iPad 2 vs iPad Air

[IrishVixen]

We have an Air & an Air 2 currently, and up until 2 months ago had a Mini 2 in the house as well. The Air & Mini 2 are already showing their age, crashing on resource heavy apps even with a clean install. The Air 2, on the other hand, has no such problem. The speed difference between them is also significant.

This close to the next release, it's silly to buy a basically 2 year old device with a total 3-5 year life expectancy unless it's a third the price it was when it was first released--or less. Scrape up the cash to get the Air 2.

 

[Dino F]

My thoughts on Air vs. Air 2: Why not just get a Mini 2 instead of the Air? It's the same internals, at a much, much lower price. It's a huge upgrade over the Mini 1, which has iPad 2 era hardware, that's a full three years of performance upgrades, I believe. If you want best of the best, get an Air 2. If you don't need it, then there's no point in getting anything more expensive than a Mini 2, because Air, Mini 2 and 3 all have the same chips inside.

Wow, going for the Mini 2 WOULD save a lot of $$ though.....!

......seeing that I've been using my iPad 2 for the last 3 years, I'm not sure I would be willing to drop the screen size down to that of the iPad minis!!!

Seems like if the Air is around £359 - seems silly not to fork out the extra £40ish to just get the Air2. From whats been said above, seems like the Air 2 has a BIG difference over the Air + looks to be staying around longer than the Air (if it is indeed gonna be discontinued this September?).

 

[VesselA]

I ha

I currently have an iPad 2 (64gb I think) with the latest iOS 8.4 installed however, I am finding it VERY clunky and slow! Default apps like the Mail app crash 95% of the time on first tapping the icon, entering text (either in Safari or when texting someone) results in serious lag - so much that I have to stop typing and wait for the text to catch up! Opening apps and stuff like that is very stuttery (I have the "Reduced Motion" feature enabled), its really starting to get on my nerves!!!

Its not overly filled with games and apps - I think i have only used just over half the storage. I'm off on holiday next week and was thinking of buying an iPad Air (space grey 32gb, wifi only) from Duty Free.

I don't want to spend the extra for the newer iPad Air 2 as I think the iPad Air will be just as good!

Thoughts?!

I have the Air 1 and I would not recommend it as the display glass has a gap and it makes it feel hollow and plastic when you tap on it - its very annoying if you are perceptive, but if you don't pick up on minor things like that then it pretty much does everything the Air 2 can but with a bit better battery, less vibration and screen distortion. Personally I hate the Air 1 because of how cheap and plastic the display feels, - TRY BEFORE YOU BUY

 

[Dino F]

I ha


I have the Air 1 and I would not recommend it as the display glass has a gap and it makes it feel hollow and plastic when you tap on it - its very annoying if you are perceptive, but if you don't pick up on minor things like that then it pretty much does everything the Air 2 can but with a bit better battery, less vibration and screen distortion. Personally I hate the Air 1 because of how cheap and plastic the display feels, - TRY BEFORE YOU BUY

...surely the display of the Air 1 (with the gap) is not gonna be any different than my current iPad 2? I probably won't notice this so called 'gap' because I have never even held or touched an Air 1 - have only ever used an iPad 2.

 

[VesselA]

...surely the display of the Air 1 (with the gap) is not gonna be any different than my current iPad 2? I probably won't notice this so called 'gap' because I have never even held or touched an Air 1 - have only ever used an iPad 2.

Oh I read it as you had the iPad air 2 - well I certainly do notice the different with the Air 1 compared to all previous generation iPads - the iPad 4, 2 and 1 all feel like solid glass - the iPad Air feels plastic and hollow. If you touch lightly on the older models there is no sound, even with a gentle touch on the air 1 it makes a tap sound. When I got it I didn't notice it at first, but its really stopped me using and enjoying the iPad and I hardly have used it much in the last year because of how horrible the display feels. I just recommend you test it before you buy - I can't remember if the iPad mini 2 has the same hollow feel or not.

