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

[AllergyDoc]

No, what I meant was 16 with the Air was significantly more than any previous iPad, previous iPads that were all thicker than the Air. If thinner means worse battery life how did the a Air get do better than the iPad 1/2/3/4.

Ah, got you.

 

[atlatnesiti]

My problem with that is exactly that.....SAME battery life as in 2010.

why aren't we at 12 or 14 hours by now?

Yeah, Apple should have increased the thickness of iPad Air by an inch, increase the weight to 3 kilograms and slap in the battery that would last a week...
LoL
Btw; My Air 2 LTE lasted for 11.5 hours of use on a single charge, mega happy with that.

 

[BruiserB]

So what do those of you who want longer battery life want? Apple could make it as big as the iPad 1 and give you 24 hour battery life....is that what you expect?

Obviously Apple feels 10 hours has been good and appreciated by most customers. It's enough for a full work day.

Seems to me if you have a special need for more and are willing to carry more weight, then you should buy a rechargeable backup battery that you can connect when you need more juice.

The rest of us can enjoy a thin/light iPad with as great of battery life as it ever had.

 

[DeadSeaMac]

Imagine how thin it's going to be once they get rid of the battery altogether!

Then we'll have Bendgate II

 

[Rogifan]

My problem with that is exactly that.....SAME battery life as in 2010.

why aren't we at 12 or 14 hours by now?

I'll be curious to see if Nexus 9 owners in the alternate iOS forum complain about it's 9-9.5 hour battery life. Why is iPad battery life all of a sudden a thing? Hardly anyone has an Air 2 in their hands yet everyone's freaking out over its battery life.

 

[haruhiko]

Well, I use one every day, and I know I for one am generally compelled to rest it on something when using it, be it my other hand, my belly, whatever, just as I do a book, but not a magazine. I still have to with the Air 2, but less. To me that means there's still benefit to making it even lighter (although fineness may be enough now).

The Air 1 is still too heavy to me for continuous holding. The weight of the iPad mini is just right, but they chose not to update it this year, so they've lost a sale from me. I'm not buying any iPad this year.

 

[s2mikey]

Read this article to understand the importance of iPad Air 2's thinness;


http://techpinions.com/the-ipad-air-2s-huge-upside/35974

In a nutshell, it's about making it easier and more comfortable to hold for long periods of time.

But, one mm thinner and .04 pounds lighter is hardly going to change the ability for most people to hold it longer. That's why I don't get all the fuss over the new dimensions. They aren't THAT big of a deal versus the already svelt and comfortable Air.

 

[haruhiko]

But, one mm thinner and .04 pounds lighter is hardly going to change the ability for most people to hold it longer. That's why I don't get all the fuss over the new dimensions. They aren't THAT big of a deal versus the already svelt and comfortable Air.

The loss in weight and thickness seem not enough to compensate for the 1/5 loss of battery life.

 

[Rogifan]

Yeah because I run into people every day complaining the thing is way too heavy and cumbersome.

I use my Air a lot for reading and after a while my arm gets tired. If the Air 2 allows me to read longer with my arm not getting tired then I'm all for that.

----------

The battery life is still good, but it's disappointing to see Apple increase the battery life in the iPhones and decrease the life in the iPad. It doesn't make sense why they wouldn't increase both, especially with all of their negative battery press recently.

iPhone 6 has that much better battery life than the 5S?

 

[Monique1]

So what do those of you who want longer battery life want? Apple could make it as big as the iPad 1 and give you 24 hour battery life....is that what you expect?

I'm in!

And I've never gotten anything close to 10 hours from an iPad.

I use my Air a lot for reading and after a while my arm gets tired. If the Air 2 allows me to read longer with my arm not getting tired then I'm all for that.

Seriously? A difference of 0.04 pounds?

 

[HowlinAl]

The thinner/lighter form factor is the #1 reason for my Air 2 purchase. I'm fine with slightly less battery power, as long as I can get 10 hours. What I want more than anything is an iPad i can easily and comfortably hold with one hand. Even the Air 2 isn't quite there yet. Expect to see weight continue to take a higher priority over battery life. Because that's what people want.

 

[Icaras]

The loss in weight and thickness seem not enough to compensate for the 1/5 loss of battery life.

Not sure where you're pulling "1/5th" battery life from as both models are rated up to 10 hours on Apple's site.

 

[RockSpider]

Nope. Wide awake. Browsing (mostly MacRumors), crosswords, a lot of reading, etc. No heavy games. Screen brightness typically about 25% but rarely over 50%.

Somebody must have stuck a car battery in yours, the most I've ever gotten is 13 hrs of very light use, generally more like 10 to 11.

