iPad Any one moved from iPad Air 2 to iPad Air ‘19?

[MacBH928]

I have the Air 2 , and while I am not complaining as it works as good as day 1 I wonder if I am left behind and the experience is much better on the newer iPads?

Do you feel a good difference using it daily? I use it as consumption device no pro work. I do not want to buy it then regret it as I feel no difference. I noticed the RAM is 3GB on both too. Also I am worried the larger display size is not comfortable to hold as I feel the 9.7 screen is the perfect size.

I thought of getting the pro but $300 in price difference is too much for stereo and pro motion display. I also hear of bendgates and uneven displays. I also rather have touch id. I tried looking comparisons videos but seems they don’t exist.

 

[Seanm87]

I went from air 2 to air 3. I love it but I wouldn’t consider the difference night and day. I use it for consumption as well. The extra screen real estate is definitely my favourite part of it. And it actually doesn’t feel much heavier than the air 2 at all so wouldn’t worry about it feeling awkward.

However I don’t think the air 2 will be supported by apple much longer anyway as it’s 5 years old so might be worth upgrading anyway.

 

[MacBH928]

I went from air 2 to air 3. I love it but I wouldn’t consider the difference night and day. I use it for consumption as well. The extra screen real estate is definitely my favourite part of it. And it actually doesn’t feel much heavier than the air 2 at all so wouldn’t worry about it feeling awkward.

However I don’t think the air 2 will be supported by apple much longer anyway as it’s 5 years old so might be worth upgrading anyway.

Yes, but if the upgrade is not worth it maybe wait until next year when newer models are out, maybe they get promotion too. Though I am scared that we won’t see an upgrade as Apple has been reluctant to update hardware for long periods of time lately

 

[AutomaticApple]

Yes, but if the upgrade is not worth it maybe wait until next year when newer models are out, maybe they get promotion too. Though I am scared that we won’t see an upgrade as Apple has been reluctant to update hardware for long periods of time lately

It’s definitely worth the upgrade.

 

[MacFather]

Deleted.

 

[*~Kim~*]

I would wait in your position to see if anything comes of the 10.2” rumours, as that would minimise your increase in screen size. It’s also possible that the 9.7” could be updated, which might meet your needs.

Beyond that buying from Apple gives you 14 days to try the new screen size to see if it works for you, but it won’t help with any regret you might have should you update and the above possible non-Pro iPads appear offering closer to what you want later this year/early next.

 

[EugW]

I have the Air 2 , and while I am not complaining as it works as good as day 1 I wonder if I am left behind and the experience is much better on the newer iPads?

Do you feel a good difference using it daily? I use it as consumption device no pro work. I do not want to buy it then regret it as I feel no difference.

I went from the Air 2 to the iPad Pro 10.5" 2nd generation, which has the exact same form factor as the Air. Are you in the Bahamas? In Canada and the US and UK and elsewhere, the 10.5" Pro is often available for less money than the 10.5" Air. The 10.5" Pro has a better camera, a camera flash, 4 GB RAM, ProMotion, and quad speakers. It is also USB 3 whereas the Air is USB 2.

The 10.5" Pro has a somewhat slower SoC than the Air (which isn't usually noticeable IMO), but both the 10.5" Pro and the 10.5" Air feel significantly faster than the Air 2. The wide colour gamut screen with True Tone also looks noticeably better than the iPad Air 2's screen.

11" Pro <-- Blistering fast with basically no lag anywhere.
10.5" Pro/Air <-- Blistering fast with rare lag in some spots. May be noticeably slower than the 11" Pro with some complex software (video editing).
9.7" Air 2 <-- Overall decent, but some lag here and there and slower website rendering.

Speaking of video editing, I can't easily load the 4K videos from my iPhone 7 Plus onto my iPad Air 2, because they are HEVC. The iPad Air 2's SoC is A8X which doesn't support hardware decoding of these files, so Photos just refuses import them.

I noticed the RAM is 3GB on both too.

No. The iPad Air 2 has 2 GB RAM. The iPad Air (2019) has 3 GB RAM. My iPad Pro 10.5" has 4 GB RAM.

3 GB is the new baseline for 2019. All the flagship iPhones from 2018 and the iPad Pros from 2018 are 4 GB, while the XR and 2019 iPads are 3 GB.

Also I am worried the larger display size is not comfortable to hold as I feel the 9.7 screen is the perfect size.

Size feels great to me. A little bigger than the Air 2, but the extra space is definitely noticeable when surfing and multitasking. It's more pleasant to use.

