iFixit Tears Down iPad Air 2, Confirms Smaller Battery, A8X Chip, and 2GB RAM

[wizard]

IFixit didn't reveal 2GB of ram.

We assume it is 2GB.

It took all of two minutes to find this link: http://www.micron.com/parts/dram/mobile-ddr3-sdram/edf8164a3pk-gd-f?matpart={7D648E18-DBF9-4303-A25D-F57B9E3E2DAB}#faqs

We don't know what part number "Elpida (Micron Technology) F8164A3MD" is, and neither does ifixit. They told us the part number and said there are 2 of them.

The important part, the root defines the basic part. The suffixes which do vary indicate the configuration. Effectively this verifies the correctness of the reports.

There is no listing anywhere for this part, even in Micron's catalog, and so the only thing we can go by are the benchmark software to tell us

Nope, two minutes of searching would have relieved you of this terrible burden of distrust.

 

[wizard]

The battery on the iPad Air 2 is a fail in my opinion,

Honestly your opinion here is worthless. It is hardly a failure to be able to run a vastly improved device on a smaller battery for the same length of time. A rational person would admire the engineering that went into this IPad.

how about making it thinner and also 1 hour more battery. To say it's thinner and also retains the same battery is not spectacular. If they made it thinner and also increased battery by 1 hr now that would be "wow"

It is thinner but vastly improved, that is what makes this iPad spectacular. It is an engineering master piece if you ask me. A faster CPU with an additional core, a faster GPU by a massive amount, more RAM, a better camera, new and improved video processing, new communications hardware & etc. Nothing in Apples lineup got the major overhaul iPad Air got this go around.

All of that accomplished with a smaller battery - spectacular.!###

With every new iPad, they should be bragging that it last's longer than the previous iPad not that it stays the same. It's so odd that they keep making the battery smaller, the device thinner and battery still sucks. I don't get it.

It doesn't suck at all. The thing runs forever on a charge, well at least longer than most humans will be able to use it in a single setting.

I'm waiting for the time when the keynote says: "The #1 item our customer's are asking for is longer battery"

Except no rational person wants a bulked up iPad.

 

[rsocal]

It took all of two minutes to find this link: http://www.micron.com/parts/dram/mobile-ddr3-sdram/edf8164a3pk-gd-f?matpart={7D648E18-DBF9-4303-A25D-F57B9E3E2DAB}#faqs

The important part, the root defines the basic part. The suffixes which do vary indicate the configuration. Effectively this verifies the correctness of the reports.


Nope, two minutes of searching would have relieved you of this terrible burden of distrust.

He needs help, it doesn't get through!

Thanks for helping confirm the numbers and iFixit's tear down report!

 

[wizard]

Why are you insulting other iPad users for wanting better battery life?

Because people complaining about battery life deserve to be insulted. Consider that for a minute.

Honestly people whom here spends more than ten hours a day with their IPads actually using it?

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Right. You assume, but you didn't get that informati from this teardown. All we have is a part number and 2 chips. Then we can deduce what this means.

This post seems to say that ifixit confirmed it was 2GB which isn't true.

Actually they did, for some odd reason you are too stubborn to acknowledge it.

 

[jm001]

There is no antenna because Apple has no intention of ever enabling the iPad for POS terminal use. Interesting, because as mentioned the iPad as a dedicated POS terminal itself should be an interesting proposition for Apple. I wonder if it would only need the NFC antenna and an app or if there is more to it than that, some kind of equipment standard that would need to be met for approval for use as a merchant POS terminal...

Maybe as with other things Apple, they're leaving it up to 3rd parties to come up with hardware add ons to make the iPad NFC POS capable. Look at the battery, they're smaller compared with others but we have companies like Mophie and iBattz creating solutions for this issue. Same with a lack of a microSD slot for extra storage you have other companies creating solutions for this with cases having flash drives built in.

 

[NexusGS]

Just for fun, I am not sure if anyone mentioned it, but in Greek, Elpida means hope.

So people, you can all hope that Elpida is 2GB!

 

[Tycho24]

Not what the reviews are saying.....

To be fair... all I've heard is that Apple promised ten hours, yet this one gets ONLY 11.5..... the last one apparently overdelivered even higher.

 

[erasr]

People picking out faults like 'experts'. Ahh, you sound like the press and poor sport pundits out there.

It's thinner and has a great battery life. Why on earth do you need a battery to last more than 10 hours? You sleep every night....... Charge it.

 

[wizard]

I just don't see why you have to resort to namecalling. Seems rather childish.

And ranting about Apples design choices isn't childish? Frankly you got what was coming to you.

