iPad Am I missing something obvious? (Upgrading)

S

shenfrey

macrumors 68030
I am using an iPad 4th Gen, however iv noticed that everybody seems to be upgrading to the air, all my friends have and my family has and even people who I thought didn't care about technology much are upgrading their retina iPads.

I have decided to not upgrade because all I see is an incremental re-design and slightly faster speed, as with most upgrades. But due to the huge adoption rate of the new iPad, I just wanna know if I am missing something obvious, is there anything inside there that's revolutionary??

Iv used the iPad air and I don't notice much difference - yet -, though I do think it feels a bit better to hold. Do you think it's the change in name that has maybe tricked people into believing its a radical new product, or is there genuinely something there that's a must have for previous iPad owners?

Thanks guys.
 
shenfrey said:
I am using an iPad 4th Gen, however iv noticed that everybody seems to be upgrading to the air, all my friends have and my family has and even people who I thought didn't care about technology much are upgrading their retina iPads.

I have decided to not upgrade because all I see is an incremental re-design and slightly faster speed, as with most upgrades. But due to the huge adoption rate of the new iPad, I just wanna know if I am missing something obvious, is there anything inside there that's revolutionary??

Iv used the iPad air and I don't notice much difference - yet -, though I do think it feels a bit better to hold. Do you think it's the change in name that has maybe tricked people into believing its a radical new product, or is there genuinely something there that's a must have for previous iPad owners?

Thanks guys.
Click to expand...


weight
 
I have a 3 and even I am struggling to justify an upgrade. If you have a 4 it Might not be worth it. I saw it in the store and I really wasn't that blown away by it. It's not even as light as people make it out to be.

I think the weight and processor are the biggest things. Another mediocre upgrade that apple has successfully made into a required upgrade for most of its fanboys. Good for them though, I'd do it too.
 
Enjoy your iPad 4 and just be ready to roll when the A8 is announced next year. Other than weight like mentioned above, I see no reason to upgrade till iPad 6.
 
most reviews say if you have a 4 theres no reason to. if you would get more use from it wing lighter and thinner then get it
 
I'm getting much snappier wifi response. The weight is noticeable, but levels out a bit with a case. Charge time is ~25% less. That's about it for me.
 
shenfrey said:
I am using an iPad 4th Gen, however iv noticed that everybody seems to be upgrading to the air, all my friends have and my family has and even people who I thought didn't care about technology much are upgrading their retina iPads.

I have decided to not upgrade because all I see is an incremental re-design and slightly faster speed, as with most upgrades. But due to the huge adoption rate of the new iPad, I just wanna know if I am missing something obvious, is there anything inside there that's revolutionary??

Iv used the iPad air and I don't notice much difference - yet -, though I do think it feels a bit better to hold. Do you think it's the change in name that has maybe tricked people into believing its a radical new product, or is there genuinely something there that's a must have for previous iPad owners?

Thanks guys.
Click to expand...
The A7m7 future proofs it to some extent..
 
I just got my Air and im keeping my 4 as well. Honestly, the only reason was the the design and weight. Having both i can now say that design is no longer a reson but the weight difference is what makes me wanna keep the Air.
 
Crazy to go from 4th Gen to Air. It is a nice upgrade because of weight and processor, but seriously the iPad should be a three year device. Wait another week or two and then blow those folks away by acquiring a Mini Retina. I'm getting one of those and keeping my 3rd Gen for another year.
 
TallManNY said:
Crazy to go from 4th Gen to Air. It is a nice upgrade because of weight and processor, but seriously the iPad should be a three year device. Wait another week or two and then blow those folks away by acquiring a Mini Retina. I'm getting one of those and keeping my 3rd Gen for another year.
Click to expand...

Yes and no. The Air is a worthy upgrade from the 4, but DEFINITELY from the 3. If you can do it, I say do it 100%, because it is completely a different tablet. Before, the Mini had a significant size/weight difference to the 4, but the 4 was the superior all around tablet. Now, pick a size, because both the new Mini and Air are exactly the same except screen size.

That said, the 4 is still a great tablet, and you're right, it will last a very long time. I would just say upgrade if you can, because it's worth it!
 
