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iFixit Tears Down iPad Air 2, Confirms Smaller Battery, A8X Chip, and 2GB RAM
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How about because Apple decided in 2010 that a target of around 10 hours heavy use meets the needs of the vast majority of buyers, and still does today. So, instead of increasing battery life, it can stay the same and you can get way faster processor and graphics power, a lot more pixels to drive, less weight, shorter recharge times and lower power consumption and still meet the original design brief. Works for me.
"You cant ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, theyll want something new. [Steve Jobs]
Previously? What is "previously"? The iPad Air 1? Because I didn't see anyone complain about the iPad 4 that it couldn't fulfil the above use case. Perhaps there were some people, but they certainly didn't fill a whole thread on any Apple forum.
The iPad Air 1 had an astonishingly good battery life, higher than the first four iPads. Now, Apple is back to the battery life of the iPad 4, and suddenly that battery life is a huge problem.
Please, someone, show me a thread on Macrumors with 300+ entries, where people complain about the battery life of an iPad before the iPad Air. Show me a thread where lots of people complained that their iPad is not sufficient for a long trip. If very very few people complained about the battery life of the iPad 4, then why does everyone complain now about the iPad Air 2, which has the same battery life as that tablet?
I'm not complaining.
I'm showing there is a balance between ultimate battery life and thinness, and that everyone has different wishes so the perfect balance is different for everyone.
If Apple had offered two designs of the iPad Air 2:
*as-is, i.e. with same battery life as the iPad Air
*iPad Air 2 with same form factor as the iPad Air but 20% more batter life...
I would been sitting on the fence... and not only me.
Of course, I applaud Apple pushing the limits, and yes, I think thinness makes beauty (applied to devices.... lol).
I have ordered the iPad Air 2 128 GB Space grey, and I will love it. I just understand that some would prefer better battery life and would sacrifice thinness slightly.
You cannot deny that an iPad Air 2 with 16 hours battery life would be brilliant.
I sure hope Apple are reading this and will get right on it for you, assuming that someone who apparently spends $40 on a tablet is likely or able to spend 10 times as much on a new iPad. And apart from the lack of HDMI, I expect that $40 tablet compares really well. In your head.
Wasn't it Steve Jobs who said, You're holding it wrong.
Wasn't it Steve Jobs who said 3.5" is the perfect size.
I think Apple should build 2 iPads.
One really thin around 1 mm with 2 hour battery life for fanboys.
The other the same thickness as the Air 1 with 20 hour battery life for techies.
Win win.
Oh, has anybody noticed how tinny the sound is on the new Air, and how the sound vibrates through the back.
One really thin around 1 mm with 2 hour battery life for fanboys.
The other the same thickness as the Air 1 with 20 hour battery life for techies.
Win win.
Oh, has anybody noticed how tinny the sound is on the new Air, and how the sound vibrates through the back.
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From Amsterdam to Singapore / Kuala Lumpur takes around 15 - 16 hours. Added the time you waste at the airport (you cannot always find a wall-socket), it would be great to know you have 16 hours of full entertainment.
Of course, this doesn't happen every day!
But, no-one can deny that more battery life is better. Is just about the balance between battery life and thinness, and the prefect balance is different for everyone.
Well, Apple could of course do an experiment: Build the iPad Air 2 and build an iPad with the same specs but the same size and weight as the iPad 1, and with 50% increased battery life.
Then let's see how many people would buy the "iPad Battery" over the iPad Air 2. Let's see if it's even enough for Apple to recoup the R&D cost they had to invest to design that tablet.
Customer goes to the store and see the two tablets next to each other.
Customer: "Hey, why is that thing so heavy?"
Salesperson: "It gives you 16 hours of battery life instead of just 10 or 11."
Customer: "16 hours? I will never use that thing for 16 hours straight. Dude, just hold this in your hand... what good is great battery life if I don't feel like actually using it?"
Salesperson: "Yes, but the battery life!"
Customer: "You know, I have power outlets at home. People sleep at night in my house, so that thing can charge over night."
Salesperson: "The battery life, you idiot!"
Customer: "I actually work, you know? On a good day, I spend three hours of time with my tablet in the evening. So that light one lasts me three days without charging. Minimum. That is a problem?"
Salesperson: "Battery life!!"
When you hold a tablet in your hand and you use it, what are the things you notice? The things you notice are first (and most importantly) the weight and second how thick it is. You do not notice the battery life while using it. Yes, read that sentence again: You do not notice the battery life while using a tablet.
You only notice the battery life when the battery runs out. How often does the battery run out on a tablet with 10 hours of battery life that you use near-exclusively at home? Exactly! And now for the big reveal: The vast majority of users will use the iPad Air 2 near-exclusively at home. The vast majority of users will use the iPad Air 2 for just a few hours per day.
And now the bigger reveal: Apple builds products for the vast majority of users.
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Funny, I just wrote the same thing, except I needed 20 times as many words.
What I still don't get: Why don't these techies use an external battery on their hiking trips to the North Pole?Didn't the initial reviews say that the speakers have been improved?
Nope, can't deny that at all - but I've never even had that on my radar, let alone expected it or missed it in some way, because it's never been shown to me that it can be done at this point in time. Not Apple, not anyone else either. That's the point.
