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All iPads New iPad or iPad Air 3rd Gen

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shadowfayre

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 17, 2006
107
4
I am in the market for an iPad. I am thinking between the iPad and iPad Air 3rd Generation. I would consider the 6th gen iPad if a sale was available on the 128GB model (the 32gb would not work). It will primary be used for games, offline videos (including downloaded Netflix), other basic stuff like Facebook. Most of the sells on the 6th gen is 20 bucks off which is not enough I think that would make it worth the difference not to go with a newest model. The next option would be an iPad Air 3rd. Through the military, I can actually get a 256GB Air for 499, which is pretty hard to beat. Any feedback on this, if you were selecting a device. the Pro models are just too much for what is needed; plus, as old school as it seems, I want the home button and headphone jack. :)
 
iPad Air. 6th gen is not enough at this point, as it only has 2 GB RAM. iPad 7th gen only if it has 3GB RAM (still uncertain) and it has to be significantly lower in price than the Air (unlikely). 256 GB Air for $499 is very good and that A12 CPU means much better gaming. You also might want to buy the Apple keyboard. Expensive, yes, but great if you want to use the iPad more like a laptop, especially now that iPadOS is out. Both 7th gen and Air use the same Apple keyboard. Also if you have lots of lights, that anti reflective coating of the Air will help a lot.
 
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shadowfayre said:
I am in the market for an iPad. I am thinking between the iPad and iPad Air 3rd Generation. I would consider the 6th gen iPad if a sale was available on the 128GB model (the 32gb would not work). It will primary be used for games, offline videos (including downloaded Netflix), other basic stuff like Facebook. Most of the sells on the 6th gen is 20 bucks off which is not enough I think that would make it worth the difference not to go with a newest model. The next option would be an iPad Air 3rd. Through the military, I can actually get a 256GB Air for 499, which is pretty hard to beat. Any feedback on this, if you were selecting a device. the Pro models are just too much for what is needed; plus, as old school as it seems, I want the home button and headphone jack. :)
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iPad Air 3. Not even a challenge.
 
I’d go with the Air, it’s a much better device that will last longer and the higher capacity will also enable you to hold onto it for longer.
 
Thanks guys. I ended up getting the Air. The 499 price for a 256GB was hard to pass. Sorry took so long for my reply. Some reason, I did not get notified of the comments. Even though I had that enabled.
 
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So for the ones who can not get the military discount, isn’t the new (7th gen) iPad a good deal, especially the price? I’m looking to get a new iPad as well, I use it mostly to surf the web, emails, videos movies........not enough to justify the cost of a new pro. And since the 7th gen and air both have 3 gb of ram, the only true incentive would be the storage and slightly bigger screen size. I could survive with 32gb, I don’t store a ton of stuff, and I’m not sure if the 0.3 would really be noticeable. Thanks guys and gals!
 
hotr32 said:
So for the ones who can not get the military discount, isn’t the new (7th gen) iPad a good deal, especially the price? I’m looking to get a new iPad as well, I use it mostly to surf the web, emails, videos movies........not enough to justify the cost of a new pro. And since the 7th gen and air both have 3 gb of ram, the only true incentive would be the storage and slightly bigger screen size. I could survive with 32gb, I don’t store a ton of stuff, and I’m not sure if the 0.3 would really be noticeable. Thanks guys and gals!
Click to expand...

The Air has a couple of additional advantages besides additional storage and larger screen. Most notably: A12 chip vs A10, and Laminated Display.

If you buy the 7th generation iPad, you are getting a chip that is 3 generations behind the most current mobile processor used by Apple. So, that's something to consider.
 
I'm quite happy with my 6th gen iPad. Performance is still very good for basic tasks and light productivity. RAM doesn't feel limiting to me. And even coming from an iPad with a laminated display, I got used to the non-laminated one very quickly.

However, if I was buying a new iPad today, I would definitely go for the Air 3. An A10 processor is still fine now, but 2 or 3 years from now when we're on the A15 or A16? who knows?
 
I get it that the processor is a few years behind, but they did add more ram to compensate for that, at the end of the day, with everyday basic use, the $329 price tag is hard to beat.
 
At the end of the day, I think they are both great devices in their respective categories. Part of me wants to get the 7th gen, and get the Smart Keyboard and a pencil, that would keep me at a nice budget and still get something that should be good for a few years, but I think I’m leaning more towards the Air, I feel like it’s more “future proof”, not to mention overall a better hardware device overall.
 
Perhaps they are saying that the A10 with 3gb ram is suffice? Or that combo wouldn’t even be noticed by most consumers? Especially in the budget segment? For everyday browsing and email, would anyone notice any issues with performance? Or is Apple just trying to make a huge margin with the current hardware?
 
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