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First iPad Air Reviews: 'Ridiculously Small and Light', Apple's Most 'Tempting Tablet Yet'

How far we've come... Last year while buying my first iPad I had to figure out which compromise I could live with; iPad Mini with low resolution screen, or powerful but BULKY old style iPad 4.

Now Apple hit TWO home runs... Beautiful light iPad air, or (presumably)the equally beautiful, lighter iPad Mini. No compromise here!!!!!

Sold my iPad 4 yesterday for $450 with smart case, and am getting the Air Friday. silver 64GB wifi. I can't wait!!!!!
 
Reviews on the Air are great, especially enjoyed the in depth detail of Anandtech.

That said, The fact that the Air is still limited to 1GB of RAM, means it is likely not as future proof as some of us would have hoped. I am one of the (apparently) few on here that loves iOS7, but I expect iOS8 and later will have more system requirements going forward, and I hope for the day when we have more Multitasking functionality in iOS than currently available. An iPad (for me) is a multi year device, and with iOS devices now being 64 BIT going forward, I can't see much longevity in a device that only has 1GB of RAM.

It is also frustrating that the base spec is still only 16gb. I personally feel that no tablet (talking Samsung, Apple, etc) has any business being sold with anything less than 64GB of storage. If they do insist on having a low entry price point, don't charge astronomical amounts of money for reasonable flash storage.

This is the first time I have ever felt such huge disappointment with an Apple release. And NO, I am not leaving Apple's fan base, I just don't intend to give them a sale this round. If I didn't have personal misgivings with Samsung (Nothing to do with the Apple v.s. Samsung History mind you), I would be considering a 10.1 .
 
Home Run

And look who's coming up. All year long, they looked to him to light the fire, and all year long, he answered the demands, until he was physically unable to start tonight—with two bad legs: The bad left hamstring, and the swollen right knee. And, with two out, you talk about a roll of the dice... this is it. Sax waiting on deck but the game right now is at the plate. High fly ball into right field, she i-i-i-is... gone!!
 
i could honestly care less, got my 4th generation iPad 32gb with 4g for 200 bucks on ebay. keeping this thing for a long time.
 
If the Retina iPad mini was released at the same time as the iPad Air the comments on this thread would be so different. Other than size what else is left? I find this portion of one review to be the most disturbing:

"In a side-by-side comparison against its immediate predecessor, the new iPad indeed opened apps more quickly and booted up and shut down slightly faster, though not to such a degree that I expect most people to notice."

So basically after the newness of the size wears off your left with a iPad 4. But after the newness of the Retina iPad mini wears off your left with a smaller iPad air. The Retina iPad mini to me is the better buy and it's $100 cheaper. I expect half you guys to return the air once the mini release date gets closer. The iPad Air does not have enough to battle the cheaper Retina iPad mini.
 
It's obvious that the iPhone 6 will have the same design.

It's going to be around 5", with a higher-resolution display, and include a larger camera sensor. Announcement next Fall.
 
Wow!
 

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dannyyankou said:
That's it, I'm getting one. Was undecided at first, but the next generation will probably be only minor changes.
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Make sure you keep the receipt. I'm betting your going to return it for a Retina iPad mini. Your keyword is "undecided". Apple is setting themselves up for some big returns.
 
Squilly said:
That's like saying there will never be another iPhone S model. Hasn't there always been an "X" chip?
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No, the only reason the X models were there was to push more pixels with the revamped GPU. Apple has now moved past that point, the A7 has more than enough GPU power to push a retina display without taxing it.
 
840quadra said:
Reviews on the Air are great, especially enjoyed the in depth detail of Anandtech.

That said, The fact that the Air is still limited to 1GB of RAM, means it is likely not as future proof as some of us would have hoped. I am one of the (apparently) few on here that loves iOS7, but I expect iOS8 and later will have more system requirements going forward, and I hope for the day when we have more Multitasking functionality in iOS than currently available. An iPad (for me) is a multi year device, and with iOS devices now being 64 BIT going forward, I can't see much longevity in a device that only has 1GB of RAM.

It is also frustrating that the base spec is still only 16gb. I personally feel that no tablet (talking Samsung, Apple, etc) has any business being sold with anything less than 64GB of storage. If they do insist on having a low entry price point, don't charge astronomical amounts of money for reasonable flash storage.

