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Apple Introduces Redesigned 10.9-Inch iPad Air With A14 Chip, All-Screen Design, Touch ID in Power Button, and USB-C
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Yeah, another six months to go before I can get my hands on a blue 6th gen iPad mini identical to the new iPad Air. Tim was smart to hold off on the mini 6 to prevent it from taking a lot of sales away from the Air 4. Maybe some people will even pick up a mini 6 and give their Air 4 to another family member.
Not sure why? Not to cannibalize the pro too much... Reusing 11in would have been cheaper for Apple, but they made it slightly worse on purpose, even if that was at an additional cost... CPU is going to be close enough in multicore to almost not matter and 40% faster in single core... which will definitely make more difference. I think psychologically people that have an 11in pro can find justification for the additional cost they paid, but at this point if you really want a 11in pro wait for the next upgrade (or get the air if you can't wait...)
I think it will have less RAM than the Pros.
It also doesn’t have ProMotion, or FaceID. I personally really like the seamless integration of FaceID, but you many not?
It does have less range.
When using the Folio, it works every time. When using the MK, I often have to move my face closer.
My 7th gen iPad is respringing a lot and was freaking out yesterday (Perhaps it knows it’s days are numbered as my main iPad).
Hoping the A14 chip and lower power consumption means less heat being generated.
Less RAM yes, hopeful it will be 4GB. You’re right: ProMotion isn’t a big deal for me and I avoid FaceID, so the Air would be great with more RAM.
I’d be happy with Air and Base models. If the Mini gets these Air specs, that too. For my use, I do not need the Pro models. May try out the Magic Keyboard though, as I love the Apple Pencil 2 and am thrilled that has come to the Air.
Glad you enjoy the Pro.
Hoping the A14 chip and lower power consumption means less heat being generated.
Less RAM yes, hopeful it will be 4GB. You’re right: ProMotion isn’t a big deal for me and I avoid FaceID, so the Air would be great with more RAM.
I’d be happy with Air and Base models. If the Mini gets these Air specs, that too. For my use, I do not need the Pro models. May try out the Magic Keyboard though, as I love the Apple Pencil 2 and am thrilled that has come to the Air.
Glad you enjoy the Pro.
My 7th gen iPad is respringing a lot and was freaking out yesterday (Perhaps it knows it’s days are numbered as my main iPad).
Hoping the A14 chip and lower power consumption means less heat being generated.
Less RAM yes, hopeful it will be 4GB. You’re right: ProMotion isn’t a big deal for me and I avoid FaceID, so the Air would be great with more RAM.
I’d be happy with Air and Base models. If the Mini gets these Air specs, that too. For my use, I do not need the Pro models. May try out the Magic Keyboard though, as I love the Apple Pencil 2 and am thrilled that has come to the Air.
Glad you enjoy the Pro.
I’m thinking of selling my new MK.
If you’re in the UK, and decide to buy one, let me know.
The 120hz display on the Pro is worth the difference in cost alone (really - if you were shopping for a monitor and this were the price differential between 60 and 120hz, it’d be a great deal). FaceID is awesome on the iPad with the Magic Keyboard. You simply swipe up on the track pad to unlock. No reaching up for touchID every time. I’d never want to go back.
@The London Fella The States, actually. Thank you. I will wait on sales for the MK.
I don’t disagree with most of your points, although, for many of the iPad Pro users, they likely benefit from the extra features, and for me, are worth it. The quad speakers, 120Hz display, FaceID, and GPU performance alone are worth the price difference. I bought a 12.9 so I wouldn’t have considered the 11” to start with if I were in the market for an 11” iPad the Air would certainly have me taking a close look at it vs the 11“ Pro. But again, at the end of the day, the ONLY thing the Air offers vs the Pro, is an undetectable performance gain in single core tasks. It has worse display, 2 speakers, less cameras and no Lidar (no really a big deal to me), significantly less GPU performance, less RAM, less storage flexibility, and no FaceID. And a minute difference in bezel size-the Air’s bezels are larger. Not significantly, but noticeable.
The iPad Air to iPad Pro to me is analogous to the iPhone XR to the iPhone 11 Pro.
This speculation is not helpful, as there are no real benchmarks out there, and even the unverified ones don’t show this type of improvement.
Probably A14 is faster, but depending on the use case I find FaceID ultra convenient on the iPP because it usually stands as a laptop via the keyboard plus also a hand holding the pencil.
Tapping a screen zone closer to you and then see it unlock is miles better than having to reach a button on a corner edge of the device. TouchID is great on a phone because it is a whole lot smaller and most of the device is reachable, not so much with tablets.
The new Air is a great offer but I think I would miss the 120hz refresh rate (it makes it feel so much snappier) and the FaceID. The quad speakers or LiDAR scanners don’t think so (I haven’t used that as I have the 2018 one). I think I will just ride the iPPs for now whenever a new more powerful ones appear along the timeline.
A12z is 8 core vs. 6 core for A14 so multi-core performance is better. The GPU on the A12z is also faster.
I love the two new colors and sky blue is my favorite. But I still have an OG iPad Air from 2015 and a 6th gen iPad. I don't use either that much anymore but that light blue color looks awesome.
Yeah, it’s a lot less appealing for most people now. It definitely seems like there’s a new iPad Pro refresh imminent as the rumors have suggested. It doesn’t make sense to have the A14 in the Air and the A12Z in the Pros. At least not for to long.
Oh...I have that issue with my phone even, and it really doesn’t bother me as the number of times that happens is small compared to the hundreds of times it makes things easier for me and just works. I just can’t imagine hunting for the power button all the time on an iPad. Is it on the left..no right..top..no bottom. No thanks. I don’t think it’s going to work out as great as some people think it’s going to. Would much rather had touch ID built into the screen if they aren’t going to use faceID.
Bear in mind the A12X/A12Z are 8 core CPU and 7/8 core GPU. Comparing performance is akin to comparing a 16” MacBook Pro with the 9th Gen Intel 6 core processor to the 10th Gen quad core 2020 13” MacBook Pro.
Multicore affects very little on the use of an iPad, I’d guess. The vast majority of the time single-core is what matters.
For most users, probably correct. But the extra core performance and GPU performance of the iPad Pro, not to mention extra RAM are not insignificant contributors to why the pro is the better choice for more serious work, multitasking, gaming, etc. The Air is no doubt and amazing tablet for the majority of people, but so was the last iPad Air. I’m actually glad Apple is moving to the iPad Pro design language, if for nothing else, better consistency in design.
I don’t think your comparison makes sense. If someone is buying an iPad to make it them main computer, it’s because they need iPad features (note taking, drawing, etc).
A 256gb iPad Air+ Logitech keyboard is $900. It’s cheaper than buying a MacBook Air+ iPad ($1300).