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iPad new ipad air today, but man wasn't the ipad 2 a great device!

T

tivoboy

macrumors 601
Original poster
May 15, 2005
4,100
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So, I made the upgrade today. I'd been holding off since having the ipad 2. I've had the ipad 1, then got the two (and sold the 1) and ended buying the ipad 3 and really loved the retina display, but found the overall weight the machine heavier than the ipad 2 and honestly, couldn't justify the move. When the 4 came out I thought about it but decided to wait till what I knew was going to be a major form factor change - ala the mini. We've got a mini too, but I find the text on the screen just a TAD small..

So, today I made the jump to the ipad AIR and it's PRETTY great, not SUPER great just PRETTY great.

Yes, the size and weight is now almost perfect. I couldn't imagine it any LIGHTER but it could be just a tad thinner around the edges. I think in the next iterations of the phone and ipads (probably next year on the phone but not till 2015 on the ipads) we'll probably see the SIDE bezel just go away and have screen all the way to the edges.

It's of course very snappy, but compared to my normal usage on the ipad 2 it's not LEAPS AND BOUNDS snappier. I don't run a bunch of processor tests so I can't say exactly how much more snappy it is, but there is no lag and no waiting for nothin'.

But, lets' just talk about the screen for a moment. Of course for me now it has the retina display and yes everything on the screen is very sharp and clear, but when I compare it to my ipad 2, it's not CRAZY sharper and not CRAZY more clear. I don't think I have a bad screen per se (okay, it IS a bit too blue tint for my taste and colors seem a TAD washed out) but I think what this says is just how GREAT the ipad 2 display WAS... it really was a great device and when I compare them side by side, netting out the retina elements, I actually prefer the ipad 2 screen?

CRAZY I know right? I really expected to just open it up and say "wow, that screen is SICK" and just put my ipad 2 back in its box with the accessories and ship it off to its new owner)

What is going on here? too much expectation of not enough actual change?

I've tried to do a number of screenshots to compare the two, while looking at the same mountain IOS 7 background, it's clear there is more contrast and color detail on the display of the ipad 2, but when I do screen captures of both of them and them email them out and review them on my retina macbook pro, they look pretty much IDENTICAL so the image as the ipad computer sees it is X but the way the screen DISPLAYS it is Z..

This is a DMPL..serial display, so I'm not sure which screen manufacturer that is, and the older Ipad 2 is a DQTFD...serial and i'm not sure who made THAT screen.

Are we going to be in the situation again with display manufacturers in that one has to find what they want but with the right SCREEN manufacturer in order to get the best overall result?
 
tivoboy said:
What is going on here? too much expectation of not enough actual change?
Click to expand...
Perhaps a prescription for reading glasses might be in order. :p

I couldn't stand using the iPad 2 at all because of all the pixelation. Sometimes, it would go unused for 2-3 months. While the 9.7" retina iPads aren't as sharp as the retina iPhones, for me, it was still a big jump. :rolleyes:
 
Is there any keyboard lag while on forums? I still have my iPad 2 running iOS 7 and a iPad 3 running iOS 5.1.1, i'm surprised to read that even with a A7 chip it's not ultra smooth and snappy.
 
rui no onna said:
Perhaps a prescription for reading glasses might be in order. :p

I couldn't stand using the iPad 2 at all because of all the pixelation. Sometimes, it would go unused for 2-3 months. While the 9.7" retina iPads aren't as sharp as the retina iPhones, for me, it was still a big jump. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Is the pixelation seriously so bad on your iPad that it rendered it unusable? I find that hard to believe. You make it sound as though the screen is one whole blob of pixelation. Perhaps you have a faulty device? Honestly, while the retina screen is definitely a beauty to look at, the screen of the iPad 2 is perfectly acceptable for everyday use, IMO.
 
westcoastin said:
Is the pixelation seriously so bad on your iPad that it rendered it unusable? I find that hard to believe. You make it sound as though the screen is one whole blob of pixelation. Perhaps you have a faulty device? Honestly, while the retina screen is definitely a beauty to look at, the screen of the iPad 2 is perfectly acceptable for everyday use, IMO.
Click to expand...

I actually kind of agree with him, while it was perfectly acceptable for everyday use, it is certainly a big jump from non-retina to retina, especially browsing news stories and reading books, the text is noticeably sharper.

I liken it to watching SD TV content then switching to the HD channel of the same content. Sure, SD is plenty watchable (usable), but it's still a clear difference. No retina is why I didn't buy the 1st gen Mini, I read a lot on my tablets and need sharp text.
 
Rodster said:
i'm surprised to read that even with a A7 chip it's not ultra smooth and snappy.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure this is down to how bad iOS 7 is optimized for iPad use rather than the actual iPads hardware, hopefully 7.1 or 7.0.x update will come soon to fix this.
 
westcoastin said:
Is the pixelation seriously so bad on your iPad that it rendered it unusable? I find that hard to believe. You make it sound as though the screen is one whole blob of pixelation. Perhaps you have a faulty device? Honestly, while the retina screen is definitely a beauty to look at, the screen of the iPad 2 is perfectly acceptable for everyday use, IMO.
Click to expand...
Personal preferences and circumstances. I'm nearsighted and I've got very good near vision. At the time, I had both an iPad 2 and an iPhone 4. Moving from the iPhone 4 to the iPad 2 was always a jarring experience for me. I couldn't stand all the jaggies on the iPad 2 particularly when reading text which is my primary use case. More often than not, I just used the iPhone 4 despite the smaller display. With the iPad 3, I used it all the time for web browsing, reading, etc.