Also, the fact that the 10.5" and 11" models can use a so-called full size keyboard (with 18 mm key spacing) is transformative for my usage pattern. I bought the Apple Smart Keyboard it goes everywhere the iPad goes now with me, except for occasionally on the couch and in bed. The keyboard makes the iPad much more functional for browsing and email because I'm much more efficient typing on a physical keyboard, and because now I don't have half the screen obscured by the on-screen keyboard. Keyboard shortcuts even work.

I thought of getting the pro but $300 in price difference is too much for stereo and pro motion display. I also hear of bendgates and uneven displays. I also rather have touch id. I tried looking comparisons videos but seems they don’t exist.

The 10.5" Pro has a history of a white spot problem. We have no idea about the Air. The Air 2 seems rock solid so far overall. The 10.5" Pro does not suffer from bendgate.

BTW, I mentioned pricing on the 10.5" Pro, but in the US (but not in Canada or the UK 🙁) there are some great sales on the 11" Pro now, that just started last week.

 

[QCassidy352]

I’m in the same spot. I, too, am almost all consumption on my iPad. Even went to check out the new Air last weekend. I left without a new Air, feeling like I wouldn’t see much real world difference. Still undecided though. My air 2 is 4.5 years old and won’t last forever.

 

[Freakonomics101]

Yes, but if the upgrade is not worth it maybe wait until next year when newer models are out, maybe they get promotion too. Though I am scared that we won’t see an upgrade as Apple has been reluctant to update hardware for long periods of time lately

I can promise you’ll love the extra screen real estate. I went from the 9.7 Pro to the 10.5 Pro. Bezels are a size I have no complaints with.

I recommend the upgrade. If you want Pro Motion, I’d go for the 10.5 if you’re not interested in forming over $899 for the 11”.

Pro Motion is very nice to have if you plan on using the Apple Pencil.

Edit: Air 3 doesn’t have 4 speakers. 10.5 (Pro) does. It’s a huge difference. Bass and surround sound on the 10.5 (Pro) is quite impressive.

 

[EugW]

Air 3 doesn’t have 4 speakers. 10.5 does. It’s a huge difference. Bass and surround sound on the 10.5 is quite impressive.

Air 3 is 10.5”. 😛

10.5” Pro you mean. 🙂

 

[Freakonomics101]

Air 3 is 10.5”. 😛

10.5” Pro you mean. 🙂

Whoops, forgot to include the Pro part. xD

 

[MacBH928]

I went from the Air 2 to the iPad Pro 10.5" 2nd generation, which has the exact same form factor as the Air. Are you in the Bahamas? In Canada and the US and UK and elsewhere, the 10.5" Pro is often available for less money than the 10.5" Air. The 10.5" Pro has a better camera, a camera flash, 4 GB RAM, ProMotion, and quad speakers. It is also USB 3 whereas the Air is USB 2.

The 10.5" Pro has a somewhat slower SoC than the Air (which isn't usually noticeable IMO), but both the 10.5" Pro and the 10.5" Air feel significantly faster than the Air 2. The wide colour gamut screen with True Tone also looks noticeably better than the iPad Air 2's screen.

11" Pro <-- Blistering fast with basically no lag anywhere.
10.5" Pro/Air <-- Blistering fast with rare lag in some spots. May be noticeably slower than the 11" Pro with some complex software (video editing).
9.7" Air 2 <-- Overall decent, but some lag here and there and slower website rendering.

Speaking of video editing, I can't easily load the 4K videos from my iPhone 7 Plus onto my iPad Air 2, because they are HEVC. The iPad Air 2's SoC is A8X which doesn't support hardware decoding of these files, so Photos just refuses import them.


No. The iPad Air 2 has 2 GB RAM. The iPad Air (2019) has 3 GB RAM. My iPad Pro 10.5" has 4 GB RAM.

3 GB is the new baseline for 2019. All the flagship iPhones from 2018 and the iPad Pros from 2018 are 4 GB, while the XR and 2019 iPads are 3 GB.


Size feels great to me. A little bigger than the Air 2, but the extra space is definitely noticeable when surfing and multitasking. It's more pleasant to use.

Also, the fact that the 10.5" and 11" models can use a so-called full size keyboard (with 18 mm key spacing) is transformative for my usage pattern. I bought the Apple Smart Keyboard it goes everywhere the iPad goes now with me, except for occasionally on the couch and in bed. The keyboard makes the iPad much more functional for browsing and email because I'm much more efficient typing on a physical keyboard, and because now I don't have half the screen obscured by the on-screen keyboard. Keyboard shortcuts even work.


The 10.5" Pro has a history of a white spot problem. We have no idea about the Air. The Air 2 seems rock solid so far overall. The 10.5" Pro does not suffer from bendgate.

BTW, I mentioned pricing on the 10.5" Pro, but in the US (but not in Canada or the UK 🙁) there are some great sales on the 11" Pro now, that just started last week.