Lack of RAM in iDevices is a perfectly valid complaint that need to be addressed by Apple. Just because they say their devices work fine with 1GB doesn't mean they wouldn't run better with 2GB. (Feel free to ask Safari all about that.)

This I have to agree with.

And the common complaint from people wanting bigger batteries in lieu of smaller devices is also a perfectly valid complaint.

This I can't agree with. You are literally ranting nonsense here. First; the run time on the iPad is the same as the old machine and all machines before it really. Second; how far do you want Apple to go here, maybe a 24 VDC lead acid battery out of a Semi? The problem is the vast majority of people do not want a fat and heavy iPad, if we get the same ten hours, every machine before it got, we will take thinner any day. Third; comfort is a big factor in IPads success. Part of the comfort factor is the devices weight, shaving grams off the iPads weight makes a big deal to most users.

Just because you don't share their opinion doesn't make them wrong.

Sure it does! By definition if some bodies views don't match yours they are wrong. Not to take the discussion off track but this is a big problem in the USA right now we don't deal harshly with those that are wrong leading to the nonsense seen in Furgeson and other city's where lawlessness is the order of the day. When you are wrong it is best to step back and discover why instead of defending the irrational.

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And this is why Apple is going down, a smaller battery would have never happened under Steve Jobs.

Except that it did!

And yes this is another "would not have happened under Steve Jobs" but it's true. This is a set back, not progress. Battery life is ever more important today then it ever was and yet they go back, ridiculous. People do not need smaller form factors, they need battery.

I love my Macbook Pro, but the last few years nothing good has come from Apple (apart from Yosemite, I do like that).

Sure, nothing good in the hottest selling product line going in their segment. Seriously are you that out of touch?

 

[Donoban]

A sheet of A4 is SUPER thin and requires no battery. It looks like Apple is going full circle.

I say put your money into paper manufacturing. I think the shares will rocket in a few years.

LOoooOOOOOOOoooOOOOOOLZ.

iPad Paper

 

[wizard]

Because they're insulting their Apple God, Apple can do no wrong to them, if Apple cut the battery life to 2 hrs they'd still be happy.

Again Apple didn't cut battery lifetime.

 

[bflowers]

Smaller battery but same battery life. If thinness makes the tablet easier to use, then yea go ahead and shrink the battery as long as it gives me the same great battery life.

It doesn't. Some of yesterday's reviews clearly demonstrated a shorter battery life on the new Air.

Stop the 'must make it thinner' crap and make it last. What good is a thinner tablet that is easier to hold if you are tethered to a charger by dinner time? I'll be skipping this generation even though I am in a position to upgrade.

 

[BlindCinema]

For the name of god people, enough with the slim-rage.
It's got 11.5 hours of battery life. Not good enough for you ?

NO! We want paper-thin and 30 days of battery!

I kid I kid! XD

 

[steve-p]

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.

Neither, I'll take a Kindle thanks

 

[rsocal]

Because people complaining about battery life deserve to be insulted. Consider that for a minute.

Honestly people whom here spends more than ten hours a day with their IPads actually using it?

They can't complain about Ram and iPhone 6 Plus "Bendgate" is over!

They're running out of things to complain about, so Apple not improving battery time is the next "Gate" for idiots!

I've always felt iPad's and, especially my iPad Air have had great battery life!

I love that Apple has been able to lighten and thin iPad/iPhone's! Makes them that much more comfortable and easy to carry!

Being able to thin and lighten, keeping battery life great, so much more software efficiency! This is what forces better tech in battery's etc. It forces competition and the constant pursuit of perfection!

If Apple listened to some of the whiners on MR, we would have lots of Ram, big battery's and thick heavy iPads/iPhones. I read a post yesterday, saying the iPad Air 2 is "2010 tech". Really?

This is the mentality that some bring to MR, this is because Apple has added Ram, 3 cores, A8X ballistic processor, fingerprint sensor, 55% faster multi core performance and the fastest tablet by a considerable margin. But battery is close to iPad Air, that brings us back to 2010? Really?:confused

Get in the game people!

 

[wizard]

Multiple sources may say that it is 2GB

My point is saying this "teardown reveals 2GB of RAM" IS NOT ACCURATE.

This teardown gives you an unsearchable part number and the fact that there are 2.

It isn't unsearchable. You can easily, within minutes find the base part number on Elpida's web site. If you want to dig deeper you can register with them for more details.

iFixit themselves didn't even say (it appears to be 2 1GB modules) or anything of the sort, which they usually do. Since the part can't be searched they said nothing about capacity.

Man you post a lot of non sense here.

So this teardown reveals nothing about the actual amount of RAM.

Only its precise size.

 

[rsocal]

And ranting about Apples design choices isn't childish? Frankly you got what was coming to you.

