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iPad Upgrade from iPad Air 1 to Air 2 worth it?

I got an iPad Air 2 this Summer, and month later my mom got the iPad Air.
They are very alike devices, and even for media consumption the Air is great. I notice alike performance, it's only when you want to take pictures, that you really see a difference - The daytime pictures on the Air2 look stunning. When processing larger data there's a sluggish behavior on the Air, that the Air2 doesn't seem to have. For daily use - the only big difference is the fingerprint, I hate not having it on the Air so much. But if I didn't have the money and had to settle on the Air, I woudln't have been disappointed. I wouldn't have bothered upgrading to the Air2, I would have invested in a bigger leap forward, like the Pro. I think its certainly worth waiting for the next Air update, or go with the Pro this year if you really desire an upgrade.
 
Cakefish said:
Ahhh, yes, the Air vs Mini debate. I had a real tough time choosing between them, the thing that eventually swayed me over to the Air was the availability of refurbished units from the Apple Store.
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Well I'm hoping to get a good Black Friday sale, and also the price of the refurb air 2's are about the same as the new mini 4's for the same storage configs. I really think the mini 4 would be nice for holding for long periods of time which I do as I use my iPad as my textbooks for homeschool.
 
JerTheGeek said:
Well I'm hoping to get a good Black Friday sale, and also the price of the refurb air 2's are about the same as the new mini 4's for the same storage configs. I really think the mini 4 would be nice for holding for long periods of time which I do as I use my iPad as my textbooks for homeschool.
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Yes, the Mini 4 is easier to hold in one hand. I played around with both in the Apple Store extensively before deciding what to do. The difference in weight is noticeable (that seems to be my favourite word today heheh ).
 
Cakefish said:
Yes, the Mini 4 is easier to hold in one hand. I played around with both in the Apple Store extensively before deciding what to do. The difference in weight is noticeable (that seems to be my favourite word today heheh ).
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Lol. I think I'll do the same thing to make a final decision. I know both would be great. I just have to pick either lighter more comfortable form factor, or larger more immersive screen.
 
JerTheGeek said:
Lol. I think I'll do the same thing to make a final decision. I know both would be great. I just have to pick either lighter more comfortable form factor, or larger more immersive screen.
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Yeah, both are great. It took me ages to decide. Definitely worth checking them out for yourself in person.

Though because I'm so so very indecisive, I still couldn't decide even after spending about an hour and a half in the store! That's why I just eventually decided to let the availability of refurbished deals make the decision for me :)
 
Cakefish said:
Yeah, both are great. It took me ages to decide. Definitely worth checking them out for yourself in person.

Though because I'm so so very indecisive, I still couldn't decide even after spending about an hour and a half in the store! That's why I just eventually decided to let the availability of refurbished deals make the decision for me :)
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I'm also super indecisive, I'm probably gonna have to just force myself to go with one or the other haha. I know if I get the mini I'll probably miss the bigger screen but enjoy the smaller lighter form factor, and if I get the air 2 I'll probably want the lighter size but enjoy the big screen...
 
magbarn said:
If Staple's $150 off is a good indication, there's going to be awesome BF deals on the Air 2 coming up, unless Apple decides to put their foot down on MAPS...
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Last month I took Staples up on their 150.00 off deal and couldn't be happier. Who knows they might do a repeat for Black Friday
 
JerTheGeek said:
If they don't somewhere else probably will.
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I just upgraded from the Air to the Air 2 last week. My somewhat unusual reason was that after getting the new iPhone 6S my original Air felt slow and sluggish. After using the Air 2 for almost a week I can say the the performance boost and having 2GB of ram is noticeable. Everything is faster to me. Multitasking with split view is definitely cool but I don't find myself using it a ton yet. Hopefully some app updates might fix that for me. Screen is definitely nicer and I appreciate the slight difference in thinness. One thing I actually don't use surprisingly is Touch ID to unlock. I use it for App's but find that when in bed using touch ID requires me to readjust my grip etc which I don't want to do.

