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iPad Cheap feeling screen on iPad Air

iPad Air 128GB Wifi or iPhone 5S 32GB

This hollow and cheap screen feeling has me seriously considering returning my 128GB WiFi iPad Air ($799 + tax) and getting an iPhone 5S instead - mainly for the improved camera. I was previously using an iPhone 5 32GB and a 3rd generation iPad 64GB w/LTE.

While I had originally thought just keeping the iPhone 5 and getting a new iPad Air would be the way to go, now I'm thinking that getting a 32GB iPhone 5S and just keeping the "iPad 3" might be the better deal for me. It would also be about $50 cheaper in the long run. This cheap feeling/loud sounding screen really is a serious bother to me - probably even a deal breaker. Honestly, to me, the iPad Air simply doesn't feel as "premium" as the price I paid for it. Compared to my iPad 3, the Air feels like a cheaper toy version. I, for one, have a problem with that.

I still have about 10 days to debate my decision. But, I doubt it'll take that long for me to decide.
 
Cheap vs premium, light vs heavy is no issue i think but i wonder how durable and strong it is against the older ones. I hope to see some tests about how they compare in strength. May be there are some drop tests in progress out there.
 
DanTSX said:
iPad Air: unapologetically plastic

----------

Feel is important. For example, an iMac mouse with 1/4 of it's current mass would feel terrible. There has to be mass. There has to be substance. There has to be balance.

You guys ever feel the new ceramic switches that are an option in some Mercedes Benzes?

You wouldn't care if the switches weighed 5 lbs each. They feel damn good. Weight, if done right, is desirable and premium.

Apple had intended to remove the substantial "feel", and leave you only with the remaining "air".


Instead, they have made a cheap toy feeling device.


Steve would never had allowed this.
Click to expand...

It doesnt matter what Steve would have done, he is long gone.

I have the iPad Air and its a stunning device, no two ways about it. Thanks though for signing up recently, Im sure you will add a lot to the discussion. :D
 
nemesis4670 said:
Another weirdo thread. The glass is thinner and the device is thinner. So of course it will have more flex. It doesn't flex with real use... only if you're pushing on it to prove a point.
Click to expand...


Agree, too many people who don't know what to buy, too many kids who think they know anything, too many android/surface trolls.... Threads like this is extriemly pointless and funny, it is glass but thinner glass. How else glass should feel? Touch your house window and than touch mirror, do they feel the same even both made with glass?
 
I picked up a Space Gray - 32 Wifi Air Sunday. Love it. The first thing I also noticed was the "hollow" sounding screen when you touched it. Much different than previous versions. Doesn't bother me as I know the glass is much thinner and just as strong, if not stronger than previous versions. It's such a great device. So thin and light it's pretty amazing what they've done.

My only gripe is the color scheme. I wish they did a black front, silver back. Space Gray is ok, just not a huge fan of it.
 
Some interesting info on the iPad Air display:

For the touchscreen bit, there’s a new type of sensor known as a cycle-olefin polymer (COP) sensor that sits underneath the outer layer of Gorilla Glass that users touch. What used to require two layers of glass now requires only one. The result, the whole assembly measures out to 1.8 millimeters thick versus 2.23 millimeters on the third-generation model.

So the screen is 1 compressed layer of gorilla glass rather than 2. Not plastic.
 
rockarollr said:
This hollow and cheap screen feeling has me seriously considering returning my 128GB WiFi iPad Air ....
Click to expand...

I don't notice any difference in the 'hollowness or cheapness' of the screen between the iPad Air and my original iPad 1.

It might be that I'm using a case on my iPad Air. Maybe the case makes the iPad Air thicker or somehow muffles the sound so I don't notice this issue?
 
What do people want from Apple? If they released an Air that was two ounces heavier because of an extra layer of glass then there would be a bunch of threads screaming bloody murder that it was too heavy. There are going to be some compromises in aesthetics to reduce overall size and weight while keeping the same screen dimensions. I have a iPad 3 and an Air. Used both last night. Yes there is a bit of a clacking sound on the Air. SO WHAT! It's lighter faster and runs cooler. I'm sure after a week or two I won't even notice.

James
 
I've been sharing my husbands iPad 4 since I sold my mini a month ago. I've had my Air for 4 days, and while I agree that the screen feels different, it doesn't feel 'cheap' to me compared to the iPad 4. The thing is that the whole iPads feel different, so the iPad 4 feels heavier, but solid, and the Air feels much lighter, smaller, with a different feel on the screen. I very quickly got used to the Air, and I love it. I type a lot, and I'm very happy with the feel of the Air.
 
DanTSX said:
iPad Air: unapologetically plastic

----------

Feel is important. For example, an iMac mouse with 1/4 of it's current mass would feel terrible. There has to be mass. There has to be substance. There has to be balance.

You guys ever feel the new ceramic switches that are an option in some Mercedes Benzes?

You wouldn't care if the switches weighed 5 lbs each. They feel damn good. Weight, if done right, is desirable and premium.

