Roundup: iPad Air and Retina iPad Mini First Impressions

[Judas1]

The iPad Mini 2 with retina is a nice surprise. Wasn't expecting retina for it at all because now it has a better display than the ipad air (I know people wanted retina, but I thought Apple wasn't going to deliver), and its still $100 cheaper. Mini 2 >> ipad air.

 

[Tech198]

So, its either :-

- iPad mini 2 with 7.9-inch with 326 ppi or
- iPad Air with 9.7-inch with 264 ppi

Both at 2048x1536..

Even though the is less detail, i still favor the 9.7 inch ...

 

[GREEN4U]

Why the heck do they still sell the iPad 2?!?!

 

[Tech198]

no idea.

Maybe people still want an iPad 2, but at 9.7 inch, not at the 7.9 inch of the mini.

But at $399 for 16 Gig,, Too expensive... its been out a while... Make it $199 and would be better.

 

[Xiroteus]

Why the heck do they still sell the iPad 2?!?!

Going on three year old tech for ONLY a hundred less then the current much faster iPad. That's trying far too hard to get every penny out of extremely dated tech by todays standards. It should at least be the 32GB model and that's still a horrble deal.

 

[decksnap]

2GB RAM, 2560 x 1600 pixels, 10.1 inches (~299 ppi pixel density), Corning Gorilla Glass 2, 1.9 MP Front Cam, Dual-core 1.7 GHz Cortex-A15 (this beats many quad core Android processors even)

VS

1GB RAM, 1536 x 2048 pixels, 9.7 inches (~264 ppi pixel density), No Gorilla Glass, 1.2MP front cam, Dual-core 1.3 GHz Cyclone Processor

I do concede that the Nexus 10 is heavier and thicker than iPad Air and battery life is 1hr less but that's because it's pushing more pixels and it's more powerful. Keep in mind the Nexus 10 is ONE YEAR older which is like a light year for tech. The new Nexus 10 that will be released in the next few days will blow iPad Air out of the water on pure specs no question. I'm not saying the experience will be as pleasant though. We'll have to see.

I don't know about the rest but the iPad clearly uses gorilla glass.

 

[D.T.]

Has the RAM amount for the "iPad Mini Retina" been release yet.

Notice the quotes and the bold font. Within those quotes are words. Those words do NOT read "iPad Air".

Basically, I want confirmation on RAM in the Mini R.

It isn't on Apple site yet. Sadly I have a feeling that the first site to list this will be ifixit. That's OK, I'll wait.

The A7 SOC (CPU/GPU/RAM) has 1GB:

The A7 features an Apple-designed[2] 64-bit[3] 1.3 GHz[2] ARMv8[5][4] dual-core CPU,[2] called Cyclone.[5] It also integrates a graphics processing unit (GPU) which AnandTech believes to be a PowerVR G6430 in a four cluster configuration.[7] The ARMv8 instruction set doubles the number of registers of the A7 compared to the ARMv7 used in A6.[11] It now has 31 general purpose registers that are each 64-bits wide and 32 floating-point/NEON registers that are each 128-bits wide.[3] It has a per-core L1 cache of 64 KB for data and 64 KB for instructions and a shared L2 cache of 1 MB.[5] The A7 processor package also incorporates 1 GB of LPDDR3 DRAM[12] with a 64-bit wide memory interface.[5]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_A7

 

[lk400]

Haven't been on the forums today so I'm not sure if people have been bitching but My God, I cannot believe the new iPads lack touchID.

I think there are logical reasons that are quite obvious.

From a practical point of view, given its been reported that yields are low on the fingerprint scaner, the company would need to use its limited stock of this component where it is most relevant.

From a functional point of view the fingerprint scanner is a security function and a theft deterrant. As more people walk around with their iphones, and iphones are more likely to be stolen, it makes perfect sense to prioritize that device for this function.

The company can already not make enough iphone 5S units to meet demand, so they arent likely to introduce another supply chain constraint in so early in its lifecycle.

The fingerprint scanner will likely make it onto other devices, but once they have enough stock of the component to go around.

Also, thinking about it, this feature didnt even exist a very short time ago, so its not exactly an OMG moment that its not on the ipads.

 

[fertilized-egg]

The A7 SOC (CPU/GPU/RAM) has 1GB:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_A7

While I agree the A7 on the iPad probably has 1GB of RAM, that's not really a valid reasoning. The RAM still isn't part of the A7 chip, only packaged together and Apple could theoretically have an A7 chip with a different amount of RAM. That's exactly what they did with the A4 chip. Even though both the iPad and the iPhone had the A4 chip, they had different amounts of RAM.

