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First Hands-On Impressions of New iPad Air 2: Ultra-Thin, Improved Display, Better Camera

Rogifan said:
Fact is 64GB is $100 cheaper than it was before. But I do think Apple should've kept 32GB and removed 16GB.

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The Air 2 has OIS?
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it is but its a year later. its progression not a gift.

times change. requirements change.

i have a few iphones and among them an 8 gig original and a 16 gig 5s. the pictures from the 5s can easily be 5-6 times the size of the ones from the original iphone.
 
rGiskard said:
Not the same camera, the iPad cam has f/2.4 aperture vs. f/2.2 on the iPhone. Smaller pixels than the iPhone as well, so it's a different sensor. iPhone camera is far superior, as it should be.
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No, it should not be inferior. My old iPad 3 is still the best photo taking experience I ever had and my preferred camera for shooting everything. The camera in both iPads should be second to none. Still no flash (let alone TrueTone) in either iPad.

Also no NFC. Yes, I want to use my iPad mini to buy things in stores. And if the damn thing has LTE, why not let me make calls? No wonder tablets don't sell as well, if they get crippled in so many ways compared to smartphones.

It's as if they want to make me a phablet user. :(
 
OrangeSVTguy said:
Just now seeing the updates now and reading about them and I do wonder why Apple never put the A8X in the mini 3 as well? That's what was nice about the Air/Mini2, they shared identical components and only difference was screen size and battery.
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I expect Apple to switch the Mini to a Spring update schedule.

It reduces the burden on their heavy heavy Fall updates, and it gives the iPad Air, a 6 month lead over the iPad Mini where it can have better internals, possibly switching some people from buying a Mini into buying an Air.
 
coolfactor said:
The iPad has always needed vibration, and now they've removed the silence switch altogether?

I was bored by this event today. No mention of a 5K standalone display, and no updates on the Mac Pro.

I know... there's only so much that one company can execute perfectly in 12 months, and Apple has done their best. Kudos to them for what they have achieved.
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You're kidding aren't you, Samsung can achieve ten times as much in 12 months than Apple does. The reason Apple doesn't achieve anything is because it hates spending money.
 
macduke said:
Until humans evolve to the point of 375g being too much for their frail little arms to handle, lol. Yeah I get your point though. It's a natural progression, but what is beyond 375g? I can't wait for new materials that can alter the shape of the device. I want an iPhone that flips open into an iPad.
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And stretches into an 80" 5k TV. :D
 
Gudi said:
No, it should not be inferior. My old iPad 3 is still the best photo taking experience I ever had and my preferred camera for shooting everything. The camera in both iPads should be second to none. Still no flash (let alone TrueTone) in either iPad.

Also no NFC. Yes, I want to use my iPad mini to buy things in stores. And if the damn thing has LTE, why not let me make calls? No wonder tablets don't sell as well, if they get crippled in so many ways compared to smartphones.

It's as if they want to make me a phablet user. :(
Click to expand...
OMG, I've heard about people like you, I just didn't know you existed.
 
Too bad they got rid of the mute/orientation lock switch on the iPad Air, for no other reason than to say that this year's model is .06" thinner than last year's model. We use that switch all the time to lock our current orientation, and using control center to do it is not nearly as quick or convenient. Very disappointed with Apple's hardware decision here. They're stuck in some arms race against themselves to keep making things thinner and thinner, but without Steve Jobs' common sense guiding them, they no longer know how to say enough is enough. (Another example of loss of common sense: they now offer 5 nearly-identical iPad models to choose from, enough to confuse any consumer.)
 
brubeast said:
Apple is so lazy with the iPad, it's getting ridiculous. I just sold mine because I'm tired of this product going nowhere. Where's the multitasking? Why is the interface still no different from the iphone? At least Microsoft is taking risks with the Surface and trying to figure out new ways to be productive on a tablet.

iPad needs a serious rethinking of the UI. It's a big iPhone, nothing more, nothing less.
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I wish I were as "lazy" as Apple is. But seriously, I don't want to create more Excel workbooks, Access databases, or Word documents on my iPad. My iPad is primarily for what I want to do. My work-issued Windows laptop is for "productivity". Worktime: a lot of SQL Server and Windows Server work; Playtime: Mac OS X, iOS, linux, and other unices...

Still, at the health system where I work we have all Windows workstations but all the physicians and clinical staff who see patients have been issued iPads...

I think some of the people who think Apple products are behind the curve may not have scratched beneath the surface (no pun intended) or are just comparing specs.