Apple had intended to remove the substantial "feel", and leave you only with the remaining "air".


Instead, they have made a cheap toy feeling device.


Steve would never had allowed this.
Click to expand...

The first few times people posted this, it encouraged me to think- hmm, how would Steve have reacted?

Over two years later and 10,000 repetitions of this same phrase, it means absolutely nothing.
 
I had a 65 Chrysler once

Man was THAT thing built. I then bought a Turbo Saab, which was very bad at surviving collisions with tanks and immovable objects.

(it did have seat belts a though:) )
 
Last edited:
DanTSX said:
You guys ever feel the new ceramic switches that are an option in some Mercedes Benzes?

You wouldn't care if the switches weighed 5 lbs each. They feel damn good. Weight, if done right, is desirable and premium.
.
Click to expand...

Oh please :rolleyes:

Just have your valet carry it for you :D
 
Cheap and plasticy indeed

barachus said:
anyone else feels the screen seems a bit cheap and plasticky?
it has an annoying cheap plastic tapping sound whenever you tap on it, it doesnt feel quite as solid and premium as my ipad 3
Click to expand...

I have, in front of me, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad mini, and iPad air.
The first thing I noticed about the air is the annoying hollow sound you get when tapping the screen. I immediately compared it to the iPad 3 and the 3 is much more solid. In reading the this post I was prompted to compare it to the mini as well. The mini compared to the 2 and 3 does feel less solid, but the air is a new level of hollow cheap feeling.
I am certainly not impressed. I have always been attracted to the apple products not only because they suit my needs but the quality of the build.
I have seen a decrease in this build quality with the iPhone 5. I am all for smaller and lighter but if it comes at a cost to the quality and durability of the device then I will gladly take the heavier.

Geez this hollow tapping is really annoying!!!!!!:mad:
 
Dalaa.bacho said:
I have seen a decrease in this build quality with the iPhone 5. I am all for smaller and lighter but if it comes at a cost to the quality and durability of the device then I will gladly take the heavier.
Click to expand...

Since when does so-called "screen hollowness" equate to lower build quality? I'll bet you judge the quality of an automobile by kicking the tires. The iPad Air was released one week ago and you already question it's durability? Questioning the iPad Air's quality and durability by the sound it makes when you tap the screen is rather ridiculous don't you think?
 
It definitely has a sort of squishy spongy feel as I noted in my review. An easy way to tell is to tap the bezel then tap the screen. It's a continuous piece of outer glass but the two areas feel completely different to the touch.

Still keeping mine :)
 
Hmm...I've been using the Air for a week now and not once have I questioned the durability. Seems to me there are people purposely looking for flaws rather than just enjoying the device. Does the different feel of the screen really prevent you from enjoying the device?
 
It's the same as the Ipad Mini, feels weird coming from an Ipad 4 but you forget about it after the first day.
 
This discussion is no different than the ones probably had by the first cops to wear kevlar bullet proof vests after years of wearing lead vests.

Ask cops now if they'd go back to a lead vest. You might get one or two who'd say they miss the solid feeling of a lead vest, but the vast majority would laugh if you offered to switch them back to lead.

Same with the iPad Air screen. A few people are clinging to the feeling they got used to from using a thicker heavier iPad with thicker heavier glass. The new thinner glass is doing its job just as well as the thicker glass, and if you factor in weight and thickness, it's doing its job better.

Get used to it folks. It's called progress. Houses aren't 4 foot thick adobe brick walls anymore. Rain coats aren't 20 pounds of vulcanized rubber. Car bumpers aren't 500lbs of chrome. Things get lighter. They feel different. It's ok. Let it go.
 
irnchriz said:
Try exercise or just man up.
Click to expand...

It's not that simple, I'm afraid. It may take a LOT of exercise to cope with the static strain of holding a 1-pound-device with one hand, depending on how you're holding it. It affects the tendons before the muscles, and the more you "man up", the worse.

In the 90s, people started getting wrist pain from using computer mice. Some of them got severe problems because of unergonomic positions, although a mouse isn't heavy. Is exercise all they really needed?

Here is the core of the problem: it depends on how you're holding it. I would say that an iPad mini offers a wider range of how you can hold it for prolonged periods without getting wrist pain, than a full-size iPad does. This is not only about weight, it's also about physical dimensions.
 
threelions said:
It's the same as the Ipad Mini, feels weird coming from an Ipad 4 but you forget about it after the first day.
Click to expand...

Going from a 3 to a mini is way more noticeable than 3/4 to Air. Some people in this thread are just wingers. Too heavy too tappy too hollow, give me a break:rolleyes:
 
This is probably one of the more ridiculous threads I've seen. Especially for people returning based on the "feel" of the glass. lol.

If there was some problem with touch response/accuracy, I would be right there with you. Hell, I am pretty vocal about the dark shadow/yellow tint issues on the screens. Those actually affect usage. But a screen that "feels" different? Wow.
 
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