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Were you satisfied with your first iPad Air / rMini?

  • Satisfied with first device

    Votes: 102 70.3%
  • Returned one device, satisfied with the second

    Votes: 8 5.5%
  • Returned twice or more

    Votes: 35 24.1%

  • Total voters
    145
If you look for perfection, you'll never be content. - Leo Tolstoy

Now there's a quote for those people who've returned 5 iPads in a row.
 
Ordered my 32gb Air on launch day for in store pickup. Great screen, no cosmetic flaws. Yes the occasional Safari crash is a small irritant but my Air still crashes much less often that my iPad 1.

Never any question in my mind that I would return it. I also agree the sample of returns here at MR are not indicative of the real world sample but is interesting nonetheless.
 
sort of

I bought an Air which is fine. I then bought a rMini which seemed 'ok' but retuned it for other reasons. Regretting this rash move :D , i bought another and noticed immediately it actually had a better screen than the first one.

This difference here, which is perhaps worth mentioning, is that I would of enjoyed the first rMini and not gone back over and over again for exchanges, being a grown up. :)

YMMV
 
1st Retina Mini: Two large dents on the aluminum back.
2nd Retina Mini: Awful backlight bleed + uneven tint.
3rd Retina Mini: Backlight bleed in three areas in the bottom + uneven tint.
4th Retina Mini: Should I give up?

*sigh*
 
1st Retina Mini: Two large dents on the aluminum back.
2nd Retina Mini: Awful backlight bleed + uneven tint.
3rd Retina Mini: Backlight bleed in three areas in the bottom + uneven tint.
4th Retina Mini: Should I give up?

*sigh*

definitely
 
1st: Air: no WiFi connections anywhere.
2nd Air: scratched and banged up, tin can speakers.
3rd Air: speakers still meh and multiple crashes in iTunes/Safari (That's iOS7. It was worse on the Air than my iPhone 5.)

Audio is very important to me. None of my previous iPads had speakers which were so noticeably off. This was the first iDevice I had hardware issues with.

Final result: gave up after 3rd Air.

Glad folks are getting nice ones right out of the gate as it should be.
 
If you look for perfection, you'll never be content. - Leo Tolstoy

Now there's a quote for those people who've returned 5 iPads in a row.

I'm not looking for a perfect screen. Just one that doesn't look like it has a piss stain on the side.
 
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Nope. 1st one was 32GB but after installing Apple's large iWork apps and my 21GBs of music I needed more capacity so back it went.

2nd one was as a 64GB with a pathetic yellow screen when compared side by side to the 1st 32GB. Back it went.

3rd one 64GB with a great screen but WiFi only. Had been waiting for a LTE version to be in stock locally all along since I didn't want to wait for a shipped one. Finally in stock at the local Apple store so back it went.

4th one nice screen 64GB WiFi+LTE. Totally satisfied with it but If I find that 64GB is too limiting back it'll go too for a 128GB version since that's an option now.

Started off with a $499 iPad rMini and ended up with a $729 iPad rMini. I've paid more for each return. Apple still gets to sell those returned iPads at a slightly smaller profit and some lucky customers possibly macrumors members get to have those at a reduced price so it's a win. And if anyone reading this has an issue with me returning those iPads, I say it was my money, my problem so go F yourself. And like I've said before, keep returning those iPads until you've found the one that you're content with folks because with new stock coming in new there's plenty to choose from. To everyone else who was satisfied with your 1st purchase, that's awesome. Just goes to show that Apple is still the best out there.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS
 
Nope. 1st one was 32GB but after installing Apple's large iWork apps and my 21GBs of music I needed more capacity so back it went.

2nd one was as a 64GB with a pathetic yellow screen when compared side by side to the 1st 32GB. Back it went.

3rd one 64GB with a great screen but WiFi only. Had been waiting for a LTE version to be in stock locally all along since I didn't want to wait for a shipped one. Finally in stock at the local Apple store so back it went.

4th one nice screen 64GB WiFi+LTE. Totally satisfied with it but If I find that 64GB is too limiting back it'll go too for a 128GB version since that's an option now.

