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iPad Should I upgrade from iPad Air to Air 2?

D

Denis54

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 24, 2011
101
0
I am retired and I use my iPad Air 2 - 3 hours a day. I can sell it for a good price and am wondering if I should upgrade to Air 2.

Typically, I spend 1 1/2 - 2 hours in the morning reading LaPresse+. It is a Montreal newspaper that has developed a very nice app.

During the rest of the day on average I spend at least another hour surfing the web and reading emails. I do not play any games.

I know my needs do not require a lot of processing power but I would appreciate if my iPad was faster. When I surf the web my desktop is substantially faster.

Would I see a significant improvement in speed with an Air 2?
 
A resounding YES. I did the same and couldn't have been more happier.

Air 2 runs circles around last year's Air 1 when it comes to browsing experience.
 
For your uses you will not notice a difference. Web pages do -not- load any faster on my Air 2 cellular. In fact I think they load a little slower, whether I use my home Wi-Fi or enable the (Verizon) cellular.
The only improvement I have found (over the Air 1) is that I can keep more than 2-3 tabs open without all of them crashing due to lack of Ram. The sound seems to be a bit louder as well.
 
Todd36 said:
The only improvement I have found (over the Air 1) is that I can keep more than 2-3 tabs open without all of them crashing due to lack of Ram. The sound seems to be a bit louder as well.
Click to expand...

thats a pretty noticeable improvement.
 
I'm planning on on doing so.

I use my iPad enough that the upgrade is probably justified.
 
Yes

If you are a heavy iPad user, yes. I am happy I did. The performance is stellar and the leap is way more significant between the iPad Air 1 and Air 2 compared to the iPad 4 and iPad Air 1.

Seriously, this is the first iPad I actually use to be productive with Word, Excel, Safari and PDF Expert all opened at the same time and switching among them. Amazing.
 
I upgraded from the Air 1 to the Air 2 and I am also extremely happy. The bump in RAM to 2gb has really made a difference for me as I usually browse with 3-4 Safari tabs open a lot. My Safari has never crashed or reloaded webpages due to lack of RAM, which has made browsing heaps easier and quicker. And the Touch ID is a nice bonus. ;-)
 
Denis54 said:
I am retired and I use my iPad Air 2 - 3 hours a day. I can sell it for a good price and am wondering if I should upgrade to Air 2.

Typically, I spend 1 1/2 - 2 hours in the morning reading LaPresse+. It is a Montreal newspaper that has developed a very nice app.

During the rest of the day on average I spend at least another hour surfing the web and reading emails. I do not play any games.

I know my needs do not require a lot of processing power but I would appreciate if my iPad was faster. When I surf the web my desktop is substantially faster.

Would I see a significant improvement in speed with an Air 2?
Click to expand...

Another important thing: I see you use the iPad a lot to read stuff. The new anti glare screen is superb. It does make it a lot easier on the eyes. Whenever I use an older version of the iPad I get annoyed at the glaring lights coming straight into my eyes if I hold them like I do with my iPad Air 2.
 
Yes! Colors look better and the screen looks closer for sure. Plus it's so thin! Love it.
 
I don't feel it was worth the upgrade so I didn't bother. The RAM is the only thing that's really a tangible improvement but the Air 1 still runs like a champ. If you are a heavy tabbed browsing user then maybe so but otherwise, the day to day usage will feel the same.

The Air 2 also has a few issues that bother some folks. Check the forums for more info, not going to get into it here.
 
Yes.
Since MR doesn't like 1 word answers....
If money isn't a problem, then why wouldn't you? That's the question. I've never regretted buying the newer tech that's out there.
 
I've got the Air 1 & the Air 2 (and most other models). The Air 2 is a very nice upgrade. The Air 1 is still a great device and plenty fast enough for most people, but honestly, the Air 2 is great. If you're not strapped for cash I'd do it in a heartbeat.

And for me, it's absolutely way faster when browsing. It may just be that the wifi radio likes my router better, or it could be the memory, or it could be CPU/GPU is VASTLY improved. Whatever it is, it works better for me.
 
