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iPad Is it worth it to buy iPad Air now?

NickPhamUK

NickPhamUK

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 6, 2013
356
197
iPad Air would be the perfect tablet if not for its 1GB RAM...

1 year ago, I got myself a Mini and it was fine until it started to annoy the crap out of me because of Safari constantly having to reload. Obviously, 512 MB is not enough, but Apple is too damn greedy.

And then, I've seen so many threads popping up here saying how iPad Air lacks RAM. Not sure if the issue is severe or not, because one hand, the number of threads + people who reply they have that issue is high, but on the other, I believe those who do not have this problem will not come here and make a thread -> I'm not sure what % of iPad Air users does issue affects.

TL;DR: Should I get iPad Air now or wait for the next gen? Half a year ahead...

P.S: If Apple still uses 1GB RAM on the next product I swear I will never buy an idevice again.
 
The second 7.1 drops scoop one up and if you don't like return it. No one will fault you except maybe Tim cook.
 
I just bought an Air last week at Best Buy's sale. I was a little nervous about all the things I read about the RAM, but I don't regret it at all! Sure, I've had a few crashes, but this is my 1st iPad and compared to my iPhone 5, it's much more capable. I do a lot of big spreadsheets in Numbers and it handles them without a hiccup. I think the crashes are due to iOS 7 and not the RAM. I guess we'll see when the "any day now" 7.1 is released. Even with occasional crashes it was totally worth it. Nothing has hung, it just returns to the home screen. My phone has hangs which is far more annoying.
 
I don't know why people can't accept this, but the Safari reloads issue is not due to RAM.
 
iSee said:
I don't know why people can't accept this, but the Safari reloads issue is not due to RAM.
Click to expand...

Then could you please enlighten us.

My iPhone 5 does not reload even if I have 10+ tabs on. My iPad Mini reloads even with 3 tabs on.
 
I don't think the tab issue can be compared between iPhone and iPad. The tabs load differently on each device. A better comparison would be an iPad rMini since it has the same stats or the iPad 4 because it's a generation behind.
 
Go for it. I've had mine since a week after launch and it's been damned solid. I personally haven't had any safari issues but it probably depends on sites and usage. An OS update will likely smooth things out and then yer good to go.

The Air as is is a great device, IMO. Besides, you can always argue that you should wait. Even when they release the next gen Air there will be plenty of folks who won't buy one because, well, might as well wait for the 3rd gen air now. Right?

See how that ends up going? ;)
 
Would an iPad benefit you enough now to own one?

Personally I'm waiting, but I have an iPad 3 to hold me over.

If you start waiting for a certain upgrade from Apple you'll always be waiting. As soon as the next iPad comes out if it has 2 gb of RAM then you'll start hearing rumors about the NEXT iPad and how fantastic its going to be.

Besides you can always sell it and get a large chunk of what you paid for back.
 
Normally I'd recommend not waiting, but with 7.1 coming out (hopefully) before long and (possibly) addressing the issues that bug you so much, I might wait just a little longer for that, to see if it fixes the problem or not.
 
NickPhamUK said:
Then could you please enlighten us.

My iPhone 5 does not reload even if I have 10+ tabs on. My iPad Mini reloads even with 3 tabs on.
Click to expand...

I'm with you. If anything, that link to another thread merely confirms it.

That said, I have a 5S where the tabs reloading is similar to my rMini, albeit not quite as bad since the 5S is predominantly loading mobile sites which require less memory.

I'm surprised there's even a suggestion that it isn't a ram issue, I can recreate the issue quite easily. I think a software update can improve it slightly though, as closing/re opening Safari improves performance for a short while. I would imagine an update could at least make Safari more consistent, other factors notwithstanding.

In answer to the OP's question, if you're the kind of person that visits forums, looks at specs and discusses products, I'd only ever buy an Apple product within the first 3 or maybe 4 months from launch. Beyond that, you'll get buyers remorse when better versions appear 6 months later for the same price.

