iPad Air 2 or iPad Pro 9.7 inch?

[coreas692]

So I'm new to the whole iPad scene thing, and as my first tablet I'm weighing the options here, maybe anyone here could help?

In a nutshell what most concerns me here is future proofing, but, also, pricing.

Coupled with the fact that I can get 64gb of storage for 100 bucks less than the base model of the new Pro, I'm debating.

Will buying the Air 2 now still give me a nice smooth experience on iOS for at least, let's say 2-3 years?

While the Apple Pencil and keyboard are not really an interest I particularly have, or even if the four speakers and nicer display still sound nice I feel like I won't be getting enough for all the money I'd be throwing at this device.

But with the Air 2 I feel like I won't get enough time with it. iOS 10 is just around the corner and given how bad iOS 9 turned out to be when it came to performance I wonder if it will be able to handle it. Or iOS 11?

-.-

I am in a pickle here.

Help please anyone?

Hi. By the way.

 

[rui no onna]

Have an iPad 4 (release date 2012) and that's actually working fairly well for the normal stuff: web browsing, email, ebooks, YouTube, Netflix, etc. It's not as snappy as the latest hardware but performance is decent. At the very least, it's not the lag-fest that is the iPad 3.

If you're into graphics heavy games, etc, though, likely not.

 

[pika2000]

Depends on what are you going to use your iPad for. Right now, the Air 2 seems to be able to do anything the small iPad Pro can fairly well, other than the pencil support.
As for future proofing, even the small iPad Pro, to me, is not entirely future proof as it only has 2GB of RAM. 2GB is plenty for current things one can do with iOS, but since the big Pro has 4GB of RAM, I can see the move to more beefy apps, and the 2GB RAM can be a limitation for the small Pro.

For reference, I have the mini 2, with is running an A7. It is not buttery smooth, but it works for what I do with it. It handles basic productivity like note taking just fine. I imagine the Air 2 would fare much better.

 

[coreas692]

Have an iPad 4 (release date 2012) and that's actually working fairly well for the normal stuff: web browsing, email, ebooks, YouTube, Netflix, etc. It's not as snappy as the latest hardware but performance is decent. At the very least, it's not the lag-fest that is the iPad 3.

If you're into graphics heavy games, etc, though, likely not.

Hi, and thanks a lot. Really the input I was trying to get.

Well I'm not such a serious gaming user, but I do like games, the not power intensive kind but I also apreciate being able to run high end games with kicking graphics. :/

But maybe that's something I'd have to trade in for buying an older device maybe?

Basically what I do with my device (iPhone 6) is browse, iBooks, Music, Wtach TV series/Movies.

I don't really download 3D intensive games to my phone, well mostly because I made the (terrible) mistake of buying the base 16gb model and let's face it, there virtually nothing you can put in this thing. But I have downloaded a few games and they run just fine.

So given that the iPhone 6 has the A8 chip which is somewhat the analog of the A8X when it comes to graphics performance... I'd think the Air 2 could handle the same as my phone.

But again I'm thinking of buying a new phone in maybe a year or two, whereas my iPad I'm hoping to change in a few more years than that.

-.-

I'm really leaning towards the Air 2.

Hey thanks again.
[doublepost=1458978000][/doublepost]

Depends on what are you going to use your iPad for. Right now, the Air 2 seems to be able to do anything the small iPad Pro can fairly well, other than the pencil support.
As for future proofing, even the small iPad Pro, to me, is not entirely future proof as it only has 2GB of RAM. 2GB is plenty for current things one can do with iOS, but since the big Pro has 4GB of RAM, I can see the move to more beefy apps, and the 2GB RAM can be a limitation for the small Pro.

For reference, I have the mini 2, with is running an A7. It is not buttery smooth, but it works for what I do with it. It handles basic productivity like note taking just fine. I imagine the Air 2 would fare much better.

Hey, and well note taking is actually one of the things I'm planning on doing lot with my future iPad.

Em. As I said I have an iPhone 6 and I have to say I was terribly disappointed when I updated to iOS 9 and found out that a one year old device (at the time) was so slow and laggy.

Need to say that I'm a sucker for nice buttery smooth animations on iOS. Mainly why iOS appeals to me more than android does. So I was thinking since my phone came back to life with iOS 9.3 (all the lagginess seems to have gone away) then if I'd get the Air 2 I'd be sticking with iOS 9 until I know for sure that future releases of iOS wouldn't cripple my device. :/ (A good rule of thumb I discovered).

