iPad Is refurbished iPad Air 1 worth it now?

[sanke1]

Why didn't I buy an iPad 2? Because my first iPad was the iPad 3rd Gen and I buy the latest iPad every year, via my employer, at a reduced rate paid monthly from my salary. Business perk. I'm sensible, I'm also mature enough not to come onto a forum and bash a device because I own a newer one.

You really, REALLY come off as one of these guys who likes the sound of his own voice too much. You're one of these people who actually thinks that what they post on a forum is fact. You really believe your own hyperbole.

"Nothing is going to be optimised for it". What like the Metal updates for games with iOS 8 bringing Metal to A7 devices?

"Apple have abandoned it". Really? Despite their iPad site stating, "Both versions of iPad Air are incredibly capable, with desktop-class 64‑bit architecture, gorgeous 9.7-inch Retina displays, and all-day battery life".

Stop making sweeping generalisations and statements as if you know what's going on in Cupertino. And judging by the performance I've seen in iOS 8.2 it's night and day compared to iOS 8.0.x ... so yes, Apple are truly "abandoning" the iPad Air eh? I suppose the iPad mini 2 and 3, the iPhone 5s, and the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are being abandoned too then eh?

My iPad 3 is now with my mother in law, as it had previously been with my wife who now has my old iPad 4. She'll get this so-called "paperweight" iPad Air in June when I get my Air 2 which means we need to find a new home for the iPad 4 ... all the people who get our older iPads enjoy using them are doing so to this day.

Seriously, go and speak to yourself in the mirror because the only person who believes your rubbish is you.

Wow you got personal real quick. Ok you win this argument.

 

[mrex]

 

[Geekbabe]

My husband gifted me with a 32GB Air last April, I still find it more than adequate for surfing the web, enjoying movies playing Candy Crush etc. I even update my blog on it when traveling. I'm content to wait for the Air 3 or perhaps the rumored ipad pro before upgrading.

 

[mangomind]

The Air 1 works perfectly fine, and for your mentioned uses, this model would be the one to get.

 

[spacemnspiff]

Why didn't I buy an iPad 2? Because my first iPad was the iPad 3rd Gen and I buy the latest iPad every year, via my employer, at a reduced rate paid monthly from my salary. Business perk. I'm sensible, I'm also mature enough not to come onto a forum and bash a device because I own a newer one.

You really, REALLY come off as one of these guys who likes the sound of his own voice too much. You're one of these people who actually thinks that what they post on a forum is fact. You really believe your own hyperbole.

"Nothing is going to be optimised for it". What like the Metal updates for games with iOS 8 bringing Metal to A7 devices?

"Apple have abandoned it". Really? Despite their iPad site stating, "Both versions of iPad Air are incredibly capable, with desktop-class 64‑bit architecture, gorgeous 9.7-inch Retina displays, and all-day battery life".

Stop making sweeping generalisations and statements as if you know what's going on in Cupertino. And judging by the performance I've seen in iOS 8.2 it's night and day compared to iOS 8.0.x ... so yes, Apple are truly "abandoning" the iPad Air eh? I suppose the iPad mini 2 and 3, the iPhone 5s, and the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are being abandoned too then eh?

My iPad 3 is now with my mother in law, as it had previously been with my wife who now has my old iPad 4. She'll get this so-called "paperweight" iPad Air in June when I get my Air 2 which means we need to find a new home for the iPad 4 ... all the people who get our older iPads enjoy using them are doing so to this day.

Seriously, go and speak to yourself in the mirror because the only person who believes your rubbish is you.

This RAM rhetoric bugs me too, and that too with no real evidence showing that RAM is THE bottleneck. All the posts are anecdotal evidences without any real engineering/scientific assessment. There are plenty of other places that might be the issue - RAM, CPU and GPU allocation, processor cache memory, memory paging and OS itself on how it handles memory.

I recently upgraded to the Air 32 GB from an iPad 4 32GB. After Amazon trade in, the brand new iPad Air is costing me $50+tax. The reduced weight of the Air is a big differentiator for me.

