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iFixit Tears Down iPad Air 2, Confirms Smaller Battery, A8X Chip, and 2GB RAM
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If you're ready to spend, and Apple isn't giving you what you want, then by all means, go elsewhere. It's what I would do, and what I have done with other companies that didn't give satisfaction.
I won't be following you, because I like the direction that Apple is going, and my priorities rank higher for me than yours do. Apple just announced best ever sales figures for Mac computers and phenomenal iPhone sales. Their stock is trading at all-time highs, and they're introducing a new product as well as a new revenue stream with Apple pay.
Do what you need to do for your own peace of mind. Don't expect to have much of an impact on Apple's direction by yourself. If enough like-minded people join you, then change can happen, but record sales will keep Apple going the same way. Even if iPad Air 2 sales are not what they hope for, I don't expect Apple's market research to tell them that people aren't buying because the thing is too thin, or because its batter doesn't last long enough.
I haven't followed this conversation and of course don't enjoy name calling, but I guess some people just tire of the constant negativity on these forums. People obsessed for a long time on more ram. Now here's an iPad with the amount of ram they demanded. It would be nice to read positive and happy posts for a while as people got what they wanted. But no, instantly move to something else and harshly criticize.
As I said i haven't read the entire conversation, your comment just shows up in the top comment so I'm responding to that.
Have you ever actually used a tablet? The number one limiting factor for usability is weight, and after that it's size!
There is nothing more important than making it thin. I guess there is just no way to explain to people that an 8mm tablet that weighs 100g more (like a Nexus) and is made of plastic isn't going to be a better tablet. So what if it lasts for 20 hours if it's too heavy to hold?
I encourage the people who never stop complaining to go buy a Nexus 9. There is no faster way to make a person realize they were wrong, than making them use a tablet with a Tegra in it.
Just skimming through the comments, I would like to add my two cents.
I don't view the "negativity towards battery life" as being all that harsh. People are questioning the need to make devices thinner being a trade-off for reduced battery. Perhaps the device still gets 10 hours. The disappointment is that the device likely could have gotten much more than that had it not been made even thinner.
The iPad 2 we use at work is hardly a boulder, and is much heavier than the air. I have already seen some people say their arms get tired with the original air. I won't argue against this, however the difference in weight between the two devices (for clarification I am referring to the first gen versus second gen air) is 32 grams. A Snicker's bar (standard candy bar for those who may not know what that is) weighed between 90-100 grams. I have a really hard time believing that shaving 1/3 the weight of a candy bar from the iPad air is going to make all the difference.
I am personally much more disappointed with the performance differences between this device and the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Having (finally) gotten my hands on a 6 Plus, while I am happy with the extra screen size, certain UI elements still lag (yes I am on 8.1), most notably swapping from portrait to landscape video. For now, that is only a petty issue, but it makes me question the longevity of the device. The iPad air 2, with it's severely improved processor and doubled ram all at a lesser price than the iPhone 6 (and by default the 6 plus) really doesn't have me doubting its longevity. For the first time in my life I am somewhat rethinking my decision buying the iPhone rather than the iPad.
I don't view the "negativity towards battery life" as being all that harsh. People are questioning the need to make devices thinner being a trade-off for reduced battery. Perhaps the device still gets 10 hours. The disappointment is that the device likely could have gotten much more than that had it not been made even thinner.
The iPad 2 we use at work is hardly a boulder, and is much heavier than the air. I have already seen some people say their arms get tired with the original air. I won't argue against this, however the difference in weight between the two devices (for clarification I am referring to the first gen versus second gen air) is 32 grams. A Snicker's bar (standard candy bar for those who may not know what that is) weighed between 90-100 grams. I have a really hard time believing that shaving 1/3 the weight of a candy bar from the iPad air is going to make all the difference.
I am personally much more disappointed with the performance differences between this device and the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Having (finally) gotten my hands on a 6 Plus, while I am happy with the extra screen size, certain UI elements still lag (yes I am on 8.1), most notably swapping from portrait to landscape video. For now, that is only a petty issue, but it makes me question the longevity of the device. The iPad air 2, with it's severely improved processor and doubled ram all at a lesser price than the iPhone 6 (and by default the 6 plus) really doesn't have me doubting its longevity. For the first time in my life I am somewhat rethinking my decision buying the iPhone rather than the iPad.
Best Product pipeline in 25 years my ass.
Revising existing products is nothing new, the apple watch is a joke and the new 5k iMac is nothing to cheer about.
What the hell is this company doing.
Revising existing products is nothing new, the apple watch is a joke and the new 5k iMac is nothing to cheer about.
What the hell is this company doing.
Count me in on the lighter and thinner is better so long as it still has ~10 hours of battery life camp. I want the damn thing to be like balsa wood thin eventually, so any step in that direction is good. Extra hour or two of battery life is not sci-fi, people. And that will be improved in time through battery battery tech. Super thin is sci-fi, and that is rad. The power of this new thing in such a slim and slick package? Freaking sick. I ordered one to replace my iPad Air without much thought.
Right.. If you look at actual technology, instead of conspiracy tech, you'd know that this is not possible.
They're using the best processor that can be built right now, with the best battery tech (there's not much going on in battery tech for mass production these days). The only slight decrease in power usage they could hope for would be the used of AMOLED, instead of LCD. But, that would maybe give them 1-2h more. But, Samsung currently has kind of cornered the mass production of these kind of designs and I don't think they want to be too dependent on them...
BTW, they could have made the battery last 20h if they'd put the A8 in there at the same clock as in the Iphone... Wonder how many people would have bitched about that... You got 40% CPU + 150% plus GPU instead of 60% extra battery life if they kept the same format, that's were the real tradeoff occured, not thinness. Thinness only explains maybe 10-20% of the total difference in running time.
You're insane. A product that isn't yet released is a joke? Okay. The 5k iMac is amazing. THIS iPad Air 2 is as fast as a notebook computer from 2 years ago. Apple stock hit an all-time high today.
Except the battery life is the same as it's always been.
This battery life argument is not even an argument because there's nothing to debate. The battery life is the same as proven with real world testing. We should be thanking Apple for being able to maintain excellent battery life while increasing hardware power and lowering weight/thickness.
It is beating the crap out of the competition in every way possible that's what!
You seem to have no clue what kind of engineering it takes to design the chips they are creating. Apple is also way ahead in systems integration and that's what's creating the most value for it.
That's what I was thinking. Can they do that without an NFC antennae? Seems to have the chip but no antennae.
Businesses have using iPads as POS terminals for awhile
I'm not talking square or an intuit adapter. I'm talking direct to iPad NFC / Apple Pay.
I tend to agree with you. It's the little wins that go unnoticed amongst the mainstream, that many fans fail to see the significance of. Yeah these incremental updates may not be sexy, but they've positioned Apple way ahead of the competition.
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Or playing Infinity Blade 3 non-stop for a few hours should do the trick.
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Smaller battery life just to make the device thinner? Don't think that's a trade off I'm willing to make. For now I'll keep my pokey iPad2 and look to upgrade next year.
Hey, but what if I want to watch a Sesame Street marathon and there's only wifi and no electrical outlets for miles and there's no wifi when I find an electrical outlet?
Now, before someone explodes, think about it. Lol I'm just joking.
I'm not even taking sides on that whole debate....
All i was saying was..... one side thinks more battery life is not necessary. The other side says that thinner is not necessary. If you think its not appropriate for anyone to criticize/ridicule your opinion that more battery life is the way to go... then it should equally not be appropriate for you to criticize/ridicule them for their opinion...
Plenty of room here for everyone to voice their opinion (and have it be respected)!