So, coming back to topic. I'd be mainly using my device for:

- Note taking
- Books
- Music/Videos (Multimedia consumption)
- Light gaming?

 

[mi7chy]

Neither. Get the iPad Pro 12.9" with 4GB DRAM.

 

[coreas692]

Neither. Get the iPad Pro 12.9" with 4GB DRAM.

Hello, thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately the 12 inch Pro seems far too big for me and my needs and it's kinda out of my price range :/. Thanks for the thought tho .

 

[parajba]

I in the same boat.

I don't care about the 4 speakers, pencil and smart case support.

The only thing that would matter to me is the screen. How different is the screen of the 9.7 pro compared to the Air 2? Tbh the facts that have been released (brighter, ambient lighting etc) seem a bit of a gimmick to me. I never crank up the intensity to more than half, and the display of the Air 2 seems already an excellent retina display. I don't do photography in such a way that I appreciate a wider gamut (don't even know what it is...).

For these I am leaning towards the Air 2 64...

 

[coreas692]

I in the same boat.

I don't care about the 4 speakers, pencil and smart case support.

The only thing that would matter to me is the screen. How different is the screen of the 9.7 pro compared to the Air 2? Tbh the facts that have been released (brighter, ambient lighting etc) seem a bit of a gimmick to me. I never crank up the intensity to more than half, and the display of the Air 2 seems already an excellent retina display. I don't do photography in such a way that I appreciate a wider gamut (don't even know what it is...).

For these I am leaning towards the Air 2 64...

I know right!?

On my part the speedier A9X is what's keeping me from going for the Pro. (Both have 2GB RAM so it's mute there)

:/

But the price drop. Geez.

I'm thinking the Air 2 is the one I'm gonna go for. Unless I get a really good deal on the Pro 9.7... which being honest here I seriously doubt it'll happen.

 

[Guacamole]

I’m on the same boat as well... I sold my Ipad 3 some weeks ago, wanting to get the new Ipad but the higher price and still the same memory as the Air 2 is a real let down.
I don’t care either about the pencil support, 4 speakers... I’m also leaning towards the Air 2... I don’t think there is much difference between the A8x chip and the A9x, is it??

The only bad thing about the Air 2 is the factor of buying something released a year and a half ago...

 

[johnrosss]

I am having the same dilemma. I am however leaning towards the 32GB Pro. I unfortunately made a mistake of buying a 16gb iPad 3 WiFi back in 2012. As much as I don't miss the LTE connectivity (I have the iPhone 6 and use a hotspot whenever I need it), the device became pretty much unusable on iOS 7 and above - everything is very laggy (to be honest, iOS 9 made it actually a bit better).

I really don't want to have the same problem in 2 years with my new iPad + I really like the smart keyboard. so I will most likely get a 32gb pro

 

[coreas692]

I’m on the same boat as well... I sold my Ipad 3 some weeks ago, wanting to get the new Ipad but the higher price and still the same memory as the Air 2 is a real let down.
I don’t care either about the pencil support, 4 speakers... I’m also leaning towards the Air 2... I don’t think there is much difference between the A8x chip and the A9x, is it??

The only bad thing about the Air 2 is the factor of buying something released a year and a half ago...

Exactly my thoughts.

The Air 2 was released on 2014, which by now is just more than a year old. But again.

The Air 2 is a great aging tablet, if not the best that was out there.

But yeah. On paper A9X is 1.8 faster is you believe what Apple claims. And well benchmark scores which show that A9X at least gets 1000-1100 points more than the A8X in the multi core score (even more on the single core score since it's has a higher clock rate).

:|

Hey I hear the iPad 3 was really struggling since it had a Retina Display and the same processor as the iPad 2. Were you on iOS 9? Is so, how well was it handling it?
[doublepost=1458983712][/doublepost]

I am having the same dilemma. I am however leaning towards the 32GB Pro. I unfortunately made a mistake of buying a 16gb iPad 3 WiFi back in 2012. As much as I don't miss the LTE connectivity (I have the iPhone 6 and use a hotspot whenever I need it), the device became pretty much unusable on iOS 7 and above - everything is very laggy (to be honest, iOS 9 made it actually a bit better).

I really don't want to have the same problem in 2 years with my new iPad + I really like the smart keyboard. so I will most likely get a 32gb pro

Kudos

Yeah 16 GB is a joke nowadays.

And hey you would actually use the Smart Keyboard so it's an easier pick.

Tho I am thinking about 32 vs 64 GB on both the Air and the Pro.

With 4K video recording that is gonna be eating a lot of space there. That is of course if you actually record a lot of 4K video hehe.

