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iPad Buying Advice: iPad 4 Refurb or Ipad Air

T

TigerNation10

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 15, 2010
47
0
In the market to purchase my first iPad. I am a college student and looking to use it for eBooks, PDFs, standard browsing and app use. Taking/storing photos and storing tons of songs is not something I plan to do a lot of (keeping that for iPhone) so I don't believe a lot of storage is necessary for me.

I'm debating between the refurbished iPad 4 ($379 16GB, $449 32GB) and the iPad Air ($499 16GB). Which is the better value? Worth the extra dollars for the Air?
 
Get the Air. If money is a concern, get the Air. You will be able to keep it longer and it will have more support for updates.
 
I went with the refurbished iPad 4 over the Air. I actually prefer the more substantial design, and I saved 170 dollars on a 64 GB version. Since I use the iPad almost exclusively at home, the difference in weight and size mean nothing to me. Plus, I consider the Air a "Gen 1" product. I'll upgrade when all the bugs have been worked out.
 
If money is a major factor I'd say go with the iPad 4. The Air has a faster processor and a different design, but in practical use they're pretty much the same. They also have the same amount of RAM which seems to be the limiting factor for the iPad right now (although I hear a lot of that will be remedied in 7.1). Either way you can't really go wrong, but if money is a factor and you don't mind a heavier (and some would say more substantial) device, go with the iPad 4.
 
I was in the same boat a few months ago. I was all set to beat the system and get a refurbed 4th gen unit. Then, I went to best buy and played around with the Air. I came home with one that day. Unless you can the 4th gen for a huge amount less I'd get the Air. It's just a better device all around.
 
I think the Air is so much nicer, that unless you get some serious mark downs on the iPad 4, you'll be better off.

I don't know what the future holds with 64 bit cpus but you'll have one and not worry about that.
 
As of 11/25/14


Refurbished iPad Air Wi-Fi 32GB - Space Gray $389.00



Refurbished iPad Air Wi-Fi 128GB - Space Gray $529.00
 
TigerNation10 said:
In the market to purchase my first iPad. I am a college student and looking to use it for eBooks, PDFs, standard browsing and app use. Taking/storing photos and storing tons of songs is not something I plan to do a lot of (keeping that for iPhone) so I don't believe a lot of storage is necessary for me.

I'm debating between the refurbished iPad 4 ($379 16GB, $449 32GB) and the iPad Air ($499 16GB). Which is the better value? Worth the extra dollars for the Air?
Click to expand...

Definitely the air.
 
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