 

[mclld]

Common sense would tell you Apple would not include touch id in this version, it will be added next year and people will upgrade..this is how Apple does it.

 

[lk400]

I am disappointed in the prices. I am sure the iPad Air and the iPad Mini 2 are quality devices, but I feel like moving from the $329 point to a $399 and then keeping the $499 with only the size difference is moot. The Mini is meant to compete with the Nexus 7, right? So why not give someone like myself an opportunity to buy one without paying a premium? Too bad it comes out now because I rather buy the PS4 over the iPad Air or Mini 2 seeing as I already have a Nexus 7 2013 model. (Willing to sell and go back to iOS at some point.)

I look at it a little differently. The last generation full sized ipad to ipad mini meant going from a current-spec device, to an under-spec device in order to get the more attractive (to many people) form factor. So, to get the ligher more useful size you had to sacrifice screen quality and processor speed. And the mini does at times feel slow.

Now, they have changed their strategy a little to have both devices as current spec devices, with the difference being form factor alone. I think this is great - i dont think one should have to sacrifice speed and screen quality just to get a smaller ipad.

I dont think people bought the mini because it was cheaper. So the price increase, while not something we want, is not a big deal. I think people would still choose the same spec mini over the full size if it was priced exactly the same.

For those who price is an issue - they kept the same spec ipad 2 / mini 1 and priced them lower (although people will say not low enough).

For me, the last year's strategy made no sense, while this year's makes perfect sense.

 

[prezasti]

That's how they always been. The iPad mini doesn't say mini anywhere either

True, but seeing as it's the smaller sized iPad, they didn't have to label it Mini. They completely changed the new iPad brand to be called the iPad Air, which is why I'm surprised it doesn't list it on the device. Like the Macbook Air or Macbook Pro, etc.

 

[clibinarius]

Haven't been on the forums today so I'm not sure if people have been bitching but My God, I cannot believe the new iPads lack touchID.

I'm not convinced they need TouchID as much. First, iPad security due to the nature of mobile payments would be different than iPhone security. Second, I don't think you need to unlock an iPad as much as a phone.

I think Apple is going to be looking for a bit more of a sophisticated TouchID before putting it into iPads and computers. Currently I think it is a bit limited, both in its scope and execution. These need to be a bit more detailed than the current ones.

Remember, the iPad waited a while for Siri despite it obviously being a candidate, in terms of technology.

 

[D.T.]

While I agree the A7 on the iPad probably has 1GB of RAM, that's not really a valid reasoning. The RAM still isn't part of the A7 chip, only packaged together and Apple could theoretically have an A7 chip with a different amount of RAM. That's exactly what they did with the A4 chip. Even though both the iPad and the iPhone had the A4 chip, they had different amounts of RAM.

Well, it's reasonable assumption since there's precedence for Apple using the same amount of RAM in the same SOCs too:

A5 in the iPhone 4S, iPod Touch 5th Gen, iPad 2, iPad Mini and Apple TV Gen 3 all have 512MB
A6 in the iPhone 5 and iPad 4th Gen (A6X) both have 1GB

...but I agree, the A7 is packaged into an SOC (with GPU/RAM), so it's possible to be A7 powered and have a different amount of RAM. At this point, it's possible the A7 is even clocked differently vs. the iPhone 5S!

 

[SusanK]

I'll definitely have to check both out in person!

Do you know if they are on demo in Apple Stores?

Thanks

 

[SusanK]

Some people (or is it a real company) already managed to do a parody of Apple's new iPad Air advert! Very funny !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enbhb-mY69Y

That's fun to watch. Especially enjoyed the modem sounds!

 

[Will do good]

The Verge calls the iPad Air "really beautiful,"...

That's amusing. It has a brick shape (as are all other tablets). What exactly is so beautiful about it? One could not come up with a more boring shape even if he tried.

I suppose you can't tell the difference between a BMW and a Yugo.

 

[Justan00b]

Yup, just as figured, not sure whether to go iPad Air or iPad Mini.

I'm leaning toward 32GB/white/Wi-Fi iPad Mini, but then again, might just wait until next year when it presumably gets Touch ID.

I'll definitely have to check both out in person!

Lol, if you can wait an ENTIRE year & not be bothered at all about it..... Umm; you don't need an iPad in the slightest. *confused why you'd waste your money on something you don't need?? or even really want, from the sound of it*

 

[Justan00b]

My first impressions - ipad Air is a silly name for a good product, improvements to the pixel density on the mini is a reason to buy despite a circa 20% price increase, touchID not being there is slightly disappointing but not a dealbreaker.

