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Is it still a good time to buy an iPad Air 2?

J

jaykl

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Original poster
Jul 11, 2015
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I've been planning to buy an iPad since last May which I intend to use for my academic eBooks. Is it still a good time to buy an iPad Air 2 and will it be worth my money? Or should I just wait for the next iPad version to come out?

I've read about iPad Pro but I don't want a larger screen since I intend to carry my tablet around. Are they going to release a new and hopefully better model of Air?
 
if you need one, buy one.

are they going to release new air/pro? no one knows. but for sure, they will release new devices on someday... but if you arent sure about buying it today, why not then wait couple of months and see what happens.
 
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jaykl said:
I've read about iPad Pro but I don't want a larger screen since I intend to carry my tablet around. Are they going to release a new and hopefully better model of Air?
Click to expand...

I'd say go for it. The best thing the Air 2 has going for it is the 2GB of RAM... The first iDevice to have it, so look to have it for awhile.

If you find an Air 2 at a reasonable price.... Then buy it. I remain skeptical they will update the Air 2 due to the rumored iPad Pro... By not updating the Air 2 will entice customers to go for the iPad Pro.
 
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Even if you don't like the Air 3, or it isn't worth it, the Air 2 will be a great deal at $399. Just wait and see. I predict Force Touch and better battery life. Force Touch will probably prove to be a very useful feature, and better battery life will as well, if you want your iPad to last longer on a single charge.
 
I got one a week ago during the sale at Staples ($100 off, 64gb). Aside from the wireless issue with iOS 8.4 I've been experiencing (which switching to 5GHz wifi seems to have mitigated that issue for the moment) I absolutely love it. Even if there is an ipad Air 3 in October, it will be full price to get it. The Air 2 meets my needs and I could grab one at a discounted price without having to wait another 4 months.
 
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I bought a refurb iPad Air 2 last week with a great discount. I need it now. It may not be the latest and greatest a few months from now, but there is always something newer and better coming around the corner. Always.

If you need it now, now is a good time. Get a refurb or look for a sale to save a few bucks if money is tight.
 
jaykl said:
I've been planning to buy an iPad since last May which I intend to use for my academic eBooks. Is it still a good time to buy an iPad Air 2 and will it be worth my money? Or should I just wait for the next iPad version to come out?

I've read about iPad Pro but I don't want a larger screen since I intend to carry my tablet around. Are they going to release a new and hopefully better model of Air?
Click to expand...

Is school starting before the (possible) Air 3 release? Buy an Air 2. That should be a no-brainer if you're planning on using it for school.

We have few solid rumors to know if an Air 3 is in the works; most rumors have centered around the iPad Pro. IF Apple is releasing an Air 3, it's relatively unlikely to be in stores before the beginning of November, and will likely be in short supply through the holidays. So maybe you scramble to get one immediately, or maybe you end up having to wait until December or later.

Or you can buy it new (or refurbished) now, enjoy it for the summer, and have it the day you need it when school starts in the fall.

Only you can say if it's worth the money to you. It was worth it to me to get a refurbished one 3 weeks ago, even though I'd just gotten a Mini 2 last fall when they dropped in price. My needs had changed since then, the bigger screen was now more important, and I sold the Mini at a loss to get the Air 2. Losing money always sucks, but it was worth it...to me. And it was not worth it to me to wait another 4+ months to see if *maybe* Apple would put a can't-miss feature on a new Air. The Air 2 is a solid workhorse of a device, reasonably well set to perform decently with the next few iOS upgrades. I just didn't see the point in waiting.

(Personal opinion: I'll be surprised at any major hardware upgrades to the Air line. I think the big stuff will be reserved for the Pro, the Air 3 will be a smaller upgrade that will still be lower specced than the Pro, and the Mini 4 will be brought up to Air 2 standards if we're lucky. They're going to want to push the Pro hard, and if that's going to be "the iPad for productive people" versus the Air & Mini as devices more for consumption of media, most of the good hardware upgrades are going to be focused on the priciest device in the lineup.)
 
i'm now tempted by ipad air 2

on amazon it has it at £396 for the 64GB model...save £80 from normal apple price.
 
IrishVixen said:
(Personal opinion: I'll be surprised at any major hardware upgrades to the Air line. I think the big stuff will be reserved for the Pro, the Air 3 will be a smaller upgrade that will still be lower specced than the Pro, and the Mini 4 will be brought up to Air 2 standards if we're lucky. They're going to want to push the Pro hard, and if that's going to be "the iPad for productive people" versus the Air & Mini as devices more for consumption of media, most of the good hardware upgrades are going to be focused on the priciest device in the lineup.)
Click to expand...