I upgraded from Air 1 to Air 2, but only because my boss lost his iPad and was willing to buy my Air 1 from me at a very good price.

I can't say I've noticed any difference in speed between the two. I'm sure there are some CPU intensive tasks where the difference might be noticeable, but your usage sounds pretty similar to mine, and for those things, I don't notice a difference. As other posters have said, Safari tabs don't reload as frequently, and the screen is much improved -- that is the most noticeable difference for me.

In general, I wouldn't recommend upgrading unless you have money to spare, or get a good price for the Air 1 so your out of pocket expense amount to less than $200-300.
 
carsong said:
If you're just asking about upgrading to say you have an iPad Air 2, do whatever you want.
Click to expand...

I see you are new here.

Welcome to the forums.

I would like to point out that your post added nothing of any use to this topic. Please try to be a bit more helpful in future.

Thank you.
 
I think it depends on how much you can sell your Air 1 for. Assuming it's a 16GB model that cost you $499, and the fact that Apple hurts the resale value by still selling the Air 1 for $100 less at $399, you'll be lucky to get somewhere between $250-$300 for a lightly used Air 1.

Purchasing a 16GB Air 2 will be $499 (plus tax I presume), so you'd be looking at somewhere between $200-$300 net for the upgrade. You then must decide if that cost is worth 0.04lbs less weight, TouchID, a small speed boost, a slightly nicer display, and an extra 1GB of RAM that causes Safari tabs to reload less frequently. To me, I just couldn't justify parting with the cash for something that looks identical in my hands to what I already have. Planning on waiting for the next iPad design change that'll likely feature the more comfortable rounded edges of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

That said, I use my iPad the least frequently between my iMac and iPhone, so if you use yours more and don't mind parting with $200-$300 net, than go for it. My 2 cents.
 
One thing to consider is longevity and future proofing. Internally Apple threw in everything but the kitchen sink with the Air 2. The A8X is a beast and the 2GB of RAM is very noticeable when switching apps and browsing the web. Sure the Air 1 is still a great device and will be for another year or so. But with the A8X and 2GB of RAM, Apple is testing the waters on how developers and users want to "push" the device further. In a year or two the Air is going to feel like a sluggish mess purely due to the 1GB of RAM.

My personal take is the Air 2 will be like the iPad 2 as far as longevity. That was a total beast of a tablet when it came out too and was still very relevant for about 3 years. The iPad 3 was a joke, and the iPad 4 was "quick fix" for the 3. The Air 1 is basically a slightly faster iPad 4 in a new shell.
 
Denis54 said:
I am retired and I use my iPad Air 2 - 3 hours a day. I can sell it for a good price and am wondering if I should upgrade to Air 2.

Typically, I spend 1 1/2 - 2 hours in the morning reading LaPresse+. It is a Montreal newspaper that has developed a very nice app.

During the rest of the day on average I spend at least another hour surfing the web and reading emails. I do not play any games.

I know my needs do not require a lot of processing power but I would appreciate if my iPad was faster. When I surf the web my desktop is substantially faster.

Would I see a significant improvement in speed with an Air 2?
Click to expand...

You will see a noticeable speed boost. Absolutely. Is it worth doing? I'd say no, unless you have a buyer for your original Air (in which case, you're only paying a small remainder as a trade-up fee).

That being said, I may very well do it myself if only to spare myself the "is it different on yours" questions that will come from tech-illiterate family members who are getting or already have the iPad Air 2 (who are apt to waste lots of my time with such matters just because I am not in parity). Also to play around with AppleSIM.
 
Last edited:
I flip flopped; I was going to get it at first then but then thought better of it, then I got a 10% off coupon from Best Buy and coincidentally Best Buy finally got a stock of Air 2's in 128GB+LTE. I didn't Think the coupon would work but lo and behold it did. So with interest free financing and 10% off, it was a no brainier and I jumped.

Can't wait for it to arrive at the store for pickup.

I now have an excellent condition space gray ATT 64GB+LTE Air for sale :D
 
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