For everyone else, an iPad is an iPad, you buy one whenever, use it for a few years, then update.
 
Last edited:
Can you wait until September/October? Personally, I'd get one now and enjoy it. When they come out with a new Air you can discern whether to sell your current air and get a new one or stick with what you have. Why do without an iPad air for 6 plus month in the hope they'll increase the ram (which they may not)
 
I'm 12 hours into owning mine.... Haven't had a tab reload yet. I'm quite familiar with the issue, see I have an iPad1 (posting on it because, hmmm, I wonder what my pw is? Lol).

The Air is a great device, if you want it now - get it and enjoy it... Or get sucked into the waiting game, with some new issue on the new one.

Now, back to the air. Whose screen seems bright white compared to this one....
 
I just upgraded today from an iPad 2 because of Targets sale this week.

I am happy with it seems a lot faster and more stable than my iPad 2. I bought the silver 16gb
 
I'm incredibly annoyed by how RAM starved Apple's devices usually are. The first gen iOS platform was okay because 128MB at that time was actually a lot, and there wasn't anything else doing more.

256MB for second gen was okay too, but basically every other gen I've felt had half as much as it should have had.

Third gen (which the iPad 1 was) should have had at least 512MB if not 1GB. 2012's iPad 4 should have probably had 2GB. And the Air/Mini 2 should probably have 2-4GB.

Ironically Apple's the only company using 64-bit ARM chips right now, but they're using it with only 1GB when we're probably at the point they could actually be using 4GB.

It's one of the things that makes iOS annoying. A real PC you can have 9 billion things open at once. iOS? switch to another program or two, open some tabs, and you're starting to reload things. It's slow, it makes doing a lot of things much harder than on a real PC.

All THAT said, I'd expect the next gen platform to have 2GB (surely they can't do 1GB three years in a row?) but as to whether that's worth waiting for? If you don't need it now, sure, wait, but if you do, just go for the Air now. It's still a nice tablet for what it is.
 
What is the alternative? You can buy a higher spec android tablet. Cannot carry around a PC and I do not really want a laptop either.

For what I do, I do not see any problems to tell the truth. Millions just use it for consumption and if they were not satisfied, there would be millions returned.
 
I have owned the iPad 1,2,3,4, and now the 5th gen iPads. I still have iPad 2, iPad 4, and now the iPad Air.

I will without a doubt recommend you WAIT IT OUT for the next gen iPad. The iPad Air just doesn't have enough ram where it counts. I cannot trust to browse the web on my iPad Air and even do some financial transactions because the damn thing may crash at any moment. Overall I contribute this to iOS 7. It's really a piece of sht.

Since the refresh is coming in less than six months, you might as we'll save the cash and wait. I don't think it's worth buying any iPad at the moment given how low spec the ram memory is.
 
Anti-Lucifer said:
I have owned the iPad 1,2,3,4, and now the 5th gen iPads. I still have iPad 2, iPad 4, and now the iPad Air.

I will without a doubt recommend you WAIT IT OUT for the next gen iPad. The iPad Air just doesn't have enough ram where it counts. I cannot trust to browse the web on my iPad Air and even do some financial transactions because the damn thing may crash at any moment. Overall I contribute this to iOS 7. It's really a piece of sht.

Since the refresh is coming in less than six months, you might as we'll save the cash and wait. I don't think it's worth buying any iPad at the moment given how low spec the ram memory is.
Click to expand...

I'm with this guy. When it comes with proper 2GB, then make the jump.
 
You should get one now from an out of state store or ebay that doesn't charge sales tax or shipping and then install the 7.1 update to reduce Safari crashes. Then if another iPad model comes out next fall or winter that you like better you can sell your current Air and get the new model without losing much money.
 
Its the best iPad out now, I would just buy it and sell if when the next model comes outs.
 
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