 

[newellj]

My thoughts on Air vs. Air 2: Why not just get a Mini 2 instead of the Air? It's the same internals, at a much, much lower price. It's a huge upgrade over the Mini 1, which has iPad 2 era hardware, that's a full three years of performance upgrades, I believe. If you want best of the best, get an Air 2. If you don't need it, then there's no point in getting anything more expensive than a Mini 2, because Air, Mini 2 and 3 all have the same chips inside.

There are two reasons that the rMini is not a replacement for the Air or Air 2.

1. The smaller screen size makes a big difference in lots of uses, especially watching videos.

2. The color gamut and accuracy of the retina display in the Mini 2 and Mini 3 is frankly seriously limited. This is not a question of opinion, it's been demonstrated and measured. I use my rMini a lot for things like email and web browsing but doing things like watching a video is a poor experience compared to an Air or Air 2.

 

[newellj]

...surely the display of the Air 1 (with the gap) is not gonna be any different than my current iPad 2? I probably won't notice this so called 'gap' because I have never even held or touched an Air 1 - have only ever used an iPad 2.

The Air display is different from the iPad 3 and 4 retina displays, and all of these are different from the Air 2, which has a bonded cover glass and does indeed feel different. The Air 2 also has an antireflective coating.

I used an Air for a year and a half and while the display glass feels different, it's only an issue that someone who's insanely OCD would get upset about.

 

[Dino F]

The Air display is different from the iPad 3 and 4 retina displays, and all of these are different from the Air 2, which has a bonded cover glass and does indeed feel different. The Air 2 also has an antireflective coating.

I used an Air for a year and a half and while the display glass feels different, it's only an issue that someone who's insanely OCD would get upset about.

...spec wise, is there much difference in the Air 1 and 2? I know the Air 2 has a better performance chip but realistically in day to day use, is this really gonna be noticeable?

I know the jump from iPad 2 to iPad Air is gonna be huge anyway...........

 

[iOSUser7]

...spec wise, is there much difference in the Air 1 and 2? I know the Air 2 has a better performance chip but realistically in day to day use, is this really gonna be noticeable?

I know the jump from iPad 2 to iPad Air is gonna be huge anyway...........

You will notice the difference with a better multitasking and things like safari tabs reload because of the 2GB RAM however even if the A8X chip is incredibly powerful against the A7, you really won't notice any difference in day to day usage. You will gain like 1 or 2 seconds on apps launch but that's it. By the way, I sais this about the current 8.4 version I really don't know how it will be on future iOS releases.

 

[MRU]

..thanks for that. Too be honest, I’m not sure I could stretch to £400 (or justify that price!!) for the Air 2 however, the £359ish for the iPad Air seems reasonable!

Trust me the £40 stretch will pay dividends when iOS 9 comes out unleashing full multitasking. Better to spend £40 now and get an extra couple of years out of the tablet imho. Buying the air over the iPad air 2 for a saving of £40 would be a false economy in the longer run.

...spec wise, is there much difference in the Air 1 and 2? I know the Air 2 has a better performance chip but realistically in day to day use, is this really gonna be noticeable?

I know the jump from iPad 2 to iPad Air is gonna be huge anyway...........

Yes it realistic in day to day use and you will notice even sooner when iOS 9.0 comes out.

 

[Lancetx]

Also it's worth nothing that iOS 9 is supposedly being tuned to run better on older devices than iOS 8 currently does, so things should still be quite fine especially on an iPad with an A7 chip on it. The Air 2 is obviously the best device to go with if you have to buy one right now, but any A7 iPad will still do just fine on iOS 9 too.

 

[zhenya]

...spec wise, is there much difference in the Air 1 and 2? I know the Air 2 has a better performance chip but realistically in day to day use, is this really gonna be noticeable?

I know the jump from iPad 2 to iPad Air is gonna be huge anyway...........