That's my thoughts exactly. The way Apple encouraged customers to buy the Air 2 over the Mini 3 will be the same in comparison to the Pro over the Air 2.

But my only issue with the iPad Pro... Do we really need a larger screen? I like the size of the Air 2... All is needed is more iPad specific features on iOS, they have addressed it in iOS 9.. I'd just prefer Apple to continue focusing on iOS for the iPad.
 
Ludatyk said:
That's my thoughts exactly. The way Apple encouraged customers to buy the Air 2 over the Mini 3 will be the same in comparison to the Pro over the Air 2.

But my only issue with the iPad Pro... Do we really need a larger screen? I like the size of the Air 2... All is needed is more iPad specific features on iOS, they have addressed it in iOS 9.. I'd just prefer Apple to continue focusing on iOS for the iPad.
Click to expand...

I seriously thought I'd end up keeping the Mini 2 and getting an iPad Pro to replace my dying laptop. But I realized that most likely, I'd end up using that expensive new device as little as I use the laptop. Everything for me is iPad-centric...but that iPad needs to be fairly portable and definitely easily held in one hand. The Pro was certain to be too big for me and for my own use case. So *I* don't need a bigger iPad, but that doesn't mean other people won't. The demand has been growing for a couple of years now, and I'm sure it will sell reasonably well.
 
IrishVixen said:
I seriously thought I'd end up keeping the Mini 2 and getting an iPad Pro to replace my dying laptop. But I realized that most likely, I'd end up using that expensive new device as little as I use the laptop. Everything for me is iPad-centric...but that iPad needs to be fairly portable and definitely easily held in one hand. The Pro was certain to be too big for me and for my own use case. So *I* don't need a bigger iPad, but that doesn't mean other people won't. The demand has been growing for a couple of years now, and I'm sure it will sell reasonably well.
Click to expand...
take it from somebody who has a note 12.2 it is very much impossible to hold with one hand and it's a struggle to use it like an normal sized ipad.

I use a keyboard with my note 12.2 and it works fine like a laptop but sometimes I just want a normal tablet where i can hold it with one hand in bed or even two with ease and just browse through sites and check football and basketball scores.

which is why I think i'm going to grab the 64GB ipad air 2 or ipad mini 3 at the end of the month.
 
kidtachyon said:
I bought a refurb iPad Air 2 last week with a great discount. I need it now. It may not be the latest and greatest a few months from now, but there is always something newer and better coming around the corner. Always.

If you need it now, now is a good time. Get a refurb or look for a sale to save a few bucks if money is tight.
Click to expand...

Excellent choice on the refurb. That's the right way to buy the Air 2 currently. Save money, no tangible differences between refurb and new.

I wanted to upgrade to the Air 2 but the vibration problems killed it for me. I'm hoping they take care of this problem with a refreshed Air this fall. If not....not sure what to do other than just keep using my perfectly good Air 1.
 
I'd wait for the iPad air 3. There is going to be one, but we just don't know it's features. If you wait, it's a win-win! If the air 3 has some better features, you can get it. If it's pretty much the same as the air 2, then you can get the air 2 for cheaper!
 
Ludatyk said:
That's my thoughts exactly. The way Apple encouraged customers to buy the Air 2 over the Mini 3 will be the same in comparison to the Pro over the Air 2.

But my only issue with the iPad Pro... Do we really need a larger screen? I like the size of the Air 2... All is needed is more iPad specific features on iOS, they have addressed it in iOS 9.. I'd just prefer Apple to continue focusing on iOS for the iPad.
Click to expand...
It's still a bit premature to make any conclusions on the Pro. There's been sketchy rumors all over the place over the last 12+ months. It is also possible that there are additional features to be added to iOS 9 that are specific to the Pro that will be released when the Pro is released (if it even exists).

As much as I'd like to see the Pro this year, I'm beginning to think that it won't be announced until early 2016 to be available mid/late 2016. Considering how small the rMB "motherboard" is, I can see a true hybrid device next year that has the iPad Air 4 as the screen of a rMB-like device. when attached, the rMB is active, when detailed, the iPad/screen is active (running iOS).
 
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I was considering buying the Air 2 this last spring, before my vacation, but work issues convinced me not to.

Now, I'll probably wait until the Air 3. My 3rd generation iPad acts flakey sometimes with the home button. I don't know if it is software or hardware. Also, I'm getting tired of messing with 2 sets of power cables. (my phone uses the lightning cable).
 
I'm in the same boat.. Deciding if I should get an Air 2 now.. I have a vacation coming up in early October and I would like to have a new iPad by then..
 
Picked one up at Target today for $359 after taxes

-Marked down to $399
-10% off with cartwheel app
-5% off for using target card
=Amazing deal!!
 
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