It is actually the opposite. I still marvel at how powerful this little device is and how long it can keep going, just as much as my first iPad 2, if not more so.
Honestly? NO!!!
Well, if those 11.5 hours were the minimum I would be out of my mind amazed...but when your usage includes intensive use of GPS and LTE you will chew up the battery WAY faster then that (definitely less then 6 houres, and that is for the Air...I'll see next week how the Air 2 fares...and if those efficiency enhancements can offset the capacity penalty...)
What realy lets me grind my teath (and that is VERY personal) is that if they kept the battery size AND increased the efficiency of the iPad while using GPS and LTE by >10% I would get a whole working day out of the Air.
Currently when out to customers or having long project days on site I always have to carry an external battery with me to get me through the day...not necessarily the 12.000 mAh that I have, but still.
So while I do aknoledge that my usage may be rather special, I do get the impression that quite a lot of people would love to have just a bit more battery life...
If you are that hard up for a longer battery life, there are many case manufactures that have extended batteries built into the case. Some can give you 20 hours if you need that much operation between charges. Issue is most users will only use their iPad at most four hours between recharges. Apple has surveyed this many times.
A8 uses 50% the power of A7. An iPad running the A8X chip presumably can stand to have a smaller battery.
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I don't think it's fanboys rushing to Apple's aid. People simply know that 10 hours of battery is enough for most people when it comes to weighing up battery life vs thinness. In those niche situations where you want a 20 hour battery, you can buy an accessory that gives you it.
Customers don't always know what they want. Pre iPhone, ask customers what they would want from their next phone, it wouldn't be the iPhone.
The battery life is just as good as the previous iPad, likely due to more efficient use of power. We're geeking out over the numbers, but the user experience will feel the same, 10hrs.
It was a bit noisy in the store so I had the volume up a bit, but it did sound a bit tinny, and the back seemed to vibrate a bit.Well, Apple could of course do an experiment: Build the iPad Air 2 and build an iPad with the same specs but the same size and weight as the iPad 1, and with 50% increased battery life.
Then let's see how many people would buy the "iPad Battery" over the iPad Air 2. Let's see if it's even enough for Apple to recoup the R&D cost they had to invest to design that tablet.
Customer goes to the store and see the two tablets next to each other.
Customer: "Hey, why is that thing so heavy?"
Salesperson: "It gives you 16 hours of battery life instead of just 10 or 11."
Customer: "16 hours? I will never use that thing for 16 hours straight. Dude, just hold this in your hand... what good is great battery life if I don't feel like actually using it?"
Salesperson: "Yes, but the battery life!"
Customer: "You know, I have power outlets at home. People sleep at night in my house, so that thing can charge over night."
Salesperson: "The battery life, you idiot!"
Customer: "I actually work, you know? On a good day, I spend three hours of time with my tablet in the evening. So that light one lasts me three days without charging. Minimum. That is a problem?"
Salesperson: "Battery life!!"
When you hold a tablet in your hand and you use it, what are the things you notice? The things you notice are first (and most importantly) the weight and second how thick it is. You do not notice the battery life while using it. Yes, read that sentence again: You do not notice the battery life while using a tablet.
You only notice the battery life when the battery runs out. How often does the battery run out on a tablet with 10 hours of battery life that you use near-exclusively at home? Exactly! And now for the big reveal: The vast majority of users will use the iPad Air 2 near-exclusively at home. The vast majority of users will use the iPad Air 2 for just a few hours per day.
And now the bigger reveal: Apple builds products for the vast majority of users.
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Funny, I just wrote the same thing, except I needed 20 times as many words.
Didn't the initial reviews say that the speakers have been improved?
I just don't think tech should ever go backwards or stand still, but this seems to be what Tim Cook seems to be doing. This has been a very poor year for advancement at Apple.
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I think they're spending billions on keeping shareholders happy.With their billions in the bank, I hopeare spending a chunk on new battery technology research.
All this fuss about 90 minutes of battery lol just take a battery pack if you need over 10 hours of constant use in between having access to a socket.
I'm not a massive proponent of the thinner aspect but I am in favour of tablets being lighter, and with a larger battery the Air 2 would have gained weight, which would have peed off many more customers than those having a few minutes shaved off an already fantastic battery life, which let's not forget matches all iPads except the Air 1.
Was anyone complaining about the battery life on iPad 1/2/3/4?
No.
I'm not a massive proponent of the thinner aspect but I am in favour of tablets being lighter, and with a larger battery the Air 2 would have gained weight, which would have peed off many more customers than those having a few minutes shaved off an already fantastic battery life, which let's not forget matches all iPads except the Air 1.
Was anyone complaining about the battery life on iPad 1/2/3/4?
No.
Customers are always wrong, just like they hold everything wrong.
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Nobody was complaining about Black and White TVs either.
There are merits for it being thin and light, for example if you use it for reading while laying down. Do you prefer reading a heavy book or a light book in that scenario.
We already have.
Some comments on the other article are "wake me up when it have 4GB of RAM"
Moaning and whining is a part of human nature.
I can agree that it sounds brilliant, but the reality is you have to look at sales. Like when Motorola offered a a Razr and also a Razr with the bigger battery... Yeah, that did well. Or instead, Google phones and tablets with extended battery times, see how many are selling well. People want to buy thin devices, despite how you feel about it, the sales point to that fact.