This is the first time I have ever felt such huge disappointment with an Apple release. And NO, I am not leaving Apple's fan base, I just don't intend to give them a sale this round. If I didn't have personal misgivings with Samsung (Nothing to do with the Apple v.s. Samsung History mind you), I would be considering a 10.1 .
Click to expand...

I don't mind 16GB base at all. As long as they keep it starting at $499 I'm fine. I would never buy more than 16GB in the iPad and that is because I would only use it at home in which case you need absolutely 0 music and videos on it due to home sharing, and as for apps, you can redownload any you want anytime. Also I don't take pictures and videos on my iPad which means even less space needed. The iPad needs the least storage in my opinion.
 
840quadra said:
Reviews on the Air are great, especially enjoyed the in depth detail of Anandtech.

That said, The fact that the Air is still limited to 1GB of RAM, means it is likely not as future proof as some of us would have hoped. I am one of the (apparently) few on here that loves iOS7, but I expect iOS8 and later will have more system requirements going forward, and I hope for the day when we have more Multitasking functionality in iOS than currently available. An iPad (for me) is a multi year device, and with iOS devices now being 64 BIT going forward, I can't see much longevity in a device that only has 1GB of RAM.

It is also frustrating that the base spec is still only 16gb. I personally feel that no tablet (talking Samsung, Apple, etc) has any business being sold with anything less than 64GB of storage. If they do insist on having a low entry price point, don't charge astronomical amounts of money for reasonable flash storage.

This is the first time I have ever felt such huge disappointment with an Apple release. And NO, I am not leaving Apple's fan base, I just don't intend to give them a sale this round. If I didn't have personal misgivings with Samsung (Nothing to do with the Apple v.s. Samsung History mind you), I would be considering a 10.1 .
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly. Anandtech's review was the one I was waiting for, and while the Air was given lots of praise, the 1GB of RAM was always the elephant in the room. My Mini has met all of my needs, at least until iOS 7. I guess that's by design, and the Air will likely run into the same wall this time next year. I'd want at least 64GB, and $700 for a tablet that will be RAM deficient soon is tough to swallow.

Don't let ruin the party, however. I'm just not feeling it as much as I was two hours ago.
 
o0smoothies0o said:
I don't mind 16GB base at all. As long as they keep it starting at $499 I'm fine. I would never buy more than 16GB in the iPad and that is because I would only use it at home in which case you need absolutely 0 music and videos on it due to home sharing, and as for apps, you can redownload any you want anytime. Also I don't take pictures and videos on my iPad which means even less space needed. The iPad needs the least storage in my opinion.
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I'm sorry but 16gig is played out and 32gig would have made more sense at the $499 price point. That would have also made the decision to buy the iPad Air over the $399 retina ipad mini much easier.
 
HiVolt said:
Heh, as usual the sock puppets give glowing reviews...

I mean, what's really that drastically different other than being lighter and thinner?
Click to expand...

Dude, if you read any of the reviews and this is your response you shouldn't be reading tech sites. So funny!.

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FrankB1191 said:
My thoughts exactly. Anandtech's review was the one I was waiting for, and while the Air was given lots of praise, the 1GB of RAM was always the elephant in the room. My Mini has met all of my needs, at least until iOS 7. I guess that's by design, and the Air will likely run into the same wall this time next year. I'd want at least 64GB, and $700 for a tablet that will be RAM deficient soon is tough to swallow.

Don't let ruin the party, however. I'm just not feeling it as much as I was two hours ago.
Click to expand...

So, you decide 1 G RAM isn't appropriate for this ipad/OS based on what? No tech writer has said it isn't enough. Too funny.
 
mcdj said:
So anandtech is saying 1gb ram, but no mention of how they arrived at that knowledge.

?
Click to expand...

Arcane rituals? Black magic? Any benchmarking software? Who knows! ;)

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bkushner said:
Dude, if you read any of the reviews and this is your response you shouldn't be reading tech sites. So funny!.

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So, you decide 1 G RAM isn't appropriate for this ipad/OS based on what? No tech writer has said it isn't enough. Too funny.
Click to expand...

Maybe it is enough... but we all know we can always use more RAM:). The fact that Apple kept the same amount of RAM for 3 generations of iPad is a little dissapointing to say the least. Specially when the also kept the price untouched.

