while in-store and see if it's a problem for your usage patterns. Obviously not the best since you're limited to the demo units and may not be able to truly use it as you would one you owned, but it's still better than just relying on posts from strangers you've never met.

Consider how many millions of ipad Airs and retina Mini's Apple has likely sold at this point. Now consider how much media coverage this issue has seen. Based on the evidence, how impactful to typical users do you think the problem really is?

Finally, remember the echo-chamber effect you tend to see here on MacRumors.

Grit your teeth, make a decision, try it out and see if it works for you, return it if it doesn't. Applies to any platform. Sure it might cost a little time/effort/money but so does spending a bunch of time agonizing over whether to [sounds-like-Spit] or get off the pot.

 

[kaielement]

If you buy it from Best Buy you have until January 15th to return it if you don't like it. Plus if you order it on line you can return it in store.

 

[asleep]

Wait for iOS 7.1.

 

[vgamedude]

Just my $0.02

Remember that the people who are happily off using their gadgets don't usually post a lot about it. Just not a lot of motivation to start a bunch of "spent a couple hours websurfing my favorite sites tonight" threads.

IMHO it's not been conclusively determined that the problem people face with tab reloading or safari crashing is caused solely by the quantity of RAM. IMHO it's far more likely a software matter. Time will tell; it'll be fixed (or significantly improved) in a future iOS update or it won't ever be fixed until a new hardware version is released.

Will the above problem affect you? All depends on your usage patterns. Do you know that you visit the same sites and use your ipad the same way as someone experiencing the problem? Or do you have your own usage patterns? Best thing to do is find a unit to try out for a while in-store and see if it's a problem for your usage patterns. Obviously not the best since you're limited to the demo units and may not be able to truly use it as you would one you owned, but it's still better than just relying on posts from strangers you've never met.

Consider how many millions of ipad Airs and retina Mini's Apple has likely sold at this point. Now consider how much media coverage this issue has seen. Based on the evidence, how impactful to typical users do you think the problem really is?

Finally, remember the echo-chamber effect you tend to see here on MacRumors.

Grit your teeth, make a decision, try it out and see if it works for you, return it if it doesn't. Applies to any platform. Sure it might cost a little time/effort/money but so does spending a bunch of time agonizing over whether to [sounds-like-Spit] or get off the pot.

Maybe I do just need to bite the bullet and give it a shot, I mean it can't hurt all that much, ill only be out gas money/shipping and maybe screen protector or case (probably can return case though.). I'm still mulling it over but I don't have that long to mull it over ;0

I just know that apple will add more ram in the next generation though, it will kill me to see the processor actually working in its full potential with no bottlenecks but that's every generation I suppose.

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If you buy it from Best Buy you have until January 15th to return it if you don't like it. Plus if you order it on line you can return it in store.

That sounds excellent. Can you also mail returns back if you purchased in store? Further, does the return policy extend to accessories?

Wait for iOS 7.1.

Well nobody really knows when that will release, just good guesses, I'm not sure I want to wait to purchase a tablet.

 

[Night Spring]

I just know that apple will add more ram in the next generation though, it will kill me to see the processor actually working in its full potential with no bottlenecks but that's every generation I suppose.

But next year, there will be a new processor, right?

Or put it this way. iPad 3 had problems. It didn't have quite enough processing power to run the retina screen, so it ran graphics intensive apps slower than the iPad 2, and it also got warm / hot. iPad 4 fixed those problems, but my iPad 3 didn't stop working when the 4 came out, and I was fine with the 3 until I replaced it with the Air.

Now, I could have skipped the 3, and stayed with the non-retina 2 for an extra year. But I decided that for me, enjoying the retina screen for an extra year was worth putting up with the imperfections of the 3.

So now the Air has less than optimal amount of RAM. Your options are either do without an iPad for another year, or get one now, and enjoy what you get, despite some drawbacks. If you find that you want to upgrade to the Air 2 next year, sell your Air -- you can sell it to one of those trade-in places and get good money for it.

 

[deeddawg]

I just know that apple will add more ram in the next generation though, it will kill me to see the processor actually working in its full potential with no bottlenecks but that's every generation I suppose.