I had a 4 and I went to look at the Air, I decided it wasn't worth upgrading. However I wanted the mini ret, and the ability to get that smaller ipad along with getting 128gb (which wasn't available when I ordered my ipad 4) made it worthwhile for me to upgrade.

Next year when the ipad mini ret 3 comes out sporting an A8 chip, iTouch, and a gold background I already know that won't be enough to justify me upgrading.
 
It looks and feels like a great premium product. Faster wifi, faster chip, less weight new design etc... I have a 3 but am waiting on the apps to catch up with the newer hardware. Once these newer apps which need a 64bit processor begin popping up and my 3 cannot run them I think thats when I would upgrade. Enjoy your 4 it still is an amazing device!
 
I've got a 4 and I've just bought an Air for my Husband (he's coming from an iPad 1). Honestly, apart from weight and it being slightly faster, I don't see the need to upgrade.
 
Just got my ipad air 128 yesterday. I'm coming from a generation 1 to this, what a slick piece of tech, it's awesome. Light, powerful and fast. I picked up a macbook air in late 2012 as my daily, this combo is kick-ass.

I was going back and forth between the two on keynote today, seamless. This is a pretty fun era we're entering going from phone to tablet to laptop and not sacrificing much each step.
 
it is a big difference, if you keep telling yourself its not then you are fooling yourself into thinking your ipad 4 is as good or even close to the Air, i sold my 4 and got the Air as well, the ipad air has a 64bit processor compared to any previous ipad which was 32bit, thats a big difference and will contribute to the future proofing of the device as the computing power and possibility of creating better apps and overall better performing apps etc is greatly improved, with ios 8 next year the ipad 4 will show its age and what not, it has happened in the past with previous devices and it will happen again, it is a wise choice to upgrade to the air now while is ipad 4 is still wroth some $, Cheers.
 
lamonsas said:
it is a big difference, if you keep telling yourself its not then you are fooling yourself into thinking your ipad 4 is as good or even close to the Air, i sold my 4 and got the Air as well, the ipad air has a 64bit processor compared to any previous ipad which was 32bit, thats a big difference and will contribute to the future proofing of the device as the computing power and possibility of creating better apps and overall better performing apps etc is greatly improved, with ios 8 next year the ipad 4 will show its age and what not, it has happened in the past with previous devices and it will happen again, it is a wise choice to upgrade to the air now while is ipad 4 is still wroth some $, Cheers.
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Ignore, if future proofing was a thing then you wouldn't need to upgrade yearly, your air next year is the 4 this year, the ipad 4 is still a great machine and even an original ipad has value so the 4 will def have value a year from now
 
I upgraded from a 4 to the air for the same reason I upgraded from the 3 to the 4. I had several co-workers offer to buy my old unit, and when I mentioned a price they quickly accepted.

I can't say this for everyone, but for me it seems that I paid the "Apple Tax" just once. Since then I've been able to sell my old kit for enough that I can easily upgrade.

I'll admit that there does not seem to be much difference between the 4 and the Air, but the M7 chip is really an unknown factor at the moment. It may be something that turns out to be much more important than we realize.

This is already true with my iPhone 5s. I have seen a great improvement on battery life when using apps that use the features that are now being calculated by the M7 chip like the accelerometer, magnetometer, GPS etc. I feel that in the coming weeks we will see other developers come up with other uses for it.
 
Hardware redesigns are usually a good motivation for users to upgrade, regardless of whether they actually need it or not, imo.
 
If I had a 4 I would probably not have upgraded either. I have a 3 and I was really on the fence about it myself.
 
OMAC83 said:
Ignore, if future proofing was a thing then you wouldn't need to upgrade yearly, your air next year is the 4 this year, the ipad 4 is still a great machine and even an original ipad has value so the 4 will def have value a year from now
Click to expand...

ignore? lol
 
Italianblend said:
I have a 3 and even I am struggling to justify an upgrade. If you have a 4 it Might not be worth it. I saw it in the store and I really wasn't that blown away by it. It's not even as light as people make it out to be.

I think the weight and processor are the biggest things. Another mediocre upgrade that apple has successfully made into a required upgrade for most of its fanboys. Good for them though, I'd do it too.
Click to expand...

I bought the air mainly so i could stop stealing the wife's ipad 3 lol. I would say the 3 still has a slightly better screen, but the faster processor, lighter weight/size was enough to seal the deal for me
 
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