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iPad iPad Air 2 worth it?

Some things i have noticed about the air2 compared to a mini2: Everything appears to be far too big, but i guess is a matter to get used to.

The battery life is noticeably longer on the mini, the air2 discharges with light use while being connected to a usb. This does not happen with the mini unless i play games.

The home button seems to be harder to press as well.

The screen definetely feels more solid on the air2 although not as much as the ipad 2/3/4 etc. Touch id is nicer than i thought :)
 
mangomind said:
The letters still appear at the same time as you press the keys. What you are talking about is the result of Apple increasing the time of highlighting the letter you pressed, in order to show you what you just pressed. It is a very convenient improvement over the iOS 7 keyboard.
Click to expand...

No, the keyboard is far more responsive when using Chrome versus Safari. :rolleyes:

Safari has slight lag when typing, as in when moving from letter to letter quickly it struggles it keep up. Nothing to do with the "length of time the key is highlighted".

The apologists on here crack me up. And to think, prior to Steve passing away I was the biggest fanboy around. I woke up, Apple's quality is not what it was.
 
The only real problem with all Air 2 is the occasional but random popping sound which the speaker makes. Some days or weeks it can go on without making the sound, while on some days, it will pop 3-4 times. It's hard to replicate.

Many have gotten replacements for their iPads but even their replacements popped after few days. Might be iOS sound driver issue but who knows?
 
It's basically the speaker randomly discharging. I haven't been able to replicate it reliably, but it occurs from time to time. I've read it's more likely to happen when the battery is near fully charged.
 
RebornProphet said:
No, the keyboard is far more responsive when using Chrome versus Safari. :rolleyes:

Safari has slight lag when typing, as in when moving from letter to letter quickly it struggles it keep up. Nothing to do with the "length of time the key is highlighted".

The apologists on here crack me up. And to think, prior to Steve passing away I was the biggest fanboy around. I woke up, Apple's quality is not what it was.
Click to expand...

Spot-on, 100% correct. Apple’s quality has definitely slipped.
 
Outside of the vibrating speaker, which doesn't really bother me, I have zero complaints about my Air 2.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
matraco said:
Some things i have noticed about the air2 compared to a mini2: Everything appears to be far too big, but i guess is a matter to get used to.

The battery life is noticeably longer on the mini, the air2 discharges with light use while being connected to a usb. This does not happen with the mini unless i play games.

The home button seems to be harder to press as well.

The screen definetely feels more solid on the air2 although not as much as the ipad 2/3/4 etc. Touch id is nicer than i thought :)
Click to expand...

What? What? What? Do explain please. Maybe you are tripping
 
Defender2010 said:
What? What? What? Do explain please. Maybe you are tripping
Click to expand...


far too big
Click to expand...

Coming from a mini it is not surprising. And i always thought the icons on the full sized ipads are too big, but as i said it is a matter of getting used to it.

connected to a usb
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This is anecdotal as well, as i dont use the usb port to charge it but i thought it was worth pointing it out compared to a mini2. Not a big surprise considering the larger screen and the power of the device.


home button seems to be harder to press as well
Click to expand...

That was my initial impression. Seems to have softened a bit but it was never a big difference mind you.

I will also point out another thing: the fingers seem to slide less smoothly on the air2. Again a small difference.
 
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matraco said:
Coming from a mini it is not surprising. And i always thought the icons on the full sized ipads are too big, but as i said it is a matter of getting used to it.



This is anecdotal as well, as i dont use the usb port to charge it but i thought it was worth pointing it out compared to a mini2. Not a big surprise considering the larger screen and the power of the device.



That was my initial impression. Seems to have softened a bit but it was never a big difference mind you.

I will also point out another thing: the fingers seem to slide less smoothly on the air2. Again a small difference.
Click to expand...

What a bunch of non issues. Use it - enjoy it!
 
Another perspective?

I had a 32GB iPad Air and just traded it out for a 128GB Air 2.
Yes, it's a little bit thinner now, but honestly, the case I kept my iPad Air in was adding more thickness to it than I realized. (It looks like an Apple smart cover except has a plastic back plate the iPad snaps into to protect the whole thing.)

When I took the old Air out of the case, I was amazed how thin and light it seemed too!

All in all, I wouldn't spend the money to go from Air to Air 2 if trying to get it lighter and thinner is your primary concern. Either one is plenty light and thin.

What I *do* like about the Air 2 is that Apple put 2GB of RAM in it, vs. the 1GB in the original Air. That will help stop some of the app crashes you get when too many things (like multiple tabs in Safari) are open.


MarcoCapa said:
Also from Air is worth the upgrade...
The air once you have tried air 2 is a brick like the 3/4 before it
The thinner case give you the impression (in addition to 30 gr of weight reduction) that you are holding nothing... is really impressive...
In the beginning I wasn't sure to upgrade, but now that I have I don't regret at all...
The vibration is present of course, but is not all that annoying thing that people try to describe... on some games like real racing (with max volume) the vibration give you the impression that you are driving a real car ( not like real life, but better then on air )
The screen distorting is real, but you have to press really really hard...
And for the flash is not slow at all... is definitely the best ipad yet...
Battery life for me is on par with air... Only slightly faster to charge...
I'm very pleased by the screen (it is a bit different from air, maybe a little less luminous, but better quality overall): Phil Schiller described the screen like the sensation you are touching the things... He was not lying this is the exact thing that happen

Now the cons: It doesn't have front speakers, and you can enjoy this when you have tried
Doesn't have a digitizer like note from samsung
Doesn't have Oled or a higher resolution display (these are marginal; OLED no.... you save battery and improve luminosity)
Other than this I could suggest slimmer bezel and minor weight and thickness, but these are only a marginal thing... Air 3 probably would be better :D
Click to expand...
 