Define "working in its full potential"? IMHO for most stuff most people do, they're barely keeping the CPU above room temperature.

As for the next gen - they may add more ram, they may not. They may add other cool features you just gotta have, they may not. Cross that bridge when you get to it.

Basically you need to ask yourself what it's worth to have an ipad. If there's little value in having one, why are you even considering buying one? On the other hand, if you think it'd be valuable to have one why would you wait? Run the numbers on "what if" you'd bought an ipad4 last December and were now selling it to upgrade to an Air; divide by 12 for your monthly cost-of-ownership and decide if that's worth it.

 

[vgamedude]

But next year, there will be a new processor, right?

Or put it this way. iPad 3 had problems. It didn't have quite enough processing power to run the retina screen, so it ran graphics intensive apps slower than the iPad 2, and it also got warm / hot. iPad 4 fixed those problems, but my iPad 3 didn't stop working when the 4 came out, and I was fine with the 3 until I replaced it with the Air.

Now, I could have skipped the 3, and stayed with the non-retina 2 for an extra year. But I decided that for me, enjoying the retina screen for an extra year was worth putting up with the imperfections of the 3.

So now the Air has less than optimal amount of RAM. Your options are either do without an iPad for another year, or get one now, and enjoy what you get, despite some drawbacks. If you find that you want to upgrade to the Air 2 next year, sell your Air -- you can sell it to one of those trade-in places and get good money for it.

I think if I were to upgrade next year as well id probably keep the air and get a mini, assuming of course that the RAM isn't unbearable for me and I don't take it back. I'm not in the habit of selling my mobile devices or electronics in general. I still have my first gen Itouch.

 

[deeddawg]

Or put it this way. iPad 3 had problems. It didn't have quite enough processing power to run the retina screen, so it ran graphics intensive apps slower than the iPad 2, and it also got warm / hot.

... and if you weren't a gamer or otherwise ran a bunch of graphics intensive apps you just merrily continued to get stuff done, completely oblivious to what an absolutely awful device it was...

(i.e. take the comments here with a grain of salt, especially when they're generalized and with no specific examples allowing you to compare your situation to theirs)

 

[vgamedude]

Define "working in its full potential"? IMHO for most stuff most people do, they're barely keeping the CPU above room temperature.

As for the next gen - they may add more ram, they may not. They may add other cool features you just gotta have, they may not. Cross that bridge when you get to it.

Basically you need to ask yourself what it's worth to have an ipad. If there's little value in having one, why are you even considering buying one? On the other hand, if you think it'd be valuable to have one why would you wait? Run the numbers on "what if" you'd bought an ipad4 last December and were now selling it to upgrade to an Air; divide by 12 for your monthly cost-of-ownership and decide if that's worth it.

I think I may be underestimating how nice it is to have 1 year of usage out of a device versus waiting. I mean a year is longer than we think in tech, you always get caught up in incremental upgrades and forget that they are still spread out and your device doesn't usually lose functionality. (unless you upgrade to a new ios version that has trouble running.

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... and if you weren't a gamer or otherwise ran a bunch of graphics intensive apps you just merrily continued to get stuff done, completely oblivious to what an absolutely awful device it was...

(i.e. take the comments here with a grain of salt, especially when they're generalized and with no specific examples allowing you to compare your situation to theirs)

And I guess that alternatively if you're not a heavy Internet user you won't notice the problems of 1gb of ram. I am unfortunately haha.

 

[HEK]

I got wifi 128 gb Air on day one. While I have experience occasional relog on web sites in Safari, I can say for me it has not been an issue.

Like any computer keeping too many things open at once can cause issues. Double click the home button to bring up all open apps and swipe up to close them. Especially important if you use a store display because it may have dozens of open apps.

Also good idea to reboot the Air once a week or more to close out and free memory. I close apps and try to keep only a couple of web pages open at once and have found no issues with 1 mb ram.

The Air is fast and if you check out sites that describe closing or setting certain parameters like auto updates, push, advertising, motion, contrast, etc it becomes even quicker.

Don't let a vocal few on these sites overshadow the millions of users with no issues over the 1 mb ram.