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changing my iPad Air 1st gen
- Thread starter zoran
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If you want a new iPad, the choices are iPad 9.7”, iPad Pro 10.5”, or iPad Pro 12.9”. If you don’t mind buying a used iPad, consider an IPad Air2. There’s plenty of info on this forum about the pros/cons of each model.
i've had the 12.9 for 2 weeks, upgraded from an air 2 (9.7). impressions:
- 4 speakers better than 2. i like
- the bigger screen is great. cameras are better too.
- battery life is much better. i used to charge my air 2 every day, i can go 3 days on a charge with the 12.9
- apple pencil is cool, not a must have but i like it
- a lot of people complain that the 12.9 is too big. it's fine to me, like holding a magazine
- the a10x chip is faster, though i mainly watch videos and surf the web so the speed difference is marginal
overall, the best buy deal from a few weeks ago ($716 shipped for a 12.9 and apple pencil) was great. my air 2 is retired as a backup.
- 4 speakers better than 2. i like
- the bigger screen is great. cameras are better too.
- battery life is much better. i used to charge my air 2 every day, i can go 3 days on a charge with the 12.9
- apple pencil is cool, not a must have but i like it
- a lot of people complain that the 12.9 is too big. it's fine to me, like holding a magazine
- the a10x chip is faster, though i mainly watch videos and surf the web so the speed difference is marginal
overall, the best buy deal from a few weeks ago ($716 shipped for a 12.9 and apple pencil) was great. my air 2 is retired as a backup.
Air and Air 2 are both 9.7".
If you're looking to spend as little as possible, the 2017 iPad 9.7 ($200-300) is practically an Air 1 with better performance, camera, battery life and TouchID.
The 2017 9.7 iPad is very cheap now because of Black Friday sales. I personally prefer the Air2 but, at the price of the 2017 iPad you can’t go wrong and they have similar performance
What are the differences between the 9.7 iPad 2017 and the Air2? And why do you prefer the Air2?
The Air2 has a better laminated display, is much thinner and just feels more premium even though it’s been around years longer. The 2017 iPad is the iPhone SE of the iPad lineup.
Single core performance is better on the 2017 iPad but multicore is identical. A9 is dual core processor, A8X is a tri-core. Both have 2gb of ram. I’ve used both and any performance difference is barely noticeable.
Answer is just above your post.
2017 (A9) has 2 (faster) cores while the Air 2 (A8X) has 3 (slower) cores.
Oh yes, the Air should've had 2GB to begin with. Alas, Apple tends to be stingy on that front. Just look at the original iPad with A4/256MB while the iPhone 4 was A4/512MB.
That said, A8X is significantly faster than A7 particularly on the GPU front. The A7's GPU was just too weak to handle 2048*1536 resolution given all the eye candy on iOS 7+.
I've only used iOS 11 beta on the 2017 iPad and that performed really well. I've since returned that iPad (wifi only) though and am still looking for a good deal on a cellular model.
The iPad 2017 is going to be a better value than an iPad Air 2. The Air 2 does have a slightly better screen (the display is laminated, which it isn’t on the iPad 2017, and the iPad doesn’t have an anti-reflective coating), but a better processor is the most important aspect. Get a iPad 2017, or an iPad Pro 10.5.
The Air1 didn't have a fully laminated display. Air1 has lower brightness and contrast compared to the iPad2017 but otherwise, the displays feel much the same. Definitely less of a fingerprint magnet compared to the Air2 and Pro, I've noticed.
The Air1 is less of a fingerprint magnet, is that what you mean?
Also i dont understand what are the differences with the Air2's laminated display compared to the iPad2017.
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A non laminated display has a slight air gap between the display and touch screen. It’s not super noticeable but I can tell. Some people I’ve shown can’t tell at all, and some people are super annoyed by it.
A laminated display just means the display and the glass are fused, removing the air gap.
Yep, the Air1 and iPad2017 are more resistant to fingerprints compared to the Air2 and Pro. I'd wipe the Air2 and Pro with microfiber cloth and after 30 minutes of use, they'll be hazy again. That said, a screen protector should help with both those issues (glare on iPad2017, fingerprints on Air2/Pro).
We have the Air2, iPad2017, Pro9.7 and Pro12.9 in our household. I'm quite partial to the iPad2017 owing to the amazing battery life. Even at 80% capacity, I expect the iPad2017 would have same battery life as a brand new Air2/Pro.