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iPad Did You Decide Against Upgrading To The Air 2 And Why??

mattoligy

mattoligy

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 15, 2010
396
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Cloud 9
Ok so I ended up deciding against upgrading my iPad 3 to an iPad Air 2 and would love to hear the opinions of people in the same boat...

I feel even though it is (much) faster, which is very tempting don't get me wrong, it is still an iPad! Just like all the top reviewers have said, other than being faster it doesn't do anything different!

I can't believe I'm turning down 2GB of ram and the A8X as I've been waiting for this day for such a long time, but it just feels like to little to late! What incentive is there for someone with an iPad 3 or later to pay all that money to upgrade to an Air 2 other than speed improvements and reduction is size and weight!?

At the end of the day, the hardware of the Air 2 is great but what good is it with the same old limited os. iOS 8 is seriously holding back the iPad line! And to be honest... It has got old.

How do you all feel about it? What would you like to see software wise that would entice you to lay out more cash on a newer iPad?
 
If your iPad 3 has a nice screen with no dead pixels, cherish it. My new Air 2 has the usual cr4ppy dead pixel screen.
 
The upgrades in the Air 2 I don't really care about. My iPad 2 is great for skype, facetime, and web browsing.

Don't need to spend $1000.00 to save 1.2 seconds of web page loading....
 
I have an iPad 2/3/Air. No need to add another device which essentially operates the same way since the 1st iPad.
 
Did You Decide Against Upgrading To The Air 2 And Why??

My original criteria for upgrading my iPad Air to Air 2 were:

A8X
2gb ram

Both of which were confirmed.

But currently hanging around to see what kind of issues there are, if any, with Air 2 before buying it. Particularly issues such as screen problems. The "vibration" issue that some people have is interesting but no one so far has posted any video to demonstrate how bad it gets. And considering i do use my iPad Air to watch movies when I'm away for work, with volume on max, this could be an important deciding factor for me.

Also after reading various reviews, that Air 2 doesn't confer that much advantage over Air 1, I've turned 50-50. Maybe I can wait for another year to wait for iPad Air 3? Don't know yet.
 
I decided to upgrade from the 3, and just having it less than 24 hours, the 3 is just this giant freaking iPad now. Enjoying it more than the 3, vibrations and all! :p
 
Haven't 100% decided against it but as it's using the same screen tech as the Air it will have the same uniformity issues and I'm not giving up my perfect Ipad 4 screen until I get one of the same quality. Going to get down to a store over the weekend and see what they look like in person.
 
My majority use for the iPad is as follows...

-Web browsing
-Email
-Watching media
-Viewing photos
-Music

Now I can't help but wonder why I need an A8X for that... Sure the power helps with 3d gaming, 4k photo editing and maybe a few other things... But how many people do these things on an iPad and how often? Surely these tasks are better done on a desktop/laptop...

All this powerful hardware is only beneficial if there is powerful software to match, otherwise what's the point!? In short, iOS 8 doesn't need all this power, and I'm not saying it's to much power for an iPad, I'm saying it's not enough os for the power! It's like having a Lambo engine in a Mini Cooper...

iOS is a mobile phone OS... That says it all doesn't it.
 
mattoligy said:
My majority use for the iPad is as follows...

-Web browsing
-Email
-Watching media
-Viewing photos
-Music

Now I can't help but wonder why I need an A8X for that... Sure the power helps with 3d gaming, 4k photo editing and maybe a few other things... But how many people do these things on an iPad and how often? Surely these tasks are better done on a desktop/laptop...

All this powerful hardware is only beneficial if there is powerful software to match, otherwise what's the point!? In short, iOS 8 doesn't need all this power, and I'm not saying it's to much power for an iPad, I'm saying it's not enough os for the power! It's like having a Lambo engine in a Mini Cooper...

iOS is a mobile phone OS... That says it all doesn't it.
Click to expand...

I'd say that for most of us, the iPad is a want and not a need. It makes browsing around the house more comfortable, it's nicer for video chats, and it is helpful with recipes in the kitchen.

For me, until it evolves into a true stand alone device, it is tough to replace with a thinner, faster model. I do believe that as new games become coded for 64 bit, the older 32 bit generations will struggle, but that's a problem for those who game, not someone like me who is a minimal user.
 
mattoligy said:
My majority use for the iPad is as follows...

-Web browsing
-Email
-Watching media
-Viewing photos
-Music

Now I can't help but wonder why I need an A8X for that... Sure the power helps with 3d gaming, 4k photo editing and maybe a few other things... But how many people do these things on an iPad and how often? Surely these tasks are better done on a desktop/laptop...

All this powerful hardware is only beneficial if there is powerful software to match, otherwise what's the point!? In short, iOS 8 doesn't need all this power, and I'm not saying it's to much power for an iPad, I'm saying it's not enough os for the power! It's like having a Lambo engine in a Mini Cooper...

iOS is a mobile phone OS... That says it all doesn't it.
Click to expand...


