Teardown of iPad Air Reveals A7 Chip, LG Display, Qualcomm LTE Modem

[\-V-/]

How about the RAM?

Reading is a neat little truck I learned for finding all SORTS of crazy information.

The article says 1 GB.

 

[springsup]

How do you know who made the display? Do you have to take it apart to find out?

You used to be able to tell with the RMBPs, but then Apple changed it.

For iOS devices, you need to rely on supply-chain rumours (e.g. all screens before x were from Samsung). They do tend to be fairly reliable though (depending on the source) - you can really see the difference between the earlier and later models.

 

[flottenheimer]

Does anyone know how long it takes to charge the Air?
From 'almost flat'-ish to full?

 

[giantfan1224]

Reading is a neat little truck I learned for finding all SORTS of crazy information.

The article says 1 GB.

The next little 'truck' you need to learn is proofreading

 

[blackcrayon]

I thought the "X" chips were just the regular chip (A5, A6) with an added graphics processor to push the extra pixels of the larger screen. I think the A7 has gotten to the point where it can handle the extra pixels on its own and no longer requiring an extra graphics processor. I don't think we'll ever see another "X" chip unless some change occurs where the stock chip can no longer handle the requirements of the display. I just think the technology is now there where it is no longer required.

They are, but one of the most power consuming things in the SoC is the GPU, at least the fairly cutting edge ones Apple has been using. I agree though, yes, Apple felt the A7's regular GPU was more than enough for the pixels of the Air, since the A6X worked pretty well on the 4th gen. Maybe you're right and we won't see another X chip unless the iPad res increases (or they release an iPad Pro)... M

 

[HurryKayne]

1 GB Ram.
I hope Mini Retina is the same.

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But why couldn't they just put 2GB RAM inside...

edit: doesn't matter, bought one anyway

We have to wait for the A8 for 2 and an A9 for 2 and a Quad i fear,but on Ios maybe its not so important as in the Osx machines..even if seems to me that
Apple loves a lot to "make money" with the Ram isn't it?Maybe that is why is soldering on MacBook Pro and Imacs ( and something says me also the next ..who know when..mac mini )?
I would like to see some great library from Native Instruments landing on Ios but with 1 GB i think its far to come.

 

[\-V-/]

The next little 'truck' you need to learn is proofreading

Touché.

 

[iChrist]

.
LG Screen....

Really disappointing. Oh well, no need to upgrade now.

 

[mdelvecchio]

Repairability score a 2?!!! If I can't fix it or upgrade it myself than no sale!

sure, buddy -- because youre at home repairing/upgrading your ipods, your TV, your home receiver, your microwave....uh huh.

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Moreover, since new iPad (and iPhone) switched to 64-bit architecture this means that apps will now use more memory. And this means that new devices actually have less memory for storing actual data than the previous one. Switch to 64-bit architecture without increasing RAM size can be only explained by greed.

or, your ignorance. there are a lot of factors to consider when designing a new mass market product. you arent aware of m/any of them.

 

[citi]

sure, buddy -- because youre at home repairing/upgrading your ipods, your TV, your home receiver, your microwave....uh huh.

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Did you just get off work? You're really late to the game on this post and even later for not seeing that my post was clearly sarcastic. Didn't you see my eye roll?

 

[wrkactjob]

Went with the air today. Think the mini will be too close to my larger iPhone 6!

Yeah agree!...use my pad and phone for watching movies and tv shows big time and am anticipating a bigger phone so can justify going back to a "full size" ipad....especially the new slimmed down version.

 

[iKane]

You're not wowed by the thinner bezels and the 25% reduction in weight to go along with that retina screen and faster speed?

Not particularly, no. There is certainly a difference but not enough to make me swoon over it. And as for the bezels, they look nice but I wouldn't class it as impressive given they've been on the iPad mini for a year. I still think the iPhone is better than any iPad anyway, much nicer device which I can use with one hand. And it now has Touch ID.