 

[Piggie]

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 ?

How about I say no?

Personally I'd like a week, a month a year long battery.

If there was a scale between a battery lasting 1 second, or a million years.

Anything UP the scale would be wanted by everyone.

No one in their right mind wants a battery with shorter life, irrespective of how long of short battery life is, more is ALWAYS better.

Ideal would be you buy the unit fully charged and the battery lasts for the lifetime of the device.

ANYTHING less than that, could be better.

 

[haruhiko]

Not sure where your pulling "1/5th" battery life from as both models are rated up to 10 hours on Apple's site.

The tear down revealed the shrinking of battery size for about 20%. Battery tests in reviews also showed that the battery life is about 20% less than the iPad Air. It has nothing to do with Apple's claim of 10 hour battery since I'm not accusing them for false advertisement or misrepresentation. I just mean that the battery life decreased from the Air 1. Plain and simple.

 

[ron7624]

The camera is same as iPhone 6? That's interesting

if it is the same camera... wow. I am very impressed with the camera in my 6. I use it to copy sheet music to use while preforming and I must say it does a bank up job. I get razor sharp copies, hand held in low light. My 5 did not make copies this sharp with a copy stand, 2 lights at 45 degrees and using a timer to minimize shake.
My 6 has one great camera for my uses.

 

[Padmini]

I guess some people just have to find something to complain about now that they can't complain about the lack of RAM....

/thread

 

[Kariya]

I also bet many will appreciate the thinner and lighter weight. Really, we could all go back and forth on this subject all day, but you can most certainly count me as one of those folks as I've already traded in my last gen Air for the Air 2. For me: thinner and lighter > increased battery life any day.

Thinness pushes innovation

Read this article to understand the importance of iPad Air 2's thinness;


http://techpinions.com/the-ipad-air-2s-huge-upside/35974

In a nutshell, it's about making it easier and more comfortable to hold for long periods of time.

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.

iPad Air wasn't exactly 'difficult' to hold.

 

[AllergyDoc]

Somebody must have stuck a car battery in yours, the most I've ever gotten is 13 hrs of very light use, generally more like 10 to 11.

Too thin for a car battery. Probably how dim I keep the screen. My wife runs here Mini and iPhone 6 at full brightness and wonders why her batteries are always drained when mine are at 70-80%.

 

[rsocal]

IFixit didn't write anything about RAM capacity in their teardown, it was later edited by someone (you know that I can go in there and edit that if I want), so now it says

Elpida/Micron Technology F8164A3MD 8 Gb (1 GB) RAM (1 GB x 2 = 2 GB total)

When Macrumors posted this and they were doing the teardown they wrote

Elpida/Micron Technology F8164A3MD

And that's it.

Now it says:

Elpida/Micron Technology F8164A3MD

Because I went in there and changed it. Check and you can see.

Anyone can change that.

You need help, maybe medication and, if you already take med. up the dose!

I'm moving on in anticipation of my new iPad, and I'll take iFixit's tear down review! Never heard anyone questioning MR rumors posts, they update them only!

 

[Icaras]

iPad Air wasn't exactly 'difficult' to hold.

And now it's even "easier" to hold. Win.

 

[haruhiko]

if it is the same camera... wow. I am very impressed with the camera in my 6. I use it to copy sheet music to use while preforming and I must say it does a bank up job. I get razor sharp copies, hand held in low light. My 5 did not make copies this sharp with a copy stand, 2 lights at 45 degrees and using a timer to minimize shake.

My 6 has one great camera for my uses.

The article stated the opposite. The camera module is not the same on the iPhone 6.

 

[fallenjt]

Apple's obsession with thinness has just got silly.
Protruding cameras in one product and a decrease in battery life in another.

No it's not, Newbie. Thinness without sacrificing the battery life is more than welcome. 11 ***** hours for video on this Air 2 is more than any need even during transpacific flights. Tell me if anyone would watch 11 hrs straight video.

 

[swarmster]

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

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.

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

To say it's thinner, lighter, 2.5x faster, with twice the RAM and 50% more cores, and an even better display, and yet maintains roughly the same battery life despite a _smaller_ battery is not spectacular? This is best-in-class engineering you don't see anywhere else. Something Apple has invested in very heavily over the past ten years. I'm sorry you don't like it?

And frankly, I believe you're mistaken that the #1 request from iPad owners is longer battery. It's really quite long.

 

[Moonlight]

Where are all the "but the iPhone 6/6 Plus should have the Air 2s 2GB RAM" comments?

As for battery life. 10 hours + is great for what it does. How much longer does it need to last. I'd prefer that it feel lighter.

Why would we? The iPhone 6 works great!