So is android and it benefits from better specs .
 
Upgraded from iPad 3 to first Air for the lighter form factor. My partner is still using his 3, and whenever I pick it up, it feels heavy and thick. I can't believe I used to hold that clunker for hours! :p

Was leaning toward skipping the Air2, but my boss wanted to upgrade his iPad (he was still using the original iPad), so he bought my Air1 off me, and I'm now looking forward to going home and setting up my new Air2, which just arrived by FedEx.

So anyway, yeah, the faster speed is kind of useless for my usage also, but for me, the upgrade from 3 to either Air is worth it just for the lighter form factor. If portability isn't a priority with you, then I don't see a problem with sticking with the 3 for another year.
 
It's not the hardware that needs to be updated now... It's iOS

Apple could make an iPad that scores 20,000 on geekbench and it still wouldn't matter! Not until we have a better os... And just chucking split screen multitasking in isn't going to make it much better!

If I could jb then somehow install OSX on an iPad Air 2, I'd leave now to go buy one! Can't return to point and click or a laptop form factor but want a real os! Short of buying a surface not sure what else I can do.
 
Last edited:
Like others, I will probably pass on the iPad Air 2. I saw it at the Apple store last night, and it looks like a great device. But, I have a 2014 MBA, and for my use, I can't really justify a tablet as well.

In general, I think the iPad is feeling the pinch from the following:
  • larger iPhones
  • slim lightweight competitively priced MBAs with very long battery life
  • OSX and iOS integration (reducing the need for a tablet as the middleman)
As for the future of iPads (and Tablets in general).....only time will tell.
 
mattoligy said:
It's not the hardware that needs to be updated now... It's iOS

Apple could make an iPad that scores 20,000 on geekbench and it still wouldn't matter! Not until we have a better os... And just chucking split screen multitasking in isn't going to make it much better!

If I could jb then somehow install OSX on an iPad Air 2, I'd leave now to go buy one! Can't return to point and click or a laptop form factor but want a real os! Short of buying a surface not sure what else I can do.
Click to expand...

I think I'd go get the Surface if I were you. You are going to be waiting for a looooooong time if you wait for Apple to bring OS X functionality to the iPads.
 
Mainsail said:
Like others, I will probably pass on the iPad Air 2. I saw it at the Apple store last night, and it looks like a great device. But, I have a 2014 MBA, and for my use, I can't really justify a tablet as well.

In general, I think the iPad is feeling the pinch from the following:
  • larger iPhones
  • slim lightweight competitively priced MBAs with very long battery life
  • OSX and iOS integration (reducing the need for a tablet as the middleman)
As for the future of iPads (and Tablets in general).....only time will tell.
Click to expand...
The larger phones and a 9.7 inch tablet are very different experiences, but I think it affects upgrade path more than whether someone buys their first iPad or not. In other words, if you want something for reading magazines, comics, Photography/Art books, and running photo apps like Lightroom, the larger iPhone isn't a substitute, but it may fill other gaps better than the smaller phones (easier to read Safari, Twitter, Flipboard, etc..).

As a result, I can see the time between tablet updates continue to grow until Apple releases an iOS update that is not compatible with older iPads. The number of people still using only an Original iPad is getting smaller by the day (we have ours in the kitchen) and a big part of that was the lack of iOS updates, so we upgraded.

Personally, I updated from the iPad 3 to the Air2. But it would have been a harder choice had I not maxed out my storage on the 3. Now that I have the Air2, I am so happy I made the change. It just makes for a much better experience overall and I use the thing more than all of my other devices combined when I am at home.

EDIT: Forgot to address the fact that a clamshell and a tablet are very different experiences, which is why I don't use my MBP as often as my iPad and have both of them at arm's length when I am at home.
 
I decided against upgrading my iPad 3. Mainly because there's a strong chance of that bigger iPad Pro early next year. There's no harm in waiting an extra few months and if it turns out there is no Pro version I'll just get a Air 2.
 
I was considering buying myself the Air 2, giving my Air to my wife in order to replace her 3 primarily because I am getting so used to the Touch ID on my phone.

However, both of our devices are working fine for our needs right now (outside of the buggy iOS) and we cannot justify the purchase.
 
Upgraded my iPad 4 16 GB to an iPad Air 32 GB. I would've kept the iPad 4 had I not purchased the 16 GB version. I couldn't justify the extra $150 for the Air 2 at the moment. I don't game often, or use any apps that *need* that much power. I still have 10 days to return my iPad Air should I decide otherwise.
 
Large install base of A6/7 devices means developers won't push the A8X to its limit for a while yet as they target the larger customer base with their apps and the A7 is still a beast of a chip that supports Metal. I see absolutely no reason to upgrade my iPad for a third year in a row.

Still very happy with my Air.
 
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