He was talking about the 5S, and it's well known that it crashes now and then...
I know he was talking about the 5S, and it's not known for being choppy. If my 4S is not choppy his 5S isn't choppy unless it has a problem, then it should be returned.
He was talking about the 5S, and it's well known that it crashes now and then...
It's a little more complicated. Even if two chips have the same brand name, they might be very different. The first A5 chip was build on a 45 nanometer process (like A5X in iPad 3), while later revisions of the A5 use the same 32 nanometer process as the A6 and A6X chips. All A5 are running roughly at the same speed, but newer ones use far less energy.So, what I'm getting here (and someone please feel free to disprove this) is that the A6 chips (the A6X in the 4th Generation iPad included in this) was seriously powerful and a very respectable step forward (in terms of speed, if nothing else) from the A5, but it was/is thermally inefficient, which is why it was left out of the first generation iPad mini ...
I did absolutely love the mini's size and portability, and if I were using it as "just a tablet" I would definitely choose the 2nd gen. retina over the Air.
Just wanted to give you a bit more perspective. Many, many people actually prefer the 9.7" screen over the 7.9" and it most often has to do with either informed, logical reasons like mine or simply personal choice, not ignorance or ego massaging justification.
Agree with your comments on iOS 7 though - it needs extensive memory optimisation/leakage fixes above all else, as well as a long list of bug fixes and UI graphic optimisation. How can it be that my iPad can zip through Infinity Blade 3 without skipping a frame, but stutters on a basic UI zoom effect whenever I four-finger pinch to exit an app. The iPad version of iOS 7 is the worst. I mean it even says "Ringer silent" when I toggle the hardware mute switch as if it were an iPhone. Talk about unpolished!
So, what I'm getting here (and someone please feel free to disprove this) is that the A6 chips (the A6X in the 4th Generation iPad included in this) was seriously powerful and a very respectable step forward (in terms of speed, if nothing else) from the A5, but it was/is thermally inefficient, which is why it was left out of the first generation iPad mini (and thusly why the first generation iPad mini wasn't in parity with the fourth generation iPad with CPUs the way this generation of iPad Air is with this new generation of iPad mini with retina) and the fifth generation iPod touch. Both of those, prior to the October event, were the thinnest iOS devices out there and thusly, were too thin to run the A6 and were stuck with the A5. Obviously, Apple doesn't feel the need to rush with an update to the iPod touch this year; but given that the previous generation of iPod touch was substantially more in parity with its contemporary iPhone release when it first came out, it would seem that it was another case of Apple sacrificing performance for thinness until it can find a thermally efficient processor to allow them to have their cake (make a thin device) and eat it too (make it as fast as its contemporaries). Now, they have the A7, which people keep praising for its thermal efficiency, and, as a result, the iPad mini is able to be in much more parity with the full-sized iPad. Is this sound? Obviously, Apple isn't clarifying this.
I am typing this on the new iPad Air in my signature. I went from an iPad 3 to an iPad mini, and now back to full size with the iPad Air. Main reason is that for my use case, I appreciate the larger size. My use case is attached to a logitech keyboard cover 8 hours a day at work as my, ironically enough, Windows 8 laptop which sits next to my Macbook Air. I RDP into a virtual machine running the company's accounting software and do everything else on the Mac. With the mini, the keyboard is simply too cramped to be productive, but with the Air, the keyboard is very good. The reason I do this is because I travel extensively and using RDP software (Microsoft's newly released RDP client is great and has simplified this a lot for me, and made it cheaper!!) I have a truly best of both worlds scenario, as long as I have a good keyboard to pair with iPad. I get flawless iOS, OSX, and Windows (even though I hate using it) running well in an extremely portable and high performance package, that weighs half of what even my 11" Macbook Air does!!
I did absolutely love the mini's size and portability, and if I were using it as "just a tablet" I would definitely choose the 2nd gen. retina over the Air.
Just wanted to give you a bit more perspective. Many, many people actually prefer the 9.7" screen over the 7.9" and it most often has to do with either informed, logical reasons like mine or simply personal choice, not ignorance or ego massaging justification.
Agree with your comments on iOS 7 though - it needs extensive memory optimisation/leakage fixes above all else, as well as a long list of bug fixes and UI graphic optimisation. How can it be that my iPad can zip through Infinity Blade 3 without skipping a frame, but stutters on a basic UI zoom effect whenever I four-finger pinch to exit an app. The iPad version of iOS 7 is the worst. I mean it even says "Ringer silent" when I toggle the hardware mute switch as if it were an iPhone. Talk about unpolished!
Shut up and wait 5-10 business days before you smash the new displays.Apple have got to stop sourcing their panels from LG. They are rubbish.
Why do you mention this?
I chose mini BECAUSE the display is smaller.
So what?
The iPad Air's geekbench score puts it at 6-13% higher than then Retina Mini's.