 

[s2mikey]

This RAM rhetoric bugs me too, and that too with no real evidence showing that RAM is THE bottleneck. All the posts are anecdotal evidences without any real engineering/scientific assessment. There are plenty of other places that might the issue, CPU and GPU allocation, cache memory, memory paging and OS itself on how it handles memory.

I recently upgraded to the Air 32 GB from an iPad 4 32GB. After Amazon trade in, the brand new iPad Air is costing me $50+tax. The reduced weight of the Air is a big differentiator for me.

Correct. At least a few people seem to get it. The Air is a fine device and as I said before its still a solid buy right now. It has strong hardware and will handle many future iterations of iOS. No worries.

 

[PowerBook-G5]

One thing that I have noticed after playing with an Air 1 in store and my Air 2 is that the laminated display of the Air 2 makes it seem like a MUCH better and robust product. With the Air 1, people were complaining that the display sounded "plasticky" and cheap when they tapped on it, and I totally agree. If you can, go to a store with an Air 1 and play around with it to make sure that you're fine with the display. The laminated display of the Air 2 doesn't have this "issue". I know that I couldn't have an Air 1 and be satisfied with it for this one reason. Other than the display, it's still a pretty good iPad.

 

[dcorban]

People need to stop this, it's embarrassing.

It's ONE gig. The only thing you see that one big doing is allowing more tabs to be open in Safari and more apps staying open in the background longer. In terms of actual app performance, right now both iPad Air models are the same. Gaming in particular is identical and both models support Metal via iOS 8, outwith Oceanhorn which has been updated for A8 and A8X but that's down to the GPU, and not the RAM.

That one GB makes a significant difference. I went from having tabs reloading in Safari constantly, even with only two or three tabs open, sometimes even reloading just from switching back from other apps, to not experiencing a single tab reload in the entire time I have used my iPad Air 2 purchased on release day.

I don't have a laptop. I use my iPad as my main device and use it constantly. It's embarassing how deficient the older iPads really are in regard to Safari, which is likely the primary function of an iPad for most people.

Don't skimp. Get the Air 2.

 

[ClemsonDV]

I just got a NEW iPad Air 32 GB for $320 from MicroCenter.

If you catch a good deal, go for it. I would have paid an extra $200-$250 for iPad Air 2. But in two years or so when iPad AWESOME is out, I won't feel bad about switching early.

It does all I need, and frankly if iOS8 didn't kill my iPad 2, I would still use that. But AIR is so much faster and sleaker....so I am happy.

 

[spacemnspiff]

I just got a NEW iPad Air 32 GB for $320 from MicroCenter.

If you catch a good deal, go for it. I would have paid an extra $200-$250 for iPad Air 2. But in two years or so when iPad AWESOME is out, I won't feel bad about switching early.

It does all I need, and frankly if iOS8 didn't kill my iPad 2, I would still use that. But AIR is so much faster and sleaker....so I am happy.

I got the same deal. Very happy with the upgrade from iPad 4.

 

[joeipad]

Got an iPad Air1 16 Wifi last black friday for 279€, now it's my partner's iPad.
Got an iPad Air1 128 Cellular for 450€, had a small problem and got a refurbished (applecare), couldn't be happier.
I use it for content creation and to make music.
Get it and enjoy it.

 

[oneMadRssn]

For what it's worth, I've been looking on ebay lately and trying to take advantage of those unwanted holiday gifts that are beyond the return period).

Specifically, I've only been looking at the iPad Air 2 64GB Cellular. I have found the prices for that model to be around $550-650 for the unpopular colors (gold and silver) and $650-$700 for the slate. Indeed I watched a few auctions for perfectly good opened and barely used gold ones go for just a hair over $500 - that's a steal, nearly $230 off retail!

Take these prices for what they're worth. Obviously this comes with the caveat of having to expend time looking and bidding, and certain risks.

 

[JuryDuty]

I agree that an original iPad Air should work fine, but it does depend on your needs.

My kids still use an original iPad 1 and it works for a lot of their games. I have another iPad 2 that pretty much covers them for anything else.

For me, they're too slow, but that's because my uses are different. But anything that runs iOS 8 well should be fine for about 90% of the apps out there.