It's really gone under the radar because it's not much of an upgrade on paper, but it's one of the best Apple devices I've ever owned.
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iPad Awesome iPad Air 2
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Honestly, the TouchID was the least important improvement to me. I actually have it turned off because I don't like having a locked screen on my iPad.
The biggest difference, honestly, is the speed due to the combination of the silicon, additional RAM, and I suspect, faster NAND. There are just all sorts of instances where these small differences add up to a much more fluid experience. Programs no longer have a lag while they refresh from memory as you switch. Browsers keep even a large number of tabs static for long periods of time. It just feels that much closer to using a real computer, except better, because those 'real computers' that have been turned into tablets work nowhere near as smoothly as this.
See above. As a tablet, not a laptop replacement, the iPad is still orders of magnitude better than anything else out there, and this is undoubtedly the best one yet. I really don't care about split screen multi-tasking because that's just not how I use my iPad. If you honestly think Android or Windows tablets are that much better, you either have a totally different use case, in which case that's fine, you just need to recognize it, or you haven't actually owned a wide range of tablets as I have.
It is interesting to note that the incredible fluidity experienced on the Air 2 is purely due to hardware improvements and has far less to do with software. This is in sharp contrast to my experience with Yosemite, which has rendered the GUI on my 2013 rMBP laggy, jittery and buggy, a far cry from the immediate improvements that Mavericks brought. In this case, it is purely an issue of software optimization or lack thereof. I guess more of a case of Jony boy's contribution to OS X.
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For all of those that can't see/understand the vast hardware improvements that the Air 2 has brought, who am I do argue with you? Please keep using the gen 1 Air if that is what truly makes you happy. To each his/her own.
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For all of those that can't see/understand the vast hardware improvements that the Air 2 has brought, who am I do argue with you? Please keep using the gen 1 Air if that is what truly makes you happy. To each his/her own.
Honestly I think many of them are mad that their hardware is now considerably inferior. This happens every year, but this year the device specs have really jumped ahead. For many people it probably won't matter, but for those of us who are heavy iPad users, we immediately notice the improvement in the Air 2 and understand how more RAM means this thing will be supported for a good long time. We also understand that it's rather likely we will get split screen multitasking in a software update, as the underlying code has already been found in the iOS simulator and made to partially work. Whether it comes in 8.2, 8.3, or 9.0 we don't know. But it's coming. And 2GB of RAM goes a long way towards making that happen.
and Touch ID on the iPad is a huge bonus.
Wait what ? Does the iPad Mini 3 does not have a Touch Id Sensor ??
I wouldn't say "mad". Everytime a new product is released that has some updates owners of the previous generations don't just go into a rage and light a bucket filled with kittens on fire or something. I see plenty of very happy iphone 5 users, previous gen iPad users, and lots of other content people.
Air owners like me are simply very pleased with our device and it's been serving us well. The updates weren't compelling enough for me and I'm turned off by the vibration issue that can be felt through the screen. Not OK with me. I didn't care about Touch ID or camera upgrades either. More ram is cool and so is the new chip but my Air isn't slow so that stuff didn't matter as much to me.
Besides, we could argue that Air 2 owners have to "sell themselves" on why they bought it or somehow justify it so they feel better. Same idea, just in reverse. It's all good, bro.
Awesome iPad Air 2
i love mine. Just got it from ups 1 hour ago. 64 gb iPad Air 2 gold wifi only. Reason why I got the wifi only is because I got the iPhone 6 to tether.
i love mine. Just got it from ups 1 hour ago. 64 gb iPad Air 2 gold wifi only. Reason why I got the wifi only is because I got the iPhone 6 to tether.
The battery life of the iPhone 6 (non-Plus) is too short for tethering for the iPad.
I tether using my iPhone 5 and it does fine if I don't need to use it for too long. Typically I'm not in situations where I want browse the web for a while or download something on my iPad and I don't have wifi available.
Plus you can always get one of those rechargeable battery cases for the iPhone.
Nah, it's fine. Get an external battery if that really does bother you, but it's not going to be too short to be useful.
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Love the red and gold! (my current setup as well). The Smart Cover works brilliantly with the Air 2 also. Enjoy!
Well I finally bit.
Swore I wouldn't upgrade from my Air1 to the Air2 (not substantial enough of an upgrade, my Air1 works just fine, Air1 is thin enough, fast enough, blah blah blah)
But couldn't pass up the opportunity Best Buy was offering me. With my trade in, and a gift card, the total paid price for my SG Air2 64GB WIFI out the door was $212 (including tax)
Absolutely loving it!