Both are within ~10% of the iPhone 5S
~~~So even more now than ever an iPad is looking like just an iPhone with a larger screen![]()
Screen the guy is holding has a yellow tint.
It is odd to hear people talk about the iPad Mini vs Air choice as if it were choosing the 5S vs Galaxy S3. So much hatred and taunting in people's words.
I'm not saying you of course, but rather the person you were responding to (I didn't want to quote them and get them riled up).
I just wanted to say that I appreciated your post, and the balance it had in choosing an Air vs Mini.
Tough choice, but I personally decided to go the Mini route and see how I like it.
When you said that you'd probably stick to the Mini were it just a tablet to you, I related most to that statement. That's what I'm looking for.
Once they include TouchID in the future, it will tempt me to upgrade, and we'll see if I stick to the mini or go Air.
Yeah yeah .. and swimming pool is just a larger bath tub so it shouldn't even exist in the first place. Everyone could just swim freely in their bathroom.![]()
ifixit said:Within the A7 package is Elpida F8164A1PD 1 GB LPDDR3 DRAM
Why does no Apple A7X processor exist? There seems to be no X model for the CPUs this time around; really would've helped to differentiate in power among certain products.![]()
The article fails to mention one thing that MANY have been wondering since the idea of an iPad Mini Retina:
Originally Posted by ifixit
Within the A7 package is Elpida F8164A1PD 1 GB LPDDR3 DRAM
![]()
I don't like their stupid scores. They talk about it as if it actually means anything besides how much money can be put into their own pockets from selling spare parts to consumers.
It could mean that two heat sources are spatially separated and that this is the reason why the iPad Air can run at a slightly higher clock speed and doesn't suffer from throttling like the A7 in the iPhone 5s. It could also mean, that there wasn't enough room in the iPad mini to put two chips in it. Or it could be in preparation for being able to put more RAM into the iPad Air without designing a new A7 variant.Indeed, I read that as well - so the RAM in the 5S and mini A7 is onboard the chip, but NOT on the iPad Air. What, if anything does that actually mean???
I need the slightly better A7 chip for video and music production.
I think this is not justified. The score is important, because it tells something about the sustainability of Apple products. If it's harder to repair, it's also harder to repair for Apple. If you take your iPad mini to Apple to have it fixed, they will most probably send you a new one, and throw the old one away. Or if not that, will have to throw a large chunk away (e.g. the whole display assembly). Remember: it's always better to reuse than to recycle.
Why is that any different? Makes as much sense as 5S vs S3.It is odd to hear people talk about the iPad Mini vs Air choice as if it were choosing the 5S vs Galaxy S3. So much hatred and taunting in people's words.
I'm not saying you of course, but rather the person you were responding to (I didn't want to quote them and get them riled up).
I just wanted to say that I appreciated your post, and the balance it had in choosing an Air vs Mini.
Tough choice, but I personally decided to go the Mini route and see how I like it.
When you said that you'd probably stick to the Mini were it just a tablet to you, I related most to that statement. That's what I'm looking for.
Once they include TouchID in the future, it will tempt me to upgrade, and we'll see if I stick to the mini or go Air.
No. The reason this isn't sound is because it neglects many other factors.
Given that the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 5S have roughly the same heat dissipation capability (read: it's got the same amount of metal in the same volume, and roughly the same shape and arrangement of said metal), but that the A7's thermal throttling is much more noticeable than the A6 (if it even does it at all), it's likely that the A6 would have no problem in the first gen iPad mini if the A7 works in the same space.
It's more likely that the 1st gen iPad mini was being worked on before the A6 was available or that supply of the A6 wasn't sure to be enough. People assume that just because a product comes out around the same time that it was developed around the same time, this is simply a bad assumption.
Basically:
Thermal characteristics of the A6 definitely were NOT a factor for the 1st gen iPad mini.
We simply don't know why they chose the A5 for the 1st gen iPad mini.
It's a little more complicated. Even if two chips have the same brand name, they might be very different. The first A5 chip was build on a 45 nanometer process (like A5X in iPad 3), while later revisions of the A5 use the same 32 nanometer process as the A6 and A6X chips. All A5 are running roughly at the same speed, but newer ones use far less energy.
Apple A5 family
(S5L8940, 45nm) A5
(S5L8942, 32nm) A5r2
(S5L8947, 32nm) A5r3
Apple A5X
(S5L8945X, 45nm) A5X
Apple A6
(S5L8955X, 32nm) A6
Apple A6X
(S5L8955X, 32nm) A6X
Apple A7 family
(S5L8960X, 28nm) A7
(S5L8965X, 28nm) A7
The A7 brought another process shrink, which allowed the iPad Air to use a smaller battery and lose weight. And the iPad mini with Retina Display to compute much more pixels in the same form factor.
Honestly, I've never heard any one says those words out loud.