Are you suggesting to buy last year's iPad Pro as a better option than this year's iPad Air ?

 

[EugW]

Are you suggesting to buy last year's iPad Pro as a better option than this year's iPad Air ?

Last year's iPad Pro 2018 is the current 11" one with Face ID, and it is very expensive.

The iPad Pro 10.5" I am talking about is from 2017, but yes, I'm saying the 2017 iPad Pro is very good alternative to the 2019 iPad Air.

I bought that one last month, because in Canada, it was available on the Apple Refurbished Store for less than the retail price than the 2019 Air. Even though the 2017 iPad Pro has a slightly slower CPU than the Air, overall I feel it is a better machine, with better camera, flash, quad speakers, ProMotion, 4 GB RAM, possibly better GPU (although this is debatable), and USB 3 support. The main drawbacks of the 2017 iPad Pro 10.5" are that it may lose iOS updates earlier than the 2019 iPad Air, and some 2017 iPad Pro 10.5" units have developed a white spot issue after about a year of use. (I have an extra 1 year extended warranty I get for free from my credit card.)

However, if you are in the Bahamas, the 2017 iPad Pro 10.5" may not be available to you since it has been discontinued as of March 2019. OTOH, if you are buying from say the United States, there are some excellent deals available on that model, both from the Apple Refurbished Store, and from Best Buy, etc.

Are you in the Bahamas?

 

[Digitalguy]

I have had the air 2 until recently and have the mini 5, which is internally identical to the air 3. The difference in speed is very noticeable. For some things, like browsing or swtching between many apps it’s almost night and day. To be honest even moving from the air 2 to the pro 9.7 (1st gen) makes a big difference. Now moving from the 9.7 pro to the air, while you can see it’s faster, it may not be worth the upgrade (you would also lose the pro speakers). However, this is on IOS 12. I am sure that on IOS 13 the gap between the 9.7 pro and the air 3 will increase, especially if ios 13 is more ram intensive. But from the air 2? Defeinitely, even on ios 12. It might not even get ios 13 and if it gets it, it will be even slower. As for you feeling that the air 2 is still fast, that’s normal if you haven’t a faster ipad. We all tend to factor in the X seconds delay before apps open (which changes from app to app) or page load. However once you move to an ipad that tales 2 instead of 5 seconds to open an app like Word (which is a heavy app) for instance... and where everithing is twice as fast and there never is stutter, then the previous ipad feels slow all of a sudden.

 

[MacBH928]

Are you in the Bahamas?

not currently

I have had the air 2 until recently and have the mini 5, which is internally identical to the air 3. The difference in speed is very noticeable. For some things, like browsing or swtching between many apps it’s almost night and day. To be honest even moving from the air 2 to the pro 9.7 (1st gen) makes a big difference. Now moving from the 9.7 pro to the air, while you can see it’s faster, it may not be worth the upgrade (you would also lose the pro speakers). However, this is on IOS 12. I am sure that on IOS 13 the gap between the 9.7 pro and the air 3 will increase, especially if ios 13 is more ram intensive. But from the air 2? Defeinitely, even on ios 12. It might not even get ios 13 and if it gets it, it will be even slower. As for you feeling that the air 2 is still fast, that’s normal if you haven’t a faster ipad. We all tend to factor in the X seconds delay before apps open (which changes from app to app) or page load. However once you move to an ipad that tales 2 instead of 5 seconds to open an app like Word (which is a heavy app) for instance... and where everithing is twice as fast and there never is stutter, then the previous ipad feels slow all of a sudden.

If Air loses iOS13 support I am definitely upgrading, although I still feel its early for that. iOS 12 runs great on it, you don't feel its outdated. If they sold this model today people will be happy to use it.

 

[EugW]

If Air loses iOS13 support I am definitely upgrading, although I still feel its early for that. iOS 12 runs great on it, you don't feel its outdated. If they sold this model today people will be happy to use it.

I found 1 GB iDevices annoying to use even back in 2016. While CPU performance was fine (back then), the frequent tab reloads in Safari drove me nuts.

Given that I would expect iOS 13 will be more memory hungry, all new iPads released since 2015 have shipped with at least 2 GB RAM, and A7 is already almost 6 years old, I think it’s pretty unlikely that the original iPad Air with 1 GB RAM and A7 will get iOS 13.

 

[AutomaticApple]

I found 1 GB iDevices annoying to use even back in 2016. While CPU performance was fine (back then), the frequent tab reloads in Safari drove me nuts.

Given that I would expect iOS 13 will be more memory hungry, all new iPads released since 2015 have shipped with at least 2 GB RAM, and A7 is already almost 6 years old, I think it’s pretty unlikely that the original iPad Air with 1 GB RAM and A7 will get iOS 13.