This I have to agree with.

This I can't agree with. You are literally ranting nonsense here. First; the run time on the iPad is the same as the old machine and all machines before it really. Second; how far do you want Apple to go here, maybe a 24 VDC lead acid battery out of a Semi? The problem is the vast majority of people do not want a fat and heavy iPad, if we get the same ten hours, every machine before it got, we will take thinner any day. Third; comfort is a big factor in IPads success. Part of the comfort factor is the devices weight, shaving grams off the iPads weight makes a big deal to most users.



Sure it does! By definition if some bodies views don't match yours they are wrong. Not to take the discussion off track but this is a big problem in the USA right now we don't deal harshly with those that are wrong leading to the nonsense seen in Furgeson and other city's where lawlessness is the order of the day. When you are wrong it is best to step back and discover why instead of defending the irrational.

----------


Except that it did!

Sure, nothing good in the hottest selling product line going in their segment. Seriously are you that out of touch?[/QUOTE

I couldn't agree more with all your points!
Great post!

 

[osofast240sx]

Multiple sources may say that it is 2GB

My point is saying this "teardown reveals 2GB of RAM" IS NOT ACCURATE.

This teardown gives you an unsearchable part number and the fact that there are 2.

iFixit themselves didn't even say (it appears to be 2 1GB modules) or anything of the sort, which they usually do. Since the part can't be searched they said nothing about capacity.

So this teardown reveals nothing about the actual amount of RAM.

because you don't know something makes it not accurate?

 

[wizard]

Strange isn't it!

They can't complain about Ram and iPhone 6 Plus "Bendgate" is over!

They're running out of things to complain about, so Apple not improving battery time is the next "Gate" for idiots!

I've always felt iPad's and, especially my iPad Air have had great battery life!

I love that Apple has been able to lighten and thin iPad/iPhone's! Makes them that much more comfortable and easy to carry!

Being able to thin and lighten, keeping battery life great, so much more software efficiency! This is what forces better tech in battery's etc. It forces competition and the constant pursuit of perfection!

If Apple listened to some of the whiners on MR, we would have lots of Ram, big battery's and thick heavy iPads/iPhones. I read a post yesterday, saying the iPad Air 2 is "2010 tech". Really?

Well I'm hoping that they mean it is about as powerful as an Mac Book Air from 2010-2011. That is certainly true in some regards.

This is the mentality that some bring to MR, this is because Apple has added Ram, 3 cores, A8X ballistic processor, fingerprint sensor, 55% faster multi core performance and the fastest tablet by a considerable margin. But battery is close to iPad Air, that brings us back to 2010? Really?:confused

Get in the game people!

Really! Nothing in Apples entire product line got the upgrade iPad Air got with the recent release. It is a massive and frankly impressive update. Top that all off with idiots that can't even chase down a part number but have the audacity claim iFixit does know what they are talking about.

The funny thing here is that MacRumors seems to be attracting these sorts that lack basic human survival skills. Thankfully AppleInsider has fewer more intelligent users in its forums.

 

[Venoose1]

Can we have some photos please?

Here you go.

 

[fertilized-egg]

Except that you forget to Highlight that exactely that big batter delivered less hours. The reason why people were complaining is that the batteries of those iPads were both bulkier AND less durable.

I know but even that's not exactly true.Many were complaining how heavy, thick and long charging those iPads were. They wouldn't even mention the battery life, just the weight.

Also as a side note, if you used the iPad for audio, hotspot, or if you used it in low brightness, the Retina iPads actually lasted longer because it was mostly the backlight taking up so much of the power.

Here the point is another one: people would love to see an Air 2 with more battery lifetime and same form factor as the original air. More or less the same step which apple did from iPad3 to iPad4.

No, people wouldn't have loved to see it. It just seems like it because there's no other thing to complain about it. If it kept the same thinness and weight, someone would chime in and say how they like the Samsung Tab S or the Sony Z is thinner and lighter.

Edit: I'm obviously wrong. There's the 16GB issue that would've been a bigger story here if it wasn't for the smaller battery.

 

[recoil80]

iPad Paper

Tear Gate here we come

 

[Venoose1]

Can we have some photos please?

And this one.

 

[Will0827]

Is it still being debated whether the air 2 has 2gb of ram still, it seems from the other geekbench results you can find that 2gb of ram is a go. Or is that debate over the the ifixit report.

 

[osofast240sx]

Is it still being debated whether the air 2 has 2gb of ram still, it seems from the other geekbench results you can find that 2gb of ram is a go. Or is that debate over the the ifixit report.

If geek bench was able to confirm that it is a 3core cpu I'm sure that they confirm that it is 2gb ram.