On my Air 2, I still do get low memory crashes. But they are far less maybe once a week or so.

But Air 2 definitely feels faster on iOS 8 compared to Air 1.

To upgrade to Air 2 or not is strictly dependent on one's budget.
 
Samtb said:
Is the jump from air 1 to air 2 as big as the jump from 4 to air?
Click to expand...

I'd say it is a bigger jump due to having double the ram. Regarding the cpu both air and air2 offer almost twice the performance of its predecessors in multicore and more than twice in the graphic department. However in single core performance i think there was more difference between the ipad 4 and the air1.
 
Today I decided that I'm going to replace my iPad Mini 2 with an iPad Air 2. Recently, the screen is feeling too confining.
 
My iPad Air 2 was delivered today.
I am coming from an iPad Air.

My reasons for upgrade were literally the ram which is a non issue for some, for others it's bothersome - myself included.

Anyway I'm blown away. It feels like a truly great upgrade for me. The first thing I noticed was the screen. Being laminated on or whatever they've done makes a massive difference. Everything just seems to pop more. Like it.

Then I got to grips with Touch ID! Everyone has had that for ages now but I have never had it on an iOS device before because I went with a 5C when it was first introduced on the 5s. Having used it all evening, and bought stuff from the App Store using the password, I'm wondering how I'll love without it now! Hopefully won't have to and Apple will utilise it everywhere they can!!

Then I noticed the anti reflect screen. And it really is a huge improvement over the other iPads and my first gen Air. This is actually one of the things I am most impressed with, strange as it sounds!

The thinness and lightness of the device are great an all, but they're not the things that I'm blown away by here. The Touch ID combined with the updated ram and the anti reflect screen are all huge things for me and that's what has made me one happy customer. The Air was good, this is fantastic.
 
I finally started setting up my iPad Air 2 today. When I tried last night it could not connect to a cellular data signal. Went to the Apple Store where they were about to replace it until they threw in an AT&T SIM. It worked so I decided to keep the original one sent to me.

While a casual user may regard the differences in the iPad Air and ipad air 2 to be minute, those differences combined really makes the experience better for me. I like how much snappier everything is, the screen looks that much better, and I don't have to watch how much space I have left this time (got 128GB this time vs 64GB with the Air).
 
Defender2010 said:
That's exactly what I did, and never looked back. Mini was fun for 2 years though.
Click to expand...

I bought the first iPad Air on release day, and only kept it for a month or so. I purchased the rMini in June and really like it. I was always curious about the size, and it is pretty much perfect. However, I do miss, and require, the larger screen. I'm hoping the drop in resolution isn't too noticeable to me. I'll be handling it again in a store before coming to a conclusion.

It's possible that I might get the first Air, because the Air 2 is just so damn thin. However, the internals & the 64GB models replacing the 32GB models, is hard to pass up.
 
Is holding an air 2 portrait in one hand for extended reading still quite uncomfortable? The air was a big improvement from the 4 but it still wasn't anywhere near as comfortable as holding a book or a mini.

----------
bambooshots said:
I finally started setting up my iPad Air 2 today. When I tried last night it could not connect to a cellular data signal. Went to the Apple Store where they were about to replace it until they threw in an AT&T SIM. It worked so I decided to keep the original one sent to me.

While a casual user may regard the differences in the iPad Air and ipad air 2 to be minute, those differences combined really makes the experience better for me. I like how much snappier everything is, the screen looks that much better, and I don't have to watch how much space I have left this time (got 128GB this time vs 64GB with the Air).
Click to expand...

What do you use your ipad for to notice the difference in speed? Games or photo editing?
 
I'm looking forward to getting my Air 2 in June (I get a new iPad every June).

Anyone who follows my posts or knows what I post about knows I'm possibly THE most anally retentive person when it comes to dropped frames in UI's and performance gaps.

My initial comparisons in terms of gaming performance (possibly my main use of an iPad) is that right now there is NOTHING between both Air's. The only game updated for the A8X has been Oceanhorn with a x4 texture level but that's it.

On Safari the main difference is obviously that more tabs can remain open longer and of course you can keep more apps open in the background meaning you can go from a game to Safari for a five minutes and return to the game and it won't relaunch. Sure, it's nice and hints at proper multitasking being capable on this device, but until the Air 2 stretches it's legs we're not going to see the gains the specs suggest.

iOS devices are updated too often now that they are never fully realised when they're replaced. In fact, if we were seeing the best of what the Air 2 can do right now I'd be disappointed. This thing has time on its side and longevity but we're not going to see the fruits of those specs for a while yet.

And having apps not relaunch in the background when switching between them or having a few extra tabs in Safari not refresh is hardly indicative of that power.

Roll on June. When I'll no doubt be truly scathing when I sit both side by side and go, "meh" unless something is released or updated to take full advantage and push performance beyond what an Air 1 is capable of.
 
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