Still trying to sell my original Air but hoping the upgrade will only cost mea around $100. I got what I think is a good deal via Craigslist on the Air 2. A 64GB model with LTE for only $400. Almost half the price I would have paid for full retail including taxes.
 
JerTheGeek said:
If they don't somewhere else probably will.
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Staples currently has $20 off iPad Air 2's. In the recent past, Staples had the Air 2 on sale for consecutive weeks with each week increasing the discount. The last time it was $50 off, $100, then $150 off. It might be a good idea to keep watch on Staples over the next few weeks.
 
JerTheGeek said:
Hello all
I have an iPad Air 1 which I've had since June, when I updated from a mini 1. I really like the larger screen. I was considering going back to the mini with the 4, but I'm almost 100% sure I'm gonna stick with the 9.7 inch screen.
However, I am wondering if it'd be worth it to upgrade to the Air 2 this Christmas. I use this thing every day, and I use it as my textbooks for homeschool so this thing gets some pretty extensive use. In addition to school, I also use it for standard web browsing, email, YouTube, etc.
So, even though the upgrade might not offer a ton of new features, I'm thinking it still may be worth it even just for the thinness of the air 2 since I'm on it a lot. I wish there was an air 3, but I'm not quite sure what they'd do besides put an a9 in it.
Anyway, do you think it would be worth it to upgrade from an air 1, given my situation?
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Yes, I used an air 1 and it's so laggy, the air 2 is great.
 
AppleMan2015 said:
Yes, I used an air 1 and it's so laggy, the air 2 is great.
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For me the only reason I updated and got the Air2 was 150.00 off at Staples at the time. Otherwise I would have stayed with my ipad4 which I love and find it still does the job. I see so much topic about lag on here and some times can't help but wonder if we expect to much at times.
Now that I have my Air2 i feel I'm good to go for the next three years if it holds up as well as my ipad4.
 
Have both Air 1 and 2. For me, the Air 2 was a definite upgrade - the safari tab reloading by itself was driving me insane. I literally couldn't use the Air 1 to fill out a web form if I needed ANY info from another app or email. It would reload every single time I went back to it. I finally just gave up using it to actually do anything on the internet.

Air 2 instantly solved that, so it was clear it was ram issue. The Touch ID is a nice addition that you get used to with an iPhone. Feels faster as well and the iOS 9 features will be nice as they come into their own.

Though it's not an issue for me, if I'm being honest the battery doesn't feel like it lasts as long.
 
Well I have finally decided to go with the air 2. Barring any drastic changes when I use them in the Apple Store for my final 100% decision, I'm gonna get the air 2.
 
well, I ended up buying an iPad mini 4 instead of an air 2. I'm almost totally decided on keeping it, but I do have a question for those who have switched from the air 1 to the air 2; is the difference in weight and one handed usability that different? I tried out my old air 1 yesterday and was surprised how heavy it felt after using the mini: one handed usage was definitely not comfortable. I'm wondering if this significantly changes with the air 2?
 
JerTheGeek said:
well, I ended up buying an iPad mini 4 instead of an air 2. I'm almost totally decided on keeping it, but I do have a question for those who have switched from the air 1 to the air 2; is the difference in weight and one handed usability that different? I tried out my old air 1 yesterday and was surprised how heavy it felt after using the mini: one handed usage was definitely not comfortable. I'm wondering if this significantly changes with the air 2?
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It's was pretty significant for me why don't you take your iPad 1 and bring it in to an Apple store and compare?
The fact the Apple cheaped out and used the same GPU from last year's 6+ that was just barely good enough for the smaller iPhone screen (see the graph below, notice the iPhone 6 is competitive with the Air 2 because of its lower resolution screen, while the mini 4 is blown away despite having the same gpu) is what kept me from keeping the mini 4. I truly miss the Air 1 days when Apple would put the best SOC in both the full size and mini line. Seems like Apple is learning from Samsung in putting sub par SOCs in their smaller tablets. Then again if the the smaller form factor is what's important for you, then go ahead and keel the mini 4.
 

