All iPads Am I doing myself a disservice?

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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!

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Wait for iOS 7.1.

 

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.

 

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.

 

... 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)

 

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.