Yesterday, I visited my local Best Buy and took a look at the Moto 360, Samsung 4K curved TVs and my favorite- the Apple section. The new iPad Air 2 was on display, but now I completely forgot to check for the 5K iMac. Anyway, the Air 2 was next to the iPad 4th generation. I was with my brother and we were both guessing which model the 4th gen was since it wasn't labeled. I guess iPad 2 but turned out to be the 4 after searching the model # online. Wow, comparing the two of these is like night and day. I can't believe the progress Apple made within the last two years. 4th gen felt incredibly heavy compared to the Air 2, but they didn't have the Air 1 there to compare as well. Side by side, it feels as if the 4 is twice as thick and double the weight of the Air 2. I didn't notice the displays as much so couldn't find noticeable difference between the laminated vs non-laminated display. Really admirable of Apple. Thought I'd share.
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iPad iPad 4 vs iPad Air 2 - Wow
- Thread starter Squilly
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I held a 4s yesterday... first time since getting my 6+ on launch...
My goodness talk about a difference!
Oh and the iPad air 2 is absolutely perfect!
I made this exact upgrade (4 to Air 2), as did a bunch of other folks around here. I traded in the 4 at Best Buy, so I never got the chance to compare the two side by side...wish I had that chance, as OP did...mostly I would've liked to have seen the displays next to one another.
Of course, the things that jumped out at me most were weight/size. The difference is huge.
I never really felt the 4 was "slow" but the new one definitely seems much snappier at everything. Overall I'm pretty happy.
Of course, the things that jumped out at me most were weight/size. The difference is huge.
I never really felt the 4 was "slow" but the new one definitely seems much snappier at everything. Overall I'm pretty happy.
I traded in my iPad 4 for the Air 2. I'd been planning on just keeping my 4 for another year or two, but a combination of Best Buy's trade-in deal plus a couple hundred dollars of Best Buy gift cards that I'd accumulated made it well worth it.
The difference is pretty awesome. Yes the iPad does the same stuff, but it's really so much nicer. The thinness is pretty astonishing and the weight reduction is making it much more of a pleasure to use. Also, it's so smooth and fast and and just feels like a more robust machine.
The screen quality is great, though not hugely noticeably different from the 4. The images look a little closer to the surface. I do have that thing where the screen ripples a bit if you press hard on the back of the iPad but I would never have noticed that if I hadn't read threads about it here. If I'm ever in the store, I might show that to a Genius and say "hey is this normal?" but it's not causing any problems. Again, I would never have pressed against the back with that much pressure if I wasn't looking for it.
The vibration from the speaker doesn't bother me at all. I feel it, but it doesn't annoy me. The sound is fine, but I usually use my bluetooth speaker for sound anyway.
One thing I'm a bit concerned about is battery life. I've read in some places that it's great and in others that it's taken a hit. I got it about two days ago, let it run out and then plugged it in until it was fully charged again. Since last full charge I've had 3 hours of usage, 20 hours of standby and my battery is 69%. That probably falls within the 10 hours of use promise but it does feel like it's draining faster than my 4 did. Maybe after a few charge cycles it'll beef up?
The difference is pretty awesome. Yes the iPad does the same stuff, but it's really so much nicer. The thinness is pretty astonishing and the weight reduction is making it much more of a pleasure to use. Also, it's so smooth and fast and and just feels like a more robust machine.
The screen quality is great, though not hugely noticeably different from the 4. The images look a little closer to the surface. I do have that thing where the screen ripples a bit if you press hard on the back of the iPad but I would never have noticed that if I hadn't read threads about it here. If I'm ever in the store, I might show that to a Genius and say "hey is this normal?" but it's not causing any problems. Again, I would never have pressed against the back with that much pressure if I wasn't looking for it.
The vibration from the speaker doesn't bother me at all. I feel it, but it doesn't annoy me. The sound is fine, but I usually use my bluetooth speaker for sound anyway.
One thing I'm a bit concerned about is battery life. I've read in some places that it's great and in others that it's taken a hit. I got it about two days ago, let it run out and then plugged it in until it was fully charged again. Since last full charge I've had 3 hours of usage, 20 hours of standby and my battery is 69%. That probably falls within the 10 hours of use promise but it does feel like it's draining faster than my 4 did. Maybe after a few charge cycles it'll beef up?
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Few extra notes. Coming from the iPad Air 1, I was actually able to notice a subtle difference in weight, even though it's only 1/20 lb difference. Also, the thinner Air 2 is definitely improved and very noticeable (maybe not to new users though). Still very impressed. Either the Air 2 or iPad Pro early next year.
Coming from the Air1 to the Air2 (as of yesterday
), I can attest to the thinnes of the device.It might not seem like much on paper (as well as the weight reduction), but it really makes a huge difference. This is probably the most notable upgrade for me. It makes it so much more enjoyable to use and to type on, every time I hold it.