Lack of retina is also the primary reason I didn't get the first iPad Mini. I was really tempted by the weight but when I tried it in store, the jaggies were still apparent to me.
 
supervelous said:
I actually kind of agree with him, while it was perfectly acceptable for everyday use, it is certainly a big jump from non-retina to retina, especially browsing news stories and reading books, the text is noticeably sharper.

I liken it to watching SD TV content then switching to the HD channel of the same content. Sure, SD is plenty watchable (usable), but it's still a clear difference. No retina is why I didn't buy the 1st gen Mini, I read a lot on my tablets and need sharp text.
Click to expand...

I guess his situation is different from mine in that he has two iPads, one of them being retina, compared to my one and only iPad 2. So, of course he is going to get used to the sharp, crisp quality of the retina and prefer to use it to the iPad 2's non-retina screen.

Having said all that, though, every user is different and the quality of a certain screen may not be up to one's standards, while it is completely acceptable to another. Variables such as eyesight and owning other retina iDevices will influence one's screen preference.
 
Maybe my vision isn't that good, but the 2 isn't remembered with fondness by me, I hated the fuzzy fonts and difficulty reading PDF magazines on it.
 
The screen difference is dramatic, ( but it may take a little while for it to hit you, if you don't see this now)

Trust me:)
 
I, am also upgrading from an ipad2. I also just bought a Surface Pro 2 and I compared all 3 screens side by side.

The blurriness of the iPad 2 is so obvious compared to the new iPad air and the surface. The retina is the best followed closely by the new Surface screens and the iPad2 is quite far behind. My iPad2 is also running ios7 and I don't feel the very slight lag I feel on the new iPad air probably due to the fact it's not retina. But love the new iPad air, so thin, lighter than ipad2 and smaller bezel, great upgrade especially from ipad2.
 
I agree with the OP. I think the iPad 2 and now the 5 are the best iPad upgrades. I had the 3 for a while and went back to a cheaper used iPad 2. The compromises in weight, thickness, battery, and charging for the 3&4 hi-res screen was not worth it to me over a 2.
I will be getting an Air to replace my 2 that I sold for a great price a month ago.
 
Good as my old iPad 2 was, the new iPad is just amazingly light for such a full-size tablet computer. In fact, it feels like handling a larger-screen iPad mini.
 
westcoastin said:
I guess his situation is different from mine in that he has two iPads, one of them being retina, compared to my one and only iPad 2. So, of course he is going to get used to the sharp, crisp quality of the retina and prefer to use it to the iPad 2's non-retina screen.
Click to expand...
Correction, I got the iPad 2 on release so no, I didn't have two iPads. I just had one iPad 2 (well, 2 if you consider I first got a 32GB and ended up getting another 64GB model). My only point of comparison was the iPhone 4 with 3.5" retina display. For me, I was willing to suffer the 3.5" size rather than the pixelation on the iPad 2. :eek:

That said, when I gave my mom my old iPad 2 and I got the iPad 3, she looked at both and she asked me "What's the difference?". I reckon there are a lot of folks like my mom who wouldn't be able to notice the difference. :rolleyes:
 
try this

okay, I'm going to try and upload the two images, these were in device screen captures. I'm not sure if that really tells anything, it seems as if this is just DATA and doesn't really have anything to do with how well the screen looks.

even when you zoom/scale the ipad 2 images up to the size of the ipad 5, they look nearly the same, not a MAJOR jump in quality. I really think I probably just had an excellent ipad 2 (or MAYBE this ipad 5 of MINE is just not up to snuff, it does happen)
 

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tivoboy said:
okay, I'm going to try and upload the two images, these were in device screen captures. I'm not sure if that really tells anything, it seems as if this is just DATA and doesn't really have anything to do with how well the screen looks.

even when you zoom/scale the ipad 2 images up to the size of the ipad 5, they look nearly the same, not a MAJOR jump in quality. I really think I probably just had an excellent ipad 2 (or MAYBE this ipad 5 of MINE is just not up to snuff, it does happen)
Click to expand...

OK, then just stay with your iPad 2. And why don't you go back to the iPhone 3GS while you're at it. The retina display is leaps and bounds better than the prior screen. Not that the prior screen was bad, but the retina is just beautiful.
 
I haven't yet seen the Air, but I think this thread probably stems from a couple of factors. First, as the OP pointed out, the iPad 2 was a particularly good device. The weight, to me, was much better than the iPad 3 and 4, and it was quite perky because of the non-retina display and the fact that it received a big RAM leap compared to the iPad 1. There's a reason why Apple continues to sell the iPad 2 and people apparently continue to buy it.

Second, the value of Retina depends on individual eyesight and, perhaps even more importantly, on what you tend to do with the device. Somewhat counterintuitively, those who spend a lot of time reading on their iPads greatly value Retina, while it seems to be at least somewhat less important to many of those who use their iPads more for movies and pictures. I suspect one reason why people have been clamoring so loudly for Retina on the iPad mini may have to do with how many people use that device for reading.

Personally, I'm somewhat caught in the middle. I have an iPad 2 and an iPad mini, and can afford to upgrade only one of them this year. Apple hasn't made this an easy choice.
 
and here is the new one

the new ipad air screenshot

well, doesn't seem to let me upload more than one, or one that is 2.4 mb?

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Harmonious Zen said:
OK, then just stay with your iPad 2. And why don't you go back to the iPhone 3GS while you're at it. The retina display is leaps and bounds better than the prior screen. Not that the prior screen was bad, but the retina is just beautiful.
Click to expand...

quite a GREAT contribution there.. donkey shame.
 
I looked at your screen shots and I see a HUGE difference,the to one,the air is leaps and bounds clearer in text and coloring
 
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