 

[parajba]

I am not even interested in 4K video recording...none of the new features appeal to me. And the USB 2.0 and 2GB of RAM make the Air 2 a much better proposition in my book.

The IPad 3 was notoriously crippled since debut due to the undersized CPU unable to handle the new retina screen. The new IOS didn't help either.

The 128 version of the Pro will cost around £650 when you factor in the cover. A few hundreds more and I could buy a rMB which is a lot nicer! Every gadget has its price range, to me an iPad is just not worth that amount of money simple. Apple can say what they want but it will NOT replace my laptop, not in the foreseeable future anyway.

 

[coreas692]

I am not even interested in 4K video recording...none of the new features appeal to me. And the USB 2.0 and 2GB of RAM make the Air 2 a much better proposition in my book.

The IPad 3 was notoriously crippled since debut due to the undersized CPU unable to handle the new retina screen. The new IOS didn't help either.

The 128 version of the Pro will cost around £650 when you factor in the cover. A few hundreds more and I could buy a rMB which is a lot nicer! Every gadget has its price range, to me an iPad is just not worth that amount of money simple. Apple can say what they want but it will NOT replace my laptop, not in the foreseeable future anyway.

Thanks, I've pretty much made up my mind by now.

The only thing that was holding me back was the processor power, and I'm sure the Air 2 will be able to handle at least two more years under "normal" use.

Cheers.

 

[parajba]

I will be picking up an Air 2 64GB later today...and planning to keep it for as many years as it will last. My usage is web browsing, social media, some music streaming and that's it...

 

[Wando64]

The 9.7" pro on paper is an improvement on the Air 2 on many fronts, so to me it just come down to money and whether you can afford it or not.

I have been wanting to upgrade from the original Air for a while.
Not for the speed. Speed is fine even on the original Air (in fact it is flying with IOS 9.3)
What I am missing is more storage (I Have 32gb) and the ability to use Split screen.
I am lucky enough that I can afford to pay a bit extra and get the latest offering.
It wouldn't make any sense to even consider an earlier generation iPad and risk once again to remain locked out of future IOS functions (such as the Air with split screen).
Besides, I have my eyes on the 128gb or 256gb so the Air 2 is definitely not an option.

Anyone recommending the Air 2 at this point is either on a budget (nothing wrong with that) or are simply stating aloud the reasons they gave themselves for not upgrading.
(By the way, if I had an Air 2 I would probably not feel the need to upgrade either)

 

[parajba]

Thanks for the reply. I actually have enough money (luckily) that I could buy any iPad available today, and more, but that's not the point. I don't think it's worth the £200 more for what I do and I would rather put those £200 somewhere else.

 

[coreas692]

The 9.7" pro on paper is an improvement on the Air 2 on many fronts, so to me it just come down to money and whether you can afford it or not.

I have been wanting to upgrade from the original Air for a while.
Not for the speed. Speed is fine even on the original Air (in fact it is flying with IOS 9.3)
What I am missing is more storage (I Have 32gb) and the ability to use Split screen.
I am lucky enough that I can afford to pay a bit extra and get the latest offering.
It wouldn't make any sense to even consider an earlier generation iPad and risk once again to remain locked out of future IOS functions (such as the Air with split screen).
Besides, I have my eyes on the 128gb or 256gb so the Air 2 is definitely not an option.

Anyone recommending the Air 2 at this point is either on a budget (nothing wrong with that) or are simply stating aloud the reasons they gave themselves for not upgrading.
(By the way, if I had an Air 2 I would probably not feel the need to upgrade either)

Yeah, before the Pro was released and the Air 2 was the flagship tablet from Apple I had a lot of good deals for the Air 1 but given that Split Screen multitasking wasn't being supported by it I downright let it pass. I was waiting to see if the Pro 9.7 (or Air 3 like I thought I'd be called) was worth it and if the Air 2 would drop the price of it wasn't.

But as I see it, they'll hardly come up with a feature that the Air 2 can't handle given that they both have 2GB of RAM and the Air 2 has a pretty powerful chip still. But then again I know Apple is capable of coming up with some new feature that's latest devices exclusive that'll make me wanna upgrade my device.

I am in fact on a budget so it is a variable to keep in mind for me. So yeah. The Air 2 64 GB (Silver ) seems like the sweet spot for me.

Thanks for the input .

 

[Wando64]

I am in fact on a budget so it is a variable to keep in mind for me. So yeah. The Air 2 64 GB (Silver ) seems like the sweet spot for me.

Thanks for the input .