Obviously I appreciate the improved speed, and overall zippiness of the device as well.
The screen is of higher quality (I don't feel like I'm tapping on hollow plastic as I did with the Air1, rather on solid glass), and Im still pleasantly surprised every time I switch between tabs in safari, and the webpage simply appears as how I left it, thanks to the 2GB of RAM (no reloading here!)
TouchID is also nice, probably the least important upgrade for me, as my iPad almost exclusively stays at home.
Because the iPad is meant to be held for prolonged periods during use, the ridiculously thin profile truly makes it a worthy upgrade for me. Every time I pick it up, I'm amazed at how much more enjoyable it is to use (even compared to my already thin previous Air1).......like I'm holding a screen, and only a screen
I got my air 2 a few days ago coming from an iPad 3. This is blows the 3 out of the water in every way. Awesome.
I'm someone going from a iPad 4 to an iPad Air 2. I've had it since Wednesday night but only been lightly using it thus far as I have guests atm. However they go tomorrow so I expect to be a bit more thorough in my use of it.
I can say that overall its a massive upgrade performance wise and usability wise. Its lighter to hold, its incredibly snappy, it has TouchID, its got 2GB Ram and so on. Also I now have 128GB rather than 64GB which is perfect. The device really is a joy to use and fixes all of the things I wanted fix compared to my iPad 4.
The only blemish, and for me its a large one, is the vibration. If I had one of the units that I've seen a few people mention where it doesn't vibrate much till you hit half volume then I would have absolutely no problems with the issue. Particularly as my volume is usually between 30-40% when I'm actually holding the device. Sadly I don't have one of those units and I can feel the vibration through my finger when touching the screen while audio is playing (freaky when playing music). Someone joked about Haptic feed and its kind of like that.
Like all the iPad's I find the volume / sound coming out is not great when it isn't buffeted by a case or a hard surface. Using the iPad to make noise in Portrait mode and not in a case is horrible to listen to. I'm also hard pressed to tell that the device is actually Stereo. (Same with my wife's Mine 1st Gen) I'd really rather have the speakers top and bottom of Portrait mode so it feels more like the audio is coming out of the screen I'm watching than the left side of it ... but I digress.
I use my iPad 4 lots, be it for reading, watching things while cooking & sorting washing out, listening to music, making music and playing games. Something that helps improve those things is a no brainer and I really don't want to wait for the iPad Air 3 or whatever the next gen is. Particularly as I'm sure something will be messed up / wrong with it
So yeah, its a WOW going from the iPad 4 to the iPad Air 2 but I am considering returning it or maybe once trying to exchange it in the hopes of a different one that has less vibration at low volume (though then I risk getting one of those whose screen distorts while walking or some other thing)
I can say that overall its a massive upgrade performance wise and usability wise. Its lighter to hold, its incredibly snappy, it has TouchID, its got 2GB Ram and so on. Also I now have 128GB rather than 64GB which is perfect. The device really is a joy to use and fixes all of the things I wanted fix compared to my iPad 4.
The only blemish, and for me its a large one, is the vibration. If I had one of the units that I've seen a few people mention where it doesn't vibrate much till you hit half volume then I would have absolutely no problems with the issue. Particularly as my volume is usually between 30-40% when I'm actually holding the device. Sadly I don't have one of those units and I can feel the vibration through my finger when touching the screen while audio is playing (freaky when playing music). Someone joked about Haptic feed and its kind of like that.
Like all the iPad's I find the volume / sound coming out is not great when it isn't buffeted by a case or a hard surface. Using the iPad to make noise in Portrait mode and not in a case is horrible to listen to. I'm also hard pressed to tell that the device is actually Stereo. (Same with my wife's Mine 1st Gen) I'd really rather have the speakers top and bottom of Portrait mode so it feels more like the audio is coming out of the screen I'm watching than the left side of it ... but I digress.
I use my iPad 4 lots, be it for reading, watching things while cooking & sorting washing out, listening to music, making music and playing games. Something that helps improve those things is a no brainer and I really don't want to wait for the iPad Air 3 or whatever the next gen is. Particularly as I'm sure something will be messed up / wrong with it
So yeah, its a WOW going from the iPad 4 to the iPad Air 2 but I am considering returning it or maybe once trying to exchange it in the hopes of a different one that has less vibration at low volume (though then I risk getting one of those whose screen distorts while walking or some other thing)
Returned my Air 2 and went back to my iPad 3......now considering a repurchase.
Why did you return it? Did you get a bogus one?
I can live with the vibrating, even though it is rather annoying and that alone should have made Apple rethink the design. But what I could not live with was the popping speaker. That pops for no apparent reason at random times. I won't go into it here because there are already 2 or 3 threads on apple about it and at least one here. That's why I retur mine.