I haven't tried a Surface. I think it's probably really good. I just haven't tried it yet. Just like lots of car makes are great but I keep buying the same brand every time I get a new car because I've had great experience with the brand, I keep buying mostly Apple stuff.
 
coolfactor said:
The iPad has always needed vibration, and now they've removed the silence switch altogether?
Click to expand...

Not sure why it needs vibration, but then I have never thought about it; for incoming FaceTime calls when you are in the cinema? I used the switch all the time as rotation lock and will miss it when I upgrade, but coming from the iPad 2 there are enough compelling reasons I won't miss it much. Waiting to actually see how well the anti-reflective screen works; I have high, possibly too high, hopes.

coolfactor said:
No mention of a 5K standalone display, and no updates on the Mac Pro.
Click to expand...

The problem with a 5K standalone display is there simply is no way to connect it with the current Mac line-up; kinda pointless to release a screen that your computers cannot hook up to, yes? I suspect the Mac Pros are relegated to silent updates in the future. Who knows, a Mac Pro update with Display Port 1.3 output that supports a 5K standalone might be coming soon(ish) and earn an event.

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scotty321 said:
(Another example of loss of common sense: they now offer 5 nearly-identical iPad models to choose from, enough to confuse any consumer.)
Click to expand...

That caught my attention, too. Hopefully Apple will remember the mid '90s; without Steve, who is going to come in to clean up the mess?
 
Gudi said:
No, it should not be inferior. My old iPad 3 is still the best photo taking experience I ever had and my preferred camera for shooting everything. The camera in both iPads should be second to none. Still no flash (let alone TrueTone) in either iPad.

Also no NFC. Yes, I want to use my iPad mini to buy things in stores. And if the damn thing has LTE, why not let me make calls? No wonder tablets don't sell as well, if they get crippled in so many ways compared to smartphones.

It's as if they want to make me a phablet user. :(
Click to expand...

Best camera is the one you have on you. That's a Smartphone.

Not saying you're usage is invalid, but it isn't representative of how most people use tablets.
 
I just checked Apple's website for the cost of the original iPad Air. The 32 GB model is only $50 more than the 16 GB model at just $449. So they are using the new pricing scheme even for old models. Good for us.:D
 
Duane Martin said:
Not sure why it needs vibration, but then I have never thought about it; for incoming FaceTime calls when you are in the cinema?
Click to expand...

LOL, for those calls they'll need to add bulletproof glass!

That caught my attention, too. Hopefully Apple will remember the mid '90s; without Steve, who is going to come in to clean up the mess?
Click to expand...

Five different iPads, but still no headless iMac. Sigh.
 
scotty321 said:
Too bad they got rid of the mute/orientation lock switch on the iPad Air, for no other reason than to say that this year's model is .06" thinner than last year's model. We use that switch all the time to lock our current orientation, and using control center to do it is not nearly as quick or convenient. Very disappointed with Apple's hardware decision here. They're stuck in some arms race against themselves to keep making things thinner and thinner, but without Steve Jobs' common sense guiding them, they no longer know how to say enough is enough. (Another example of loss of common sense: they now offer 5 nearly-identical iPad models to choose from, enough to confuse any consumer.)
Click to expand...

Agreed, it's a bad decision. I'm not convinced it's due to the thinner though, since it's not hard to imagine a sliding switch the size of the volume buttons. It seems more like a way to pad the profit margin.
 
Thank god it's thinner. Because that is the one thing I care about with Apple products. All of them. Even Apple software, operating systems, Apple logo bumper stickers, Apple employees, Apple shares traded on the NASDAQ...

All of it. Thinner. THINNER. EVER!
 
Still trying to find out whether or not the Air 2 display has that hollow-ish feeling when you tap it as compared to the Air.
 
I don't care how great any iPad becomes. No way am I ever going to start taking pictures with one. I'll wind up looking like Moses coming down from the mountain.

moses460.jpg
 
Nismo73 said:
Still trying to find out whether or not the Air 2 display has that hollow-ish feeling when you tap it as compared to the Air.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm wondering too. I don't like the tap/touch feel of my wife's Air, and am still not sure if this Air 2 is worth upgrading my now-ancient iPad 3 for.

Kinda looking at a Surface Pro 3 with more seriousness, tbh.
 
Nismo73 said:
Still trying to find out whether or not the Air 2 display has that hollow-ish feeling when you tap it as compared to the Air.
Click to expand...

Yeah it felt cheap compared to previous ipads because of that.

That was my first thought when I held it day 1 last year. The lighter weight made it feel like a knockoff or something.
 
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