The 2GB RAM will make the biggest difference. Web pages will reload far less frequently. You won't have to wait for programs to re-open every time you move between apps. With iOS 9 you'll get the full multi-tasking experience with the Air 2, and only part of it with the Air. If you use the iPad outdoors at all or in bright light, the Air 2 is far less reflective, and is the first iPad that is really usable outdoors in full sun - I think it's better than even the new iPhones this way.

 

[julianps]

I currently have an iPad 2 (64gb I think) with the latest iOS 8.4 installed however, I am finding it VERY clunky and slow! Default apps like the Mail app crash 95% of the time on first tapping the icon, entering text (either in Safari or when texting someone) results in serious lag - so much that I have to stop typing and wait for the text to catch up! Opening apps and stuff like that is very stuttery (I have the "Reduced Motion" feature enabled), its really starting to get on my nerves!!!

Its not overly filled with games and apps - I think i have only used just over half the storage. I'm off on holiday next week and was thinking of buying an iPad Air (space grey 32gb, wifi only) from Duty Free.

I don't want to spend the extra for the newer iPad Air 2 as I think the iPad Air will be just as good!

Thoughts?!

I had a '2 for the longest time and it worked fine for everything; except the internet. The rise of javascript and the so-called accessible web rendered the device unusable. Turn off js and the machine worked fine insofar as non-js is viable.

There's been a thing going on at Daringfireball about Verge looking at the links, lead-time and accessibility of (is it?) Verge and the results are appalling. Even my Macbook Air struggles these days if I have moire than a few tabs, or Tumblr and anything.

So my guess is if you use your iPad 2 for writing and stick to Markdown it has years of service to give (the batteries are for the most part pretty exceptional) but if all you want to do is catch up on js-heavy websites it's got to the point I couldn't recommend a tablet at all.

Maybe that's why the tablet market is contracting at the moment?

 

[Dino F]

.....I've just looked on Apple's website (not that I'm buying from Apple but just wanted to see the different iPad versions) and just realised that there is NO 32gb iPad Air2?? There is only 16gb (not enough really as my 32gb iPad 2 ONLY has 3 gb left!!) and a 64gb version (which is around £480 - a massive amount!!).

Now, I'm even more confused?!?!

Do I go for the cheaper 32gb iPad Air 1 or the 16gb iPad Air 2 (I'm gonna have to seriously re-consider what apps to bring over from my iPad 2!!)

 

[newellj]

...spec wise, is there much difference in the Air 1 and 2? I know the Air 2 has a better performance chip but realistically in day to day use, is this really gonna be noticeable?

I know the jump from iPad 2 to iPad Air is gonna be huge anyway...........

Depends on what you mean by "spec wise." If you mean the basic visual quality of the display, there's basically no difference. The Air 1 does feel/sound a bit different, and the Air 2 hardware is noticeably faster than its predecessors (especially the iPad 3 and iPad 4).

 

[newellj]

Trust me the £40 stretch will pay dividends when iOS 9 comes out unleashing full multitasking. Better to spend £40 now and get an extra couple of years out of the tablet imho. Buying the air over the iPad air 2 for a saving of £40 would be a false economy in the longer run.



Yes it realistic in day to day use and you will notice even sooner when iOS 9.0 comes out.

I fairly strongly agree with this. The iPad Air 2 was really made with iOS 9 in mind. Buying an Air (1) at this time is consciously buying frankly stale hardware.

 

[Dino F]

C

.....I've just looked on Apple's website (not that I'm buying from Apple but just wanted to see the different iPad versions) and just realised that there is NO 32gb iPad Air2?? There is only 16gb (not enough really as my 32gb iPad 2 ONLY has 3 gb left!!) and a 64gb version (which is around £480 - a massive amount!!).

Now, I'm even more confused?!?!