Started off with a $499 iPad rMini and ended up with a $729 iPad rMini. I've paid more for each return. Apple still gets to sell those returned iPads at a slightly smaller profit and some lucky customers possibly macrumors members get to have those at a reduced price so it's a win. And if anyone reading this has an issue with me returning those iPads, I say it was my money, my problem so go F yourself. And like I've said before, keep returning those iPads until you've found the one that you're content with folks because with new stock coming in new there's plenty to choose from. To everyone else who was satisfied with your 1st purchase, that's awesome. Just goes to show that Apple is still the best out there.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

This wouldn't have happened if Steve Jobs were alive. :D He'd just ban you from all Apple stores forever.
 
And if anyone reading this has an issue with me returning those iPads, I say it was my money, my problem so go F yourself. And like I've said before, keep returning those iPads until you've found the one that you're content with folks because with new stock coming in new there's plenty to choose from.

That is precisely why I said "defects only" in the opening post. It isn't so much to do with returns as it is to do with getting a defective product.

So of the 4, you encountered one faulty device and the first replacement you got didn't have any issues?

:)
 
I agree... the people on here blow problems way out of proportion. I got my iPad Air and have been enjoying it. But then I remembered about all of the people in here complaining about the yellow tint. It turns out mine has it as well. But I don't really care. It's only noticeable in certain situations, or if you actively try to look for it. When I'm using my iPad normally, I don't even see it. If there was something that actually affected the functionality of the device, I would return it. But not for something like this.

I think I had a legitimate reason to return my Air.
There was a lot of freezing or frequently no response when I touched a link, and nothing appeared when I typed. During these times I could not scroll with one finger. Two fingers worked clumsily.

I did have quite a few Safari windows open, but this never happened on my old mini, with same kind of use on it all of last year. On the Air, this behaviour started happening about 2 weeks after receiving it.

I could bring it back to normal by a hard restart, but I really don't want to be slowed down by doing that all the time.
It also got quite warm, unlike my old mini, which was worrisome together with what was happening.

And after reading all the raves about Notability, I got the app, and it is slow to open, which was really disappointing because it’s a notepad - something that needs to open quickly to get ideas, references, and such down and organized. I had Bamboo notebook on my mini, and it always opened in a flash.

(I'm waiting on the mail for a replacement, plus I ordered a ret. mini to compare).
 
It's interesting the poll shows 75% didn't return any iPads, over 20% returned more than one iPad, but less than 5% returned exactly one iPad. That you have so few returning exactly one iPad suggests that for whatever reason some people are much more likely to return their iPad than others.
 
It's interesting the poll shows 75% didn't return any iPads, over 20% returned more than one iPad, but less than 5% returned exactly one iPad. That you have so few returning exactly one iPad suggests that for whatever reason some people are much more likely to return their iPad than others.

Or it could show more than one return was likely needed to get a decent iPad.
 
Or it could show more than one return was likely needed to get a decent iPad.

Or it could show that even in a place that attracts the most critical folks, the majority are satisfied with their initial purchases and felt no need to return their device. Very interesting.
 
Or it could show more than one return was likely needed to get a decent iPad.

It's statitically impossible to for some outcome to happen multiple times in a row more often than just once.

Compare it to rolling a dice. Suppose for a second that 1 iPad out of each 6 is defective (and let the ::: side of the dice be "bad"). The probability that you'll get anything but ::: is 5/6, or 83.3%. The probability that you'll get ::: on the 1st try, but anything but ::: on the 2nd is (1/6)*(5/6) = 13.9%. The probability that ::: will roll 2 or more times is the rest: 100 - 83.3 - 13.9 = 2.8%.

If you roll the dice and get ::: more often multiple times in a row than just once, you should immediately buy a ticket to Vegas and become instant multitrillionaire! :D But Occam's Razor explanation is simple: OCD.
 
It's statitically impossible to for some outcome to happen multiple times in a row more often than just once.

Compare it to rolling a dice. Suppose for a second that 1 iPad out of each 6 is defective (and let the ::: side of the dice be "bad"). The probability that you'll get anything but ::: is 5/6, or 83.3%. The probability that you'll get ::: on the 1st try, but anything but ::: on the 2nd is (1/6)*(5/6) = 13.9%. The probability that ::: will roll 2 or more times is the rest: 100 - 83.3 - 13.9 = 2.8%.

