New Images of iPad Air 2 Parts Show Touch ID Home Button Cable, Logic Board With A8X Chip, and More

[wizard]

I of course could be wrong, but using an A8X is a pretty good indicator that the larger iPad Air at least, will go @3x.

Not when the current iPad is so in need of a performance boost itself. Honestly I don't understand people making excuses here with respect to performance. IPad is still a long ways from delivering desktop like performance.

Wouldn't be surprised if the iPad rmini either doesn't get updated right now, or stays @2x with an A8. Shame, because I really like the 7.9" form factor over the 9.7" - even with my 6+

It will be updated in some form. An A8, X or not, in the Mini would be very nice. Especially if they can bump clock rate.

 

[2457282]

Posts like this annoy the crap out of me. Just because YOU don't use a feature doesn't mean there's no one else in the world that DOES. I happen to like having the switch to lock my phone. It's CONVENIENT. God forbid things be easy and functional - because THINNESS is the ONLY thing that matters.

It unfortunate that my post annyoed you so much that it seems you failed to finish reading it before you posted a response. If you would have finished reading you would have seen that my point is that there are other considerations beyond thinness. But hell you might not make it this far in reading this post before you respond so whatever. Lol

 

[donnaw]

The mute switch/rotation lock is the least sturdy thing about my ipad air. If i turn it to mute just touching the switch will activate the software to flip function back and forth so I never touch it. Maybe Apple realized this was a common point of failure or weakness and decided to get rid of it? (Obviously could also just be mine)

I would not mind seeing it go. Control center takes care of that function and also I never completely understood what the mute switch mutes (it doesn't seem to mute everything). The ipad air is my first iOS device in ages.

You're probably still under warranty. My switch is not loose at all. I would have it fixed unless you're planning to upgrade.

 

[Donoban]

Unbelieveable still NO LAMINATED DISPLAY!

And A8X is a repeat of the iPad 3 debacle. I'll wait for iPad Air 2S, please.

my money is on A8X = quad GPU but RAM is still measly 1GB. Quote me on this one!

If they released it with a A7X I'd agree with you, but the A8 is the current gen cpu. You'll be waiting another year for the A9? Will it be faster? Of course, but doesn't seem like a repeat of the iPad 3 release. Esp if we see 2gb of ram.
Just you wait and see. Apple never disappoints.

 

[Tycho24]

why would they sacrifice the mute switch over thinness? there comes the point when function should be more important than a few 0.0x mm. especially with most people putting it into a bulky case anyway

next thing you know they will require their own headphones to be used because the device is too thin to handle the standard headphone jack, so stupid

What I find unbelievable is that you & the fifteen people that upvoted you are somehow blissfully unaware that MacRumors has all but debunked this. The missing lock/mute button & hole in that spot is because it's a pilot hole, NOT because they're leaving it out & coincidentally putting yet another mic in that exact spot. Lol, why would that allow it to be thinner anyways??
Also... is there an advantage to that hardware switch since iOS 7 introduced the slide up control for it?

 

[donnaw]

As to the lock rotation/mute slider - since I have just found out it does exist in the control center (thanks Casiotone) I can see the reason to get rid of the physical slider.

1). It's a physical slider hence a point of failure. Anytime a point of failure can be replaced with software I'm all for it

2). I keep my iPad locked in landscape mode. There are a couple of apps I use that require portrait. But those apps automatically come up in portrait mode anyway so I never switch the slider.

I don't see the reasoning for toggle between mute and rotation lock. I'm sure it's because it was added due to the phone and the phone already having a physical button. I seem to remember a controversy that the iPhone didn't used to have a rotation lock. But that was before the control center. There is no logical reason to toggle between mute and lock if the physical button is removed. The two simply do not go together.

Were I desiging the OS I would replace it with a portrait/landscape toggle and remove the mute. Mute can be done simply with a quick slide. Or add another button.

The problem is how much does Apple want to keep the iPad OS and the iPhone OS the same. Unfortunately for the iPad they seem to prefer keeping the exact same configuration. But that's another issue altogether and another pet peeve of mine.