Just the difference in thinness is absolutely huge for me. I can actually use this thing one handed now (my fingers can now wrap around the whole device one handed thanks to the slimmer profile). Plus the weight difference is noticeable.
Compared to my Air1, this thing is zippy. And the the screen has a much sturdier feel to it. Doesn't have that hollow tapping sound my Air1 had.
didnt think they could make it any thinner than my Air1. Really feels like I'm holding a flat panel screen, rather than a tablet with battery/cpu behind it.
Probably couldve done without the upgrade, but so glad I did!
Swore I wouldn't upgrade from my Air1 to the Air2 (not substantial enough of an upgrade, my Air1 works just fine, Air1 is thin enough, fast enough, blah blah blah)
But couldn't pass up the opportunity Best Buy was offering me. With my trade in, and a gift card, the total paid price for my SG Air2 64GB WIFI out the door was $212 (including tax)
Absolutely loving it!
Just the difference in thinness is absolutely huge for me. I can actually use this thing one handed now (my fingers can now wrap around the whole device one handed thanks to the slimmer profile). Plus the weight difference is noticeable.
Compared to my Air1, this thing is zippy. And the the screen has a much sturdier feel to it. Doesn't have that hollow tapping sound my Air1 had.
didnt think they could make it any thinner than my Air1. Really feels like I'm holding a flat panel screen, rather than a tablet with battery/cpu behind it.
Probably couldve done without the upgrade, but so glad I did!
Well I finally bit.
Swore I wouldn't upgrade from my Air1 to the Air2 (not substantial enough of an upgrade, my Air1 works just fine, Air1 is thin enough, fast enough, blah blah blah)
But couldn't pass up the opportunity Best Buy was offering me. With my trade in, and a gift card, the total paid price for my SG Air2 64GB WIFI out the door was $212 (including tax)
Absolutely loving it!
Just the difference in thinness is absolutely huge for me. I can actually use this thing one handed now (my fingers can now wrap around the whole device one handed thanks to the slimmer profile). Plus the weight difference is noticeable.
Compared to my Air1, this thing is zippy. And the the screen has a much sturdier feel to it. Doesn't have that hollow tapping sound my Air1 had.
didnt think they could make it any thinner than my Air1. Really feels like I'm holding a flat panel screen, rather than a tablet with battery/cpu behind it.
Probably couldve done without the upgrade, but so glad I did!
You have really big hands!
This was the #1 reason I retuned mine (followed by vibration).
It was great! Thinner, lighter, faster....same. I even started a thread on it. It was an upgrade in every way from my ipad 3, yet it only did what my 3 did. I was very underwhelmed. The $1000 purchase didn't enable me to do anything more than my 3 did. Only faster and smoother, which is enough for some people, but not for me. I was banking on split screen multitasking, not that failed. Now I fear it may be an "iPad Pro" exclusive feature if such a product ever materializes.
I bought one just to have a tablet to organize ****, and it's worked out well for me so far.
Gotta say, I'm really liking iPad apps.
Gotta say, I'm really liking iPad apps.
I love my Air 2! I was nervous about the screen complaints. Love mine. It's beautiful. And I love the Smart Cover with it as well. It wraps around the back perfectly flat.
It's off topic here but Yosemite has actually sped up my old 2009 MacBook Pro, so don't go thinking there's no optimisation in there..
Received my 64g Air 2 Cellular yesterday and it is fabulous. It's unbelievably fast and no issues with the screen. It does vibrate on higher volumes but is not an issue for me with my usage patterns.
I went from iPad 3 so it's a huge jump for me and the 2g's of RAM make a huge difference.
Also, I ordered it from the AT&T store on Tues 11-4, it shipped that afternoon and arrived at my house on 11-7.
I went from iPad 3 so it's a huge jump for me and the 2g's of RAM make a huge difference.
Also, I ordered it from the AT&T store on Tues 11-4, it shipped that afternoon and arrived at my house on 11-7.
I have not found this to be true at all. I tether my six all the time.
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From the 3?!? The 3 was heavy and too large. The air 2 is a huge upgrade from the three in just about every way.
What exactly are you wanting to do on an iPad that you can't do right now? I honestly don't think split screen multitasking will ever work well on an iPad sized device there just isn't enough screen real estate. Have you seen the android devices that do that (via mod or I think Samsung can do this native for some apps)? Yea no thanks.
Are you sure what you really want isn't an MacBook (or some other laptop)? I personally don't want them to add anything that compromises the tablet experience. I don't want useless bloat.
As far as vibration I was worried about this then tried it out. As usual people are making a big deal out of absolutely nothing. The speakers are simply better and louder with more bass. What would you have them do? Not make it sound better?
The air is borderline defective with the constant tab/app reloads. The air 2 fixes this problem.