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magbarn said:
It's was pretty significant for me why don't you take your iPad 1 and bring it in to an Apple store and compare?
The fact the Apple cheaped out and used the same GPU from last year's 6+ that was just barely good enough for the smaller iPhone screen (see the graph below, notice the iPhone 6 is competitive with the Air 2 because of its lower resolution screen, while the mini 4 is blown away despite having the same gpu) is what kept me from keeping the mini 4. I truly miss the Air 1 days when Apple would put the best SOC in both the full size and mini line. Seems like Apple is learning from Samsung in putting sub par SOCs in their smaller tablets. Then again if the the smaller form factor is what's important for you, then go ahead and keel the mini 4.
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Well I did compare with my air 1 last month; but I was more impressed by the lightness of the mini 4 so I didn't spend much time looking at the air 2. Now I'm basically trying to decide if the extra lightness is worth it
 
JerTheGeek said:
Well I did compare with my air 1 last month; but I was more impressed by the lightness of the mini 4 so I didn't spend much time looking at the air 2. Now I'm basically trying to decide if the extra lightness is worth it
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The weight difference the two isn't such a big deal for me as the Air 2 is light enough for it's size and hardly noticeable. Size is the main factor for me. I would like to have a Mini in addition to my Air 2 as my Mini fits in my camera bag much easier than the Air2 does. But I'm waiting until Apple puts at least an A9 in the Mini...
 
magbarn said:
Seems like Apple is learning from Samsung in putting sub par SOCs in their smaller tablets.
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The irony of your statement is that the Tab S2 8.0" has the exact same SOC as the Tab S2 9.7". Same with the original Tab S.
 
If anyone's still pondering about getting an iPad Air 2, check out the marketplace forum.
I have listed a brand new sealed cellular model for very cheap. Comes with a gift receipt too.
 
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JerTheGeek said:
well, I ended up buying an iPad mini 4 instead of an air 2. I'm almost totally decided on keeping it, but I do have a question for those who have switched from the air 1 to the air 2; is the difference in weight and one handed usability that different? I tried out my old air 1 yesterday and was surprised how heavy it felt after using the mini: one handed usage was definitely not comfortable. I'm wondering if this significantly changes with the air 2?
Click to expand...

I have an Air2, my partner has an Air1. I don't notice the weight difference between the two. If they didn't have different color covers, I'd think we'd constantly be picking up the wrong one and not noticing until we wake them up and see a different set of apps on the home screen.

Overall, Air2 is an incremental upgrade over the Air1, and any difference is not noticeable unless you are comparing them side by side.
 
I was quite sceptical before I upgraded my air 1 to air 2. My air 1 was only 32GB and I needed more space so my main reason for the upgrade was so that I could get 128GB of storage. I saw the other improvements as add on bonuses. I'm not fussed about the fact that the air 2 is lighter, in fact in some ways I think that the air 1 feels more solid in the hand. However I was most impressed with the laminated screen. In comparison to the the air 1, things really pop on the air 2. Also the 2GB of ram really makes a difference. I think iOS devices can get by with 1 GB but the 2GB really makes things a lot smoother and quicker. I also like the fact that apps don't keep refreshing. I only every have up to two safari tabs open at the same time so I don't really care about the wetter my safari tabs refresh or not.
 
JerTheGeek said:
well, I ended up buying an iPad mini 4 instead of an air 2. I'm almost totally decided on keeping it, but I do have a question for those who have switched from the air 1 to the air 2; is the difference in weight and one handed usability that different? I tried out my old air 1 yesterday and was surprised how heavy it felt after using the mini: one handed usage was definitely not comfortable. I'm wondering if this significantly changes with the air 2?
Click to expand...
I'd rather have the mini 4 /air 1 combo than the the air 2 on its own if that's the choice. I have the air 2 and mini 3. I like having both. I prefer any option where I get to have more gadgets lol
 
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