 

[Donoban]

It unfortunate that my post annyoed you so much that it seems you failed to finish reading it before you posted a response. If you would have finished reading you would have seen that my point is that there are other considerations beyond thinness. But hell you might not make it this far in reading this post before you respond so whatever. Lol

er, you failed to finish reading my post, if you would have finished reading you see my point... oh shiet sorry man, did not read. lolz.

 

[57004]

Unbelieveable still NO LAMINATED DISPLAY!

Agreed, it's really time, Apple is really so far behind on this one.

I know people (like the iFixit crowd) complain about the repairability but lamination cuts an entire layer of reflections. As well as preventing any dust ever getting behind your touchscreen.

That's a lot more important than the minor reduction in thickness. It's a must-have for me in a new tablet.

 

[dannyyankou]

I'm ****ing pumped. Gotta sell my iPad 2 soon!

 

[jjahshik32]

I'm just going to wait it out and read the reviews to see if the iPad Air 2 resolved the safari tab reloading issues. If this has been addressed, I will dump my iPad 4 for one.

 

[Count Blah]

I'm just going to wait it out and read the reviews to see if the iPad Air 2 resolved the safari tab reloading issues. If this has been addressed, I will dump my iPad 4 for one.

Haven't you heard? Some guy made a video, so our problem doesn't exist!!!

YIPPEE!!

 

[dannyyankou]

I'm just going to wait it out and read the reviews to see if the iPad Air 2 resolved the safari tab reloading issues. If this has been addressed, I will dump my iPad 4 for one.

2GB of ram should fix the issue.

 

[Zerilos]

Not when the current iPad is so in need of a performance boost itself. Honestly I don't understand people making excuses here with respect to performance. IPad is still a long ways from delivering desktop like performance.

I don't believe that the past iPads were even attempts to deliver desktop like performance.

 

[fertilized-egg]

You are not alone? Not at all. There are hundreds of complainers on this forum. People complaining about almost everything: the screen feels "plastic", the display looks "yellowish", the home button feels "clicky".... That doesn't make them any better.

Yup. I chuckled when someone here mentioned Apple apologists will change their minds and implied the forum will be full of people singing praises of Apple going to 2GB RAM. NO. What will happen is there'll be other issues that'll get all the attention.

I know it because we lived through this with other products. There weren't much praises of the iPad 2 or the iPad 3 having more RAM than the previous versions. RAM was even more important because we had so little back then but when it was released, there was very little praises on the increased RAM. Instead the forum was full of angry users wondering why this generation of Apple product is so terrible.

Remember the iPad 2 lighting problem? No one does at this point. But here's a 171 page thread discussing the issue. It was everywhere.This is just one thread. The iPad 2 was indeed doomed and Apple screwed it up, until the next generation. Then suddenly the iPad 2 was great whereas the iPad 3 is terrible because it has a host of problems. The cycle will continue on.

This does not mean the RAM issue is not real. For many I'm sure it's aggravating and important. However as always the importance gets blown up as an issue is chosen as "the" issue of the day. With more RAM, there'll be other complaints just as shrill. RAM is merely the topic of this year.

On a somewhat related note, I post this link all the time but Macrumors' reaction on the iPod from 2001 pretty much sums up what'll happen every time Apple introduces something.

 

[Piggie]

Are you sure you really have an iPad? You don't need to type any password for app updates.
And the password required for app purchase is a choice you can change (but I strongly recommend to leave it as it is now, to avoid surprises).

Yes you do.

I just picked up my iPad. 28 updates. I clicked on update all, and it popped up a requester box asking for my password.

 

[lk400]

It'd be extremely stupid to get rid of the rotation lock. Maybe it's because 90% of iPad users don't even know that you can select between "mute" and "rotation lock" functionality? I'm surprised they still have volume buttons in place

But that'd be a deal breaker for me.

It started off as a rotation lock back on iPad 1 didn't it? I guess this functionality is useful.

 

[Piggie]

I could say....

Why not use the camera?

You look at the ipad.
Unless you are an Alien you have eyes, horizontally next to each other

The iPad can use it's camera see the orientation of your eyes, and rotate the screen so that is correct for your eyes.

Would that not work?

Or work 99% of the time?