Including the iPad Mini 2.

 

[rui no onna]

I found 1 GB iDevices annoying to use even back in 2016. While CPU performance was fine (back then), the frequent tab reloads in Safari drove me nuts.

Given that I would expect iOS 13 will be more memory hungry, all new iPads released since 2015 have shipped with at least 2 GB RAM, and A7 is already almost 6 years old, I think it’s pretty unlikely that the original iPad Air with 1 GB RAM and A7 will get iOS 13.

Lol, they were annoying on iPads even back in 2013. The Air really should have gotten 2GB RAM/32GB base storage on launch.

 

[EugW]

Lol, they were annoying on iPads even back in 2013. The Air really should have gotten 2GB RAM/32GB base storage on launch.

Heh. Probably true. In my case my 1 GB iPhone 5S from 2013 seemed OK at launch but I really started noticing the tab reloads more by 2015. I stuck it out for 3 years, and the upgrade to the 3 GB iPhone 7 Plus was an enormous upgrade.

In fact that is why I specifically refused to buy the iPad Air. Waited one more year and so glad I did, as I was able to get the much nicer iPad Air 2 with triple-core A8X, 802.11ac, 2 GB RAM, and laminated screen. I liked it so much I bought another one (on sale) the following year for my wife.

Including the iPad Mini 2.

iPad mini 3 is also 1 GB and A7 so I don’t think that will get iOS 13 either.

 

[AutomaticApple]

iPad mini 3 is also 1 GB and A7 so I don’t think that will get iOS 13 either.

Here’s my take.

iPad Mini 4 or better gets iOS 13.
iPad Air 2 or better gets iOS 13.
iPad 5th generation or better gets iOS 13.
All iPad Pros will get iOS 13.
None of the current iPod Touches will get iOS 13.
iPhone 6S or better gets iOS 13.

 

[rui no onna]

Heh. Probably true. In my case my 1 GB iPhone 5S from 2013 seemed OK at launch but I really started noticing the tab reloads more by 2015. I stuck it out for 3 years, and the upgrade to the 3 GB iPhone 7 Plus was an enormous upgrade.

In fact that is why I specifically refused to buy the iPad Air. Waited one more year and so glad I did, as I was able to get the much nicer iPad Air 2 with triple-core A8X, 802.11ac, 2 GB RAM, and laminated screen. I liked it so much I bought another one (on sale) the following year for my wife.

I wanted to wait until 2GB RAM/256GB storage (my 128GB iPad 4 was full and there was nothing I could delete), alas I needed the universal LTE asap for an overseas trip.

Despite its shortcomings, the Air actually fared better than I expected. Based on previous experience with older generation iPhones and iPads, I had expected the Air to run like a dog when iOS 8/9 rolled out and it was a pleasant surprise when that wasn't the case. I expect if I had gotten a 128GB Air instead of cheaping out with 16GB because I was expecting to replace it with 256GB in 2014, that would have eliminated my main frustration with the Air.

 

[EugW]

Here’s my take.

iPad Mini 4 or better gets iOS 13.
iPad Air 2 or better gets iOS 13.
iPad 5th generation or better gets iOS 13.
All iPad Pros will get iOS 13.
None of the current iPod Touches will get iOS 13.
iPhone 6S or better gets iOS 13.

Yes, that would make a lot of sense, although I'm not entirely sure if the 1 GB iPhone 6/6+ and iPod touch will get iOS 13 or not. We had been discussing it here:

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...quirements-speculation.2176294/#post-27255489

I also posted a specs summary to make it easier:

IOW, I think the cut off for iOS 13 will either be A8 or else 2 GB RAM. If you are right, it's 2 GB RAM. (HomePod doesn't count. It's a completely separate product.)

 

[Kawa Omar]

Please i need some help
I have ipad pro 11 to play games with surround sound
After I bought the type C to 3.5 dongle and test it
I found out there is no surround sound ?
Note : i have a 160$ turtle beach 700 stealth headset
Thank you

 

[Torty]

I

Do you feel a good difference using it daily? .

So the main things I feel is that the display is bigger, I use it now more in landscape mode as I did with the Air2. It’s much much quicker and you feel that it got more Ram. Much less reloading. It got pencil support too (to be honest I used it once for testing)

Sound is better and no vibrations anymore.

Best wishes,

Torty

 

[Torty]

So after additional time using the Air 3 I have to say

- I almost never use the pencil
- I ask myself sometimes if the 9.7 screen was the more comfortable screen size? Does anyone has a similar experience that portrait mode was more comfortable on the air2 ?
- using the Air2 now the user experience is still very ok!

So I could have used the Air 2 still without a problem but the battery degraded too much.