But yes it is dramatically faster than the 4 as I have or rather had both. I am waiting till the pop is sorted out before I by another. I may even consider an air 1 until the air 3 comes out.
Eh, the main reason was screen discoloration at the top left corner (I'm really not that picky, but this was annoying) and I didn't feel like going through the "screen lottery" at the time because I had a big exam coming up. The other reason was that at the time I was a little underwhelmed. It was thin and fast, but it wasn't really a different experience than the iPad 3. It was smoother to be sure, but with like 5.6 times the CPU power and 10 times the graphics power of my current iPad it wasn't doing anything exceptional. I had hoped Apple would unveil an iOS 8.1 with huge iPad optimization, but it still feels like a stretched version of iOS.
It's still on my mind though, and I'm considering a repurchase because I think Apple will build on it in later iOS versions. The main thing keeping me from it is the vibration. I'm still evaluating whether I want to spend about $1000 (128GB Wifi, smart cover, logitech ultra thin keyboard cover) on this device. When I spend that much I want to be blown away. I'm not going to purchase an Air 1 because i already feel some RAM starvation on my 32-bit 3, I can't imagine it on a 64-bit Air. (I was right in the middle of a 3D game and I got a Skype message, I tapped the notification and sent a 5 word reply and swiped back over and my game started from the title screen...
I wanted to throw it!). It has everything I've been waiting for: better screen, 2GB of RAM, 128 GB storage, yet I wasn't just blown away. Still, I worry that if I wait the Air 3 may have the same issues if Apple doesn't feel these current problems are really big deals and I'll have waited for nothing. Also, I'm afraid the iPad Air 3 will have a higher resolution screen and then I'll have to wait another year. I will never buy an Apple product the first time it gets a resolution bump, my iPad 3, though still functional, burned me and I won't risk the choppiness again.
Whew, I apologize for the long winded reply, I didn't intend to write that much!
Not coffee, although I'd pay extra for that.
Still, if I'm going to pay $1000-ish for an upgrade device I want it to do more than my current device. THe hardware is there: faster, thinner, lighter, better screen. The software is the limiting factor, but that is why I'm considering repurchasing. I believe iOS 9 will bring iPad optimization and the A8X should be able to take advantage it.
How do you reach $1000 when even fully configured with 128gb + cellular it comes to 829?
I was really impressed with the speed. But I am thinking of just upgrading to an air 1 with 32GB as I am nearly out of space on my 16 GB 4. Then either upgrade again when the air 3 comes out or Down the road when they resolve the glitches. I can live with the vibrascreen, but it is annoying. My screen had a slight darker area around the left edge so that was annoying. But the popping was unacceptable.
I went from a 3 to the Air 2 64g LTE. OMG, it's unbelievable. Held off due to reading about the vibration deal but that was a mistake. It does vibrate on higher volume but it's a non issue for me.
There's no way I'd let this thing go now.
There's no way I'd let this thing go now.
I just traded in my iPad 4 yesterday for an iPad Air 2 and I noticed the differences right away. prior to getting the iPad Air 2 I did compare them with my own iPad 4 and the iPad Air 1 on display at the Apple Store.
The Air 2 is so much lighter than the iPad 4 and it is thinner by a good 50%. It is almost featherweight. With the thinner side bezels also easier to hold. I noticed how much snappier it was right from the get go. As for battery life, well I have only had it about 18 hours and it is just down to 39% and I have been using it a lot. Based on how much I have been using it, I would say the battery life would be consistent with that of the iPad 4 that I had previously, and in line with my iPad mini 2.
As far as the upgrade itself is concerned the iPad 4 was a 64GB Cellular model and the new iPad Air 2 I went with the 128GB Cellular model. In essence getting twice the storage space for the same price that I bought the iPad 4.
Very pleased so far with the iPad Air 2.
The Air 2 is so much lighter than the iPad 4 and it is thinner by a good 50%. It is almost featherweight. With the thinner side bezels also easier to hold. I noticed how much snappier it was right from the get go. As for battery life, well I have only had it about 18 hours and it is just down to 39% and I have been using it a lot. Based on how much I have been using it, I would say the battery life would be consistent with that of the iPad 4 that I had previously, and in line with my iPad mini 2.
As far as the upgrade itself is concerned the iPad 4 was a 64GB Cellular model and the new iPad Air 2 I went with the 128GB Cellular model. In essence getting twice the storage space for the same price that I bought the iPad 4.
Very pleased so far with the iPad Air 2.
I went from the 3 to the air 2. Night and day. The speed, screen and size are the main things. It runs very cool. Compared to the air 1 it's a pretty major upgrade. Size, way faster, finger reader, much improved screen.