 

[Burger Thing]

I proved you wrong, even with YouTube videos, several times in the past about your "two tabs safari reloads"... But you keep spreading fud about it....

To be honest, I had exactly the same experience. I had 2 tabs open on Dolphin Browser and I typed a reply for the MR forum and wanted to Google something in the second tab. When I came back to tab one, it was reloaded and everything I have written was gone.

We know you are enthusiastic about Apple. That's fine. But don't stick your head into the sand and ignore obvious flaws.

 

[rGiskard]

I have both and currently load the same page. I can't tell the difference. Whoever daid it's different must be a liar

I've seen both and they are noticably different. Why do you need to lie about a phone display?

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It's not fairly easy to see, there is about a 10-15% difference the most..it's just the Plus display, you get even more display and screen and that obviously would make everything look better first sight but if you actually looked at picture quality/screen quality up close in alot of applications and stuff, the 6 is incredibly sharp already too and the Plus is just a bit more sharper, but not fairly easy to discern right away

Easy for me discern the sharpness. Maybe you didn't look closely enough?

If you hold it at arm's length, you're right, there's no difference. If you look closer, the sharpness on the 6+ is breathtaking.

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No it's not easy to see. You actually have to struggle to notice it.
Everything above 300-330 ppi on a phone is just fine, if you use a full RGB pixels matrix (crappy Pentile implementation is a totally different matter, and you actually need 400+ ppi to have decent results).

Yes, it is easy to see.

330ppi isn't enough. On my 4S I can easily see the pixels. The goal is for the pixels to be invisible.

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No I did not. Maybe I'm biased since I don't see the pixels on my 6 unless I put the device very close to my face so I assume that the 6+ wouldn't make a noticeable difference. That's why I wrote "I personally think".

Maybe you're right, but maybe you'd get the same impression comparing a 6 to a 6+ that would have a 326 PPI screen simply from the fact that the resolution is much higher.

The same content presented in a larger form is more defined because of the higher pixel count and you don't have to bring it as close to your face to read small text.

Actually, content on the 6+ is slightly smaller than on the 6 due to the downscaling. Not very noticable and since the 6+ can display finer detail, it's no problem to read smaller text.

I think you're confusing resolution with pixel density. If two devices use the same pixel density and no funky downscaling, then all else being equal, the larger device will simply display more area. Text will be the same size. Perhaps you're thinking of two displays of the same resolution, but of different physical dimensions? In such a case the physically smaller screen will display finer detail.

 

[lk400]

I've seen both and they are noticably different. Why do you need to lie about a phone display?

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Easy for me discern the sharpness. Maybe you didn't look closely enough?

If you hold it at arm's length, you're right, there's no difference. If you look closer, the sharpness on the 6+ is breathtaking.

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Yes, it is easy to see.

330ppi isn't enough. On my 4S I can easily see the pixels. The goal is for the pixels to be invisible.

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Actually, content on the 6+ is slightly smaller than on the 6 due to the downscaling. Not very noticable and since the 6+ can display finer detail, it's no problem to read smaller text.

I think you're confusing resolution with pixel density. If two devices use the same pixel density and no funky downscaling, then all else being equal, the larger device will simply display more area. Text will be the same size. Perhaps you're thinking of two displays of the same resolution, but of different physical dimensions? In such a case the physically smaller screen will display finer detail.

I have both in my hand right now and you are overstating the differences. The 6+ does generally look better when using, but it's not obviously, and not obviously from resolution. I look as closely as I can focus and see very little difference in terms if pixels.

For size, the other poster is correct. On the same Wikipedia page open, the 6+ is indeed slightly larger font.

Backlight seems whiter on the 6+ (maybe my 6 has an issue?) photos and video look better on the 6+. But it's not at all as obvious or big difference that you indicate.

 

[rGiskard]

I have both in my hand right now and you are overstating the differences. The 6+ does generally look better when using, but it's not obviously, and not obviously from resolution. I look as closely as I can focus and see very little difference in terms if pixels.

For size, the other poster is correct. On the same Wikipedia page open, the 6+ is indeed slightly larger font.

Backlight seems whiter on the 6+ (maybe my 6 has an issue?) photos and video look better on the 6+. But it's not at all as obvious or big difference that you indicate.