My only slight reluctance is that the cameras on the backs remain at 5MP - not that it would be my primary camera or a deciding reason to buy either iPad, but if I choose to take a photo it would be nice to have a better resolution in line with even the iphone 5 camera.

I'd bet you a thousand dollars... plus the keys to my house & car that you couldn't take CLOSE to as good a picture on an iPad as you could on an iPhone with the SAME camera.

Damn..... Do ppl even USE these products in passing before posting about them???

 

[mrxak]

I still have no idea why people would want TouchID, and I have an iPhone 5s. If Apple isn't putting it on the iPads, that sounds like a good thing to me.

 

[class77]

Apple is trying to be all things to all people. The need to have 1 version of iPad mini and 1 version of iPad Air(stupid name). Their carrying costs to have 2 version of 2 minis in all it's categories and the same for 2 versions of the iPad have to be huge. The same goes for the iPhone being available in 3 different sizes. The 5C should not have been brought out at all, or the 4S should have been ditched. Total waste of r&d budgets. Spend some on the freaking Apple TV box and get it working before it gets left in the dirt.

Didn't Apple get into trouble right before Steve came back to the company and pared down the offerings to a more manageable size?

 

[sshhoott]

sure, pal. youre not going to get something that saves you time because its not on *other* devices, despite the fact that it didnt even exist as a feature a month ago.

interesting logic some of you have.

the sensors are likely supply constrained and reserved for meeting the enormous iphone demand.

Really? You did a survey of "many other people" or is that a friend of yours with an odd name?

No, but you don't have to be smart to realize the level of confidence Apple has when they decide not to include their latest technology in a flagship device that should have it in the first place.

It just probably means they won’t be taking the Touch ID seriously enough for another year. In other words, they won't be using it for iCloud keychain and stored credit card numbers, etc anytime soon. And they won’t be allowing authentication APIs to developers for a while. That’s what I was hoping they could have done. And its exclusion from the iPad would only slow the hopes of this happening instead of accelerating it. So, a smart consumer who wants to get the true advantage of Touch ID and be able to use it for many more things other than just unlocking and app store purchases would probably wait till iPhone 6 (also with the greed of getting a new design and bigger screen). And many people probably share this logic, but just not on these forums. Allow me to clarify if you didn’t understand this simple logic.

By the way, mdelvecchio, I completely agree with you on the fact that it is probably the constrained supply chain of Touch ID sensors which ultimately led apple to exclude it out of iPads Airs and Minis. Maybe they’ll put it in the “iPad Pro” early next year.

 

[mrxak]

I'd bet you a thousand dollars... plus the keys to my house & car that you couldn't take CLOSE to as good a picture on an iPad as you could on an iPhone with the SAME camera.

Damn..... Do ppl even USE these products in passing before posting about them???

Why does anyone take a picture on their iPad at all? I understand having the camera on it for FaceTime flip-view, but are people really clueless about how ridiculous they look holding a massive tablet in front of their faces snapping photos? Just pull out your phone, if you really need a picture and don't have a real camera on you. Everyone has a camera phone by now, right? Then get a real camera, and use it for most photography. You'll take better pictures and you'll stop infuriating everyone behind you by holding up a huge tablet and blocking the view.

 

[DVK916]

2GB RAM, 2560 x 1600 pixels, 10.1 inches (~299 ppi pixel density), Corning Gorilla Glass 2, 1.9 MP Front Cam, Dual-core 1.7 GHz Cortex-A15 (this beats many quad core Android processors even)

VS

1GB RAM, 1536 x 2048 pixels, 9.7 inches (~264 ppi pixel density), No Gorilla Glass, 1.2MP front cam, Dual-core 1.3 GHz Cyclone Processor

I do concede that the Nexus 10 is heavier and thicker than iPad Air and battery life is 1hr less but that's because it's pushing more pixels and it's more powerful. Keep in mind the Nexus 10 is ONE YEAR older which is like a light year for tech. The new Nexus 10 that will be released in the next few days will blow iPad Air out of the water on pure specs no question. I'm not saying the experience will be as pleasant though. We'll have to see.

You have no idea what you are talking about. The Nexus 10 processor is slow by todays standard, and less than 1/3 the speed of the Ipad Mini Retina.

This new Nexus 10 is suppose to use a Snapdragon 800, which is still slower than the A7, by leagues.

 

[a0me]

Haven't been on the forums today so I'm not sure if people have been bitching but My God, I cannot believe the new iPads lack touchID.

What is actually unbelievable is that Apple keeps making devices with 30‑pin connectors (iPad 2 and iPhone 4s), a full year after the launch of the Lighting connector.