I am sure you'll be very happy with your purchase for years to come.
If I could find a 128gb Air 2 I would have to thing very hard about which one to get.
In any case I will not jump into anything until I have read a few first hand user reviews.

 

[sdugoten]

If.....
- you don't need the Apple pencil
- you don't need the Apple smart keyboard
- You don't care about 4 speakers
- You don't care about the camera upgrade to 12MP on Pro.

For me, I don't need the pencil, I don't need the keyboard, I will use my stereo system if I want to listen to music, and I don't even remember when is the last time I use the camera on my ipad.
I think this is no brainer.


Get the Air 2. I see no reason to get the Pro 9.7 when Air 2 offer pretty close performance + 2G ram for 200 bucks less. In real world app performance, do you really believe you can see the performance of 4542 vs 5272? The only thing matters is the ram size which do affect the user experience, but both are 2G ram anyway.

 

[Wando64]

A few hundreds more and I could buy a rMB which is a lot nicer.

This statement made me think for a while, but frankly there is only one conclusion.
An iPad and a rMB are completely different tools and comparing the two on price doesn't lead to any valid conclusion.
If I needed a laptop I would buy one. But I need a tablet...

In any case I see why someone might be drawn to make a comparison.
The pice of the latest iPads has shoot up considerably. But then again, so has the price of bread and butter.

 

[coreas692]

If.....
- you don't need the Apple pencil
- you don't need the Apple smart keyboard
- You don't care about 4 speakers
- You don't care about the camera upgrade to 12MP on Pro.

For me, I don't need the pencil, I don't need the keyboard, I will use my stereo system if I want to listen to music, and I don't even remember when is the last time I use the camera on my ipad.
I think this is no brainer.


Get the Air 2. I see no reason to get the Pro 9.7 when Air 2 offer pretty close performance + 2G ram for 200 bucks less.

Thanks for the chart, I had seen one similar when the Pro 9.7 hadn't come out yet, and yeah I also thought that A9X and the A8X were a close call.

Hell even on the multi core score the A8X perform just as good or even better than the A9, and to me this meant that the Air 2 had at least two more years in it (A9 was on the iPhone 6S and phones have roughly a two year life cycle?) so yeah.

I do in fact don't care about the pencil, since I'm not an artist (by any means) and for note taking in sure a stylus would suffice, Smart Keyboard? I actually think a Bluetooth keyboard would be better, four speakers, well I mostly only use headphones with any of my devices, and I honestly think that the camera on my iPhone 6 is more than enough for me.

 

[parajba]

@Wando64: sorry I should have elaborated a bit more but didn't want to hijack the thread. I own a 2010 MBP non retina upgraded to 8GB RAM and 500 SSD which is working very well. I don't own any iPad, but have an iPhone 6. I use the MBP as a glorified web surfer and for storing photos of my family. At some point in the future I will replace it with a new retina macbook, in sep I will probably buy the iPhone 7 and in these days I was thinking about getting an iPad given that all I do is surfing...

 

[zhenya]

Given the history with iOS, the Air 2 is going to be a functional tablet for a long long time yet.

The only thing I'd ask about is your planned note taking? If that's going to be a big part of it, get the Pro. The difference between taking notes with a stylus and the Apple Pencil is similar to using a crayon vs a decent mechanical pencil. It's a big deal.

 

[coreas692]

Given the history with iOS, the Air 2 is going to be a functional tablet for a long long time yet.

The only thing I'd ask about is your planned note taking? If that's going to be a big part of it, get the Pro. The difference between taking notes with a stylus and the Apple Pencil is similar to using a crayon vs a decent mechanical pencil. It's a big deal.

Well I'd hardly use actual handwriting really, and if I were to use a Stylus I think I'd pretty much only use it to scribble something quick or just doodle something I need to remember, which I'm sure I could even accomplish by only using my finger, that's why I am not really so concerned about it.

My note taking consist on using my MBP with a PDF on one side of the screen and on the other the Notes app.

Mine is a MBP mid 2010 I believe so it's incredibly heavy to carry around in my backpack and added the fact that I'm a med student that needs to be on his feet 80% of the time at the hospital, I'd say a tablet would be better for me. And with the Air 2 supporting Split Screen View now I think it's even better than ever to take the leap and buy it.

 

[HiItsMe]

I like to keep in mind that the pro will likely maintain more of its resale value than the air 2 since it's a generation newer. Using Amazon trade in values as a reference, it's about a $100 difference per generation. So if you sell/trade in your old iPads when you upgrade, like I do, then you will likely see most of the increased purchase price returned to you on the backend.