Nope, the 6+ has slightly smaller screen elements due to the downscaling. Everything is rendered at 1125x2001 and then downscaled to 1080x1920, so text on the 6+ is about 87% the size as that of the 6.

Don't get me wrong, both the 6 and 6+ have excellent displays. It's just that the higher pixel density makes the 6+ stand out. The 6 is about two years behind all of the other high-end smartphones in this regard.

 

[Analog Kid]

Not when the current iPad is so in need of a performance boost itself. Honestly I don't understand people making excuses here with respect to performance. IPad is still a long ways from delivering desktop like performance.

Depending on how you look at it, the iPad has always had or will never have desktop performance. It's about as powerful as a desktop of a few years ago, on which we were able to do all sorts of amazing things, but it will never be as powerful as a contemporary desktop because it is small, portable, and doesn't rely on mains power.

I could say....

Why not use the camera?

You look at the ipad.
Unless you are an Alien you have eyes, horizontally next to each other

The iPad can use it's camera see the orientation of your eyes, and rotate the screen so that is correct for your eyes.

Would that not work?

Or work 99% of the time?

Clever solution, but it would cost a boatload of battery life. Running the camera and facial detection software is not cheap.

I think rotation lock though is for those times when you don't necessarily want the display aligned to your eyes, or don't want it flipping between states at the margins.

 

[iMacmatician]

Nope, the 6+ has slightly smaller screen elements due to the downscaling. Everything is rendered at 1125x2001 and then downscaled to 1080x1920, so text on the 6+ is about 87% the size as that of the 6.

Nope, you're still incorrect.

From the very link you posted, interface elements do not change in physical size (to the nearest pixel) when downscaled from 1242x2208 (not 1125x2001) to 1080x1920. The iPhone 6 has 163 points per inch and the iPhone 6+ has 154 "logical" points per inch. Also, even if your 87% the size logic was correct, it's not 87% the size of the 6 because the 6 and 6+ have different "logical" points per inch values.

 

[Keirasplace]

To be honest, I had exactly the same experience. I had 2 tabs open on Dolphin Browser and I typed a reply for the MR forum and wanted to Google something in the second tab. When I came back to tab one, it was reloaded and everything I have written was gone.

We know you are enthusiastic about Apple. That's fine. But don't stick your head into the sand and ignore obvious flaws.

Considering Androids reloads with 4G of memory, the issue is obviously not just memory. That's all.

2G may or may not fix this purported issue, if indeed there is some fixing to be had. Aggressive memory management of Safari (or Webkit) seems to be the cause of this rather than simply a lack of memory. The fact that reloading doesn't seem to be much worse on an Ipad 2 than an Ipad Air seems to demonstrate this.

How big do you think those web pages are? I could load 20 tabs on a 128 megabit computer with XP in the early 2000s without even swapping to disk (yes, I could verify this). I know web pages are bigger these days but come on!

BTW, If someone says they don't have the issue, are you calling them liars because you have the issue. Is that how it goes? Anecdotes only work one way!

I'm OK with Apple putting 2G in an Ipad because there is more a case for it than on a phone; but, overstating your case is not going to convince me that the current situation is catastrophic.

 

[rGiskard]

Nope, you're still incorrect.

From the very link you posted, interface elements do not change in physical size (to the nearest pixel) when downscaled from 1242x2208 (not 1125x2001) to 1080x1920. The iPhone 6 has 163 points per inch and the iPhone 6+ has 154 "logical" points per inch. Also, even if your 87% the size logic was correct, it's not 87% the size of the 6 because the 6 and 6+ have different "logical" points per inch values.

Ooops, you're right, it's 1242x2208.


Rendered pixels show the text at the same size. Then the 6+ scales it down to 87% of the rendered size. That's what the link says. Could be the link is wrong, I suppose, but I've not seen anything else suggesting otherwise.

Read the entire link, all the way down to the "Physical Device" section.

Edit: here's a better link.

Edit2: solved for diagonal, got a points per inch of 162.8 for the 6 versus 153.5 for the 6+. So the 6+ is indeed rendering slightly larger elements and text, but not enough to compensate for the downscaling.