Do I go for the cheaper 32gb iPad Air 1 or the 16gb iPad Air 2 (I'm gonna have to seriously re-consider what apps to bring over from my iPad 2!!)

Following on from this - what are people's views on a 16gb iPad Air 2 ?! Is that too low for storage?!!

 

[modulusshift]

C


Following on from this - what are people's views on a 16gb iPad Air 2 ?! Is that too low for storage?!!

Oh, right... So last year's big thing was that they took the previous 16/32/64 GB models and upgraded all the 32/64 GB to 64/128 GB "for free", while leaving the 16 GB alone. So in reality, the 64 GB is at the price point the 32 GB was last year. Everyone complains, but everyone bought the 64 GB, and Apple got everyone who would have bought a 32 GB base model to step up to a 64 GB.

That said, if you had your heart set on a 32 GB model, and you wouldn't have bought a 16 GB model in the first place, you're not actually out any money. I'd say if you're a heavy enough user to almost fill up your 32 GB on an iPad that slow, maybe you'll need the 64 if you start using it even more. I'm more of a minimalist iPad user, so I probably could have used the 16 GB, but I got a 64 GB one anyway, just in case.

 

[newellj]

C


Following on from this - what are people's views on a 16gb iPad Air 2 ?! Is that too low for storage?!!

Depends on what you want to store, but for my needs, 32gb is the minimum and actually requires a bit of management. 64gb provides me with a reasonable cushion that doesn't require moving media on and off the iPad. YMMV.

 

[Dino F]

Just been looking at the Argos website - seems like they are £40 cheaper than Apple!!

For a 16gb wifi only iPad Air 2, they're charging £359 instead of Apple's £399, and for the 64gb (same model), they're charging £439 instead of Apple's £479.

Blimmin' good prices if you ask me!!!

 

[oldmacs]

Before you upgrade... Mail shouldn't crash 95 percent of the time. Have you considered a clean install and restore from backup - It makes a big difference.

Secondly if you're upgrading, can you wait a few more months for the iPad Air 3 or an iPad Air 2 on a bigger discount?

 

[Dino F]

Before you upgrade... Mail shouldn't crash 95 percent of the time. Have you considered a clean install and restore from backup - It makes a big difference.

Secondly if you're upgrading, can you wait a few more months for the iPad Air 3 or an iPad Air 2 on a bigger discount?

I already tried the clean install process when I updated from iOS 7 to iOS 8 - didn't really make much difference on my device!

As for waiting a few months - I'm too impatient!!!

 

[MRU]

Just been looking at the Argos website - seems like they are £40 cheaper than Apple!!

For a 16gb wifi only iPad Air 2, they're charging £359 instead of Apple's £399, and for the 64gb (same model), they're charging £439 instead of Apple's £479.

Blimmin' good prices if you ask me!!!

Yeah I got my iPad Air 2 128gb gold from Argos. They were selling the gold 128gb model for same price as the 64 grey / silver models. Not a fan of gold but for €100 less than the others it was a no brainier for me.

 

[oldmacs]

I already tried the clean install process when I updated from iOS 7 to iOS 8 - didn't really make much difference on my device!

As for waiting a few months - I'm too impatient!!!

That was a while ago I assume? I also did the same, but my iPad 2 had slowed down. I did a clean install the other day with 8.4 and its improved things hugely (My iPad 2 is my main iPad). Theres nothing to loose doing a clean install, and it could get you through longer. Mail crashing like you said is NOT normal. My mail has crashed 5 times or so in the whole year, if that.

If you can, setting up as a new iPad (though this doesn't work if you need app data copied across), makes it blazingly fast (relative to normal performance that is).

 

[Dino F]

Just to update this thread - I asked a mate who works for Apple, to see what price he could do for me for an iPad Air 2, 64gb, wifi only, space grey. He said he could get 17.5% discount on Apple's retail price.
He managed to get me the iPad Air 2 for £395!!!!!

SORTED!!!!!