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

[AppleScruff1]

Heh, as usual the sock puppets give glowing reviews...

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

Anand is hardly anyone's sock puppet. That site provides some of the most unbiased and respected reviews in the industry.

 

[doubleaa]

I'm all for smaller and lighter but this comment from the NY Times review is just ridiculous. If you can notice less than half a pound on your shoulder in a bag you're weak and need to exercise. This guy is a *****.

"The weight reduction and a 20 percent slimmer profile provide other benefits, too. My messenger bag strap didn’t dig into my shoulder as deeply when my iPad was in it."

 

[Marc-SP]

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 .

Bravo!, you said many sensible things (not such a common thing around here, hehe), although I think that many people (eg. my parents), have more than enough with 16GB (they have like a dozen apps and no video or audio in the device). As you mentioned, the problem is more the pricing of the storage upgrade than the base memory.

Regarding the RAM issue, it is specially funny when Apple called iPhone 5s (that has the same issue) "Our most forward thinking product"

 

[gmcalpin]

What you may not know is this: Those 6.4 ounces make all the difference when, as you recline while reading or watching a movie, you conk out and the iPad falls forward to bonk you on the nose. The Air won't hurt you the way the old iPad did.

Hahaha! That happens to me ALL. THE. TIME. Thankfully, I have an iPad mini.

 

[wiz329]

Why is Anandtech at the bottom? His reviews are always the best and most thorough in my opinion.

 

[Renzatic]

Hahaha! That happens to me ALL. THE. TIME. Thankfully, I have an iPad mini.

My biggest problem is that I read on my iPad before going to bed, and when I go to put it up, there's always a line right across my chest where the thing has dug into my skin.

Anyway, I think I'm gonna go for the retina iPad Mini this go-round, and probably stay there if and when Apple decides to release a more do-stuff oriented 10+ inch tablet.

 

[TyPod]

The Air looks awesome. If I was in the market for a new iPad, I definitely would go Air over the Mini.

 

[topmounter]

My messenger bag strap didn't dig into my shoulder as deeply when my iPad was in it. -Damon Darlin, NYT

Wow, really? He must be one of the humans from WALL-E. I've carried my 1st-gen iPad in my bag with my 13" MBA and forgotten it was in there.

 

[onthecouchagain]

Won't deny the iPad Air is a beauty. No surprise the reviews are glowing.

 

[bobright]

Wow, really? He must be one of the humans from WALL-E. I've carried my 1st-gen iPad in my bag with my 13" MBA and forgotten it was in there.

What a pathetic slob he seriously went there?!

 

[Jaro65]

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 .

Of course, Apple will be very happy to sell you an iPad Air 2 next year with a Touch ID and 2 GB RAM.... Otherwise you would be just happy with your iPad Air, rather than feel inclined to continuously drive their revenue stream. This is the name of their game, and we know it. We may hate it, but we all decided to play along.

 

[inhalexhale1]

Damon Darlin, The New York Times

What you may not know is this: Those 6.4 ounces make all the difference when, as you recline while reading or watching a movie, you conk out and the iPad falls forward to bonk you on the nose. The Air won't hurt you the way the old iPad did.

The weight reduction and a 20 percent slimmer profile provide other benefits, too. My messenger bag strap didn't dig into my shoulder as deeply when my iPad was in it. My hand didn't cramp up while grasping the iPad Air for an hour while watching movies or playing games.

Thank you, Damon Darlin, for giving me such an incredible laugh.

 

[Jaro65]

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!!

You need to make sure you're following your prescription.

 

[Motawa]

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

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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.

Ram lets you have opened more apps in the background... And I really like that.

 

[jmgregory1]

I kept telling myself (which is another issue to discuss - the fact that I am talking to myself about this in the first place) that I didn't really need a new iPad and that I'd be better off just investing in a new MBA (the MacBook Air kind of MBA). But it just looks so great and the weight savings is really significant.

Maybe I can justify getting it (and a mini retina) so that I can create our new wood wraps for them right away. Yes, that's what I'm going to do...work related expense for both iPads!

 

[shadow puppet]

Going from my iPad 1 to iPad air is definitely gonna be interesting.

Going from no iPad to the Air is going to be interesting.
Not to mention a heck of a lot of fun.

 

[Jaro65]

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.

Right. Just like a Core 2 Duo machine is basically the same as the Haswell-based machine. I mean, it's a little faster and the battery lasts a little longer, but so what? Can you really do anything on the latter that you can't do on the former?

 

[Plutonius]

Will the Air have more RAM, or are the specs essentially the same, what do you predict?

Both have an A7 so they will probably have the same RAM (I'm betting on 1GB).

 

[iEnvy]

Won't deny the iPad Air is a beauty. No surprise the reviews are glowing.

I see you finally came out of the "Alternatives to iOS and iOS Devices" forum for a visit.

 

[LordQ]

I'm still using the iPad 1 and I really want to upgrade but... Should I wait next year for an iPad with Touch ID? Would it worth the wait?

 

[olowott]

This is it - My most prayed for update since the iPad 2

 

[onthecouchagain]

I see you finally came out of the "Alternatives to iOS and iOS Devices" forum for a visit.

The android tablet experience simply isn't as buttoned up as the android smartphone experience. I still have my eye on iPads. It's a damn shame the iPad mini retina got bumped up in pricing. Would have really considered returning to iOS for my tablet uses.

I guess I also don't mind waiting for iOS 8 either. There are still plenty iOS can do better and add. That keyboard for example...ugh.

Coincidentally, I think 2014 will also be a big year for the iPhone. I'm looking forward to seeing what they bring to the table.

 

[Sneakz]

The weight reduction and a 20 percent slimmer profile provide other benefits, too. My messenger bag strap didn't dig into my shoulder as deeply when my iPad was in it. My hand didn't cramp up while grasping the iPad Air for an hour while watching movies or playing games.

Oh boo hoo.

 

[mediababy]

Apple fan for decades, cant buy it until stylus like S Pen.

I would love to buy it, just for Garageband & integrating with all of my macbooks & desktops, but my Samsung Note 10.1 does the touch sensitive writing /drawing alot easier and with total palm rejection. Android apps suck in comparison, but they do have the drawing/writing thing down cold and great Evernote implementation.

Cmon apple just admit Steve was wrong on the pressure sensitive stylus and implement it.

Students everywhere will thank you.

 

[Justan00b]

Hope this doesn't seem TOO petty...

When I was reading your comment I was gonna call you a N00b in my reply but I see that very fittingly you already have that in your name. As me and some of the experienced forum members have been discussing, the A7 in the 5S is most likely underclocked for thermal reasons so it's not performing at its full potential. Does that make sense to you or should I try and explain it another way?

Lol, had to dig up this quote.
This pretentious dude sneeringly attempted to hand me my own ass for saying that the iPad benchmarks likely wouldn't whup on iPhone benchmarks b/c they share the EXACT same cpu/gpu, but iPad is pushing FAR more pixels.
I had a gloat moment when Anand posted his review, proving me right & exposing Mr. Priyamsingh as the bullying/belittling wannabe know-it-all that he apparently is.
Thank you Anand!!!!!! =)
(btw, congrats on being so "experienced")