Probably the A6X was "enough", but everybody is happy A7 is better.
 
I cannot wait!

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cdmoore74 said:
If the Retina iPad mini was released at the same time as the iPad Air the comments on this thread would be so different. Other than size what else is left? I find this portion of one review to be the most disturbing:

"In a side-by-side comparison against its immediate predecessor, the new iPad indeed opened apps more quickly and booted up and shut down slightly faster, though not to such a degree that I expect most people to notice."

So basically after the newness of the size wears off your left with a iPad 4. But after the newness of the Retina iPad mini wears off your left with a smaller iPad air. The Retina iPad mini to me is the better buy and it's $100 cheaper. I expect half you guys to return the air once the mini release date gets closer. The iPad Air does not have enough to battle the cheaper Retina iPad mini.
Click to expand...


Give me a break. What don't you understand that some people prefer a larger screen? I want a 4" iPhone and 9.7" iPad. I DON"T WANT something in the middle. Give up trying to convert everyone to your way of thinking!
 
cdmoore74 said:
I'm sorry but 16gig is played out and 32gig would have made more sense at the $499 price point. That would have also made the decision to buy the iPad Air over the $399 retina ipad mini much easier.
Click to expand...
I suspect it will be a while before Apple makes 32gb base; they just don't want to give up that extra $100. Shame really; it's 2013, flash is cheap, 32gb absolutely should be the minimum. Or at least the price difference between tiers should be smaller (maybe $50)
 
HiVolt said:
Heh, as usual the sock puppets give glowing reviews...

I mean, what's really that drastically different other than being lighter and thinner?
Click to expand...

Faster.
But does any of these things change what you can do with the product? 99% no.
You can't do anything more than before, just can do the same things in a little more confortable way (less weight) and a little faster (it was plenty fast already for almost anything).

That are both good improvements, really, but they don't alter the "soul" of the product in any meaningful way.
 
HiVolt said:
Heh, as usual the sock puppets give glowing reviews...

I mean, what's really that drastically different other than being lighter and thinner?
Click to expand...

So don't buy one. Oh wait your already in line? Yea that's what I thought.
 
bkushner said:
Dude, if you read any of the reviews and this is your response you shouldn't be reading tech sites. So funny!.

----------



So, you decide 1 G RAM isn't appropriate for this ipad/OS based on what? No tech writer has said it isn't enough. Too funny.
Click to expand...

Did you read the Anandtech review. The lack of RAM was mentioned repeatedly. I'm sure most people won't care, but the incrementalism is just too much. My friggin phone has more RAM, and it shows. I'd buy one this weekend, but would feel like a dope when Apple rolls out 2GB of RAM next year.

Last paragraph in Anandtech review:
My only complaints are limited to iOS 7, memory size and pricing. It’s clear that even on the fastest hardware Apple has to offer, iOS 7 isn’t always super smooth (particularly when using multitasking gestures to switch between apps) on an ultra high resolution device. The move to a 64-bit OS and applications makes a lot of sense, but with no corresponding increase in DRAM size Apple creates additional memory pressure on all of the A7 enabled devices. Finally, I’d love to see Apple update the default iPad configurations. Although 16GB is fine for a device that’s not going to be storing a ton of photos/videos locally, it would really be nice to get at least 32GB on the entry level iPad. The first complaint I suspect will be addressed over time. The second is a reality we just have to live with unfortunately, and the third won’t change until market dynamics force it to.

I don't see anything funny about that at all.....
 
bkushner said:
So, you decide 1 G RAM isn't appropriate for this ipad/OS based on what? No tech writer has said it isn't enough. Too funny.
Click to expand...

It's fine for what the iPad currently does, but it doesn't give it any room to expand into bigger and greater things, either.

Let's take one of the things a tablet is perfect for as an example: image editing. The form faction and weight makes the iPad practically built for it. The fact you're editing the image directly, rather than through a medium like a mouse or drawing tablet is what makes it so appealing. Even without a true pressure sensitive stylus, it's pretty nice.

But with 1GB of ram, there's only so much you can do with it. Your images can only be so big. You can only have so many levels of undo. You can only work with so many images at once. You can only have so many layers. All these things are memory intensive, and are crippled by the iPad only having such a small amount to work with.
 
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