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That's because iPads 3 and 4 are thicker than 2.

- iPad 2: 8.8 mm
- iPad 4: 9.4 mm
- iPad Air: 7.5 mm

Anyway, any 0.1 mm less is enough to feature an Apple ad.

Ha, yeah I know I just find it funny that they made them thicker and then used their "revolutionary" thinness a selling point, even though they've already basically had an iPad that thin. Though I do appreciate the iPad 2 doesn't have a Retina screen which is why they made it thicker in the first place. I think iPads are the only Apple product I don't get excited about :/

 

[djtech42]

Hope Apple bumps the base storage on the next generation of devices.

 

[Burnnotice1]

I wish Apple would be a easter egg in the iPad for those teardown folks.

Oh i know right it would be the funniest thing, and would be so Apple.

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You didn't really try to show off your latin language abilities did you? If you are so clever you would know that antennae is a word reserved for bugs. Electronic devices simply have antennas.

Are you the same journalist that served up 'virii'?

My favourite quote, "The impetus of this discussion was the potential irony that the use of virii could be construed as a claim of superior knowledge of language when in fact more detailed research finds the naive viruses is actually more appropriate."

ummm.. no. 'antennae' is completely grammatically correct in this scenario. You are the one who doesn't know what they're talking about.

 

[hleewell]

If you have to look for alternative to Elpida as supplier of your RAM, who would you go to? I thought Apple used Hynix as their RAM supplier...??? Since when they switch to Elpida?

 

[hchung]

If you have to look for alternative to Elpida as supplier of your RAM, who would you go to? I thought Apple used Hynix as their RAM supplier...??? Since when they switch to Elpida?

If I recall, wern't they sourcing DRAM from both Elpida and Hynix since at least 2006? I thought I had a Mac with Elpida RAM back then.

 

[hleewell]

Elpida is under Micron now. So Micron is in Apple's business?

 

[TrashCanBin]

Poor iFixit.

 

[hleewell]

Poor iFixit.

why is that?

 

[the8thark]

The facts in the teardowns are as good as ever. But the writing style is going downhill. Too many pathetic puns taking over the info trying to be presented. I'd rather they write the comments professionally.

 

[iSayuSay]

Repairability score a 2?!!! If I can't fix it or upgrade it myself than no sale!

How about battery? It's a component with 100% failure rate. Should've been made easier to replace. One or two years it will lose some of its charge and you might still wanna keep it.

 

[citi]

How about battery? It's a component with 100% failure rate. Should've been made easier to replace. One or two years it will lose some of its charge and you might still wanna keep it.

I still have my iPad 1 and it's going strong. Passed 3 different hands.

 

[hyhybt]

No even Apple doesn't repair them. They just give you a refurbished one.

If even Apple doesn't repair iPads, where do refurbished ones come from?

 

[RobertMartens]

Oh i know right it would be the funniest thing, and would be so Apple.

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ummm.. no. 'antennae' is completely grammatically correct in this scenario. You are the one who doesn't know what they're talking about.

That is your reply
I write two paragraphs establishing my position and you just say "ummm no'

Please help me understand where I went wrong


And just to beat this horse fully dead, I pulled this off of Apple's own page:

"iPad Air gives you up to twice the Wi-Fi performance thanks to two antennas and MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) technology. "

 

[Gudi]

I know it's old now but my iPad 2 is only marginally thicker than an iPad Air. I've put them next to each other and the Air is literally a couple of mm thinner.

No one cares about thinness its all about weight. And the Airs weight is in the middle between iPad 2 and iPad mini.

I do appreciate that the screen is hugely different and it's speedy as hell, but it just annoys me that they're preaching about the thinness even though they've already been there before.

And by "being there" you mean a non-retina device that isn't nowhere as light as the iPad Air?

Meh. I'm not wowed by it, I really want a mini with Touch ID. *waits*

Keep waiting. Touch ID may never come to iPads. Just like a flashlight.