If you roll the dice and get ::: more often multiple times in a row than just once, you should immediately buy a ticket to Vegas and become instant multitrillionaire! :D But Occam's Razor explanation is simple: OCD.


I have used many different tablets (including an iPad 3) and never had an issue with the displays. Never gave it any thought to examine them for flaws. Yet I have gone through 3 Airs with yellow tinted screens on the left side. I have shown family members and they have agreed with me. So if defects are rare how did I get 3 in a row, or how did my whole family suddenly become stricken with OCD?
 
I have used many different tablets (including an iPad 3) and never had an issue with the displays. Never gave it any thought to examine them for flaws. Yet I have gone through 3 Airs with yellow tinted screens on the left side. I have shown family members and they have agreed with me. So if defects are rare how did I get 3 in a row, or how did my whole family suddenly become stricken with OCD?

I have a theory about this. Apple keeps retuned products in the physical store, cleans them and shrink-wraps them so they look brand new, and feeds them back to serial cherry-pickers. Some of OCDers will then "placebo-effect" themselves into finding an acceptable unit, the rest will be infuriated by endless stream of returns, abandon Apple ship, stop their serial returns, stop bitching on MR forums, and overall, it's better for Apple. Because imagine that they have a constrained supply, the store received 10 iPads and one cherry-picker went through all of them (opening boxes right in the store and exchanging on the spot), now what? The store has no iPads for normal customers, they have to send all units to refurbishing facility and delay their sale by a few months, and get significantly less profit ($75+ per each iPad Air). The business is destroyed: many people essentially worked for free to satisfy one OCD wacko.
 
I have used many different tablets (including an iPad 3) and never had an issue with the displays. Never gave it any thought to examine them for flaws. Yet I have gone through 3 Airs with yellow tinted screens on the left side. I have shown family members and they have agreed with me. So if defects are rare how did I get 3 in a row, or how did my whole family suddenly become stricken with OCD?

Same here. I have never had any display issues before, and I have multiple tablets in various OSes at all times, but I am now on my 5th iPad Air.

The first one had two white dots (looked like styrofoam pieces, maybe?) beneath the glass. I did not even turn it on, as they could not be wiped away. My second one had a bookspine effect which bothered my eyes, my third one had bad contrast, and, again, bothered my eyes, so I gave up and thought I'd stick with my iPad3 for a while longer. Then, Black Friday came around with a super 75$ giftcard deal, so I tried it again, and the left 2/3 of the screen was super yellow, which I exchanged for the one I have now. This one is a bit darker on the left and has a grey line on the left. The folks at the Apple store told me that the uneven lighting is NORMAL, and that it will never be as even as on my iPad3, which is 2 generations behind. So I either keep a slow (since iOS7) iPad3 with a great screen, or get a new, faster iPad with a bad screen.

This is the first time I lost confidence in Apple products. I love how fast the Air is, but Safari has crashed more in the week I've had it than my iPad3 in the past year and a half. :mad:
 
I have a theory about this. Apple keeps retuned products in the physical store, cleans them and shrink-wraps them so they look brand new, and feeds them back to serial cherry-pickers. Some of OCDers will then "placebo-effect" themselves into finding an acceptable unit, the rest will be infuriated by endless stream of returns, abandon Apple ship, stop their serial returns, stop bitching on MR forums, and overall, it's better for Apple. Because imagine that they have a constrained supply, the store received 10 iPads and one cherry-picker went through all of them (opening boxes right in the store and exchanging on the spot), now what? The store has no iPads for normal customers, they have to send all units to refurbishing facility and delay their sale by a few months, and get significantly less profit ($75+ per each iPad Air). The business is destroyed: many people essentially worked for free to satisfy one OCD wacko.

So, please explain how I've never had an issue with a display on anything, be it tablet, monitor or TV, yet I buy an iPad Air without any knowledge of there being a problem with yellow tinting and I notice the flaw right away and go on to get 2 more with the same problem. These incredible odds are really piling up.

I will say the problem is subtle, so I'm sure a lot of people are buying these iPads and not even seeing the problem. If someone doesn't do a lot of reading on their iPad, then they would never notice it. I think a lot of tablets have this unevenness, it just happens to be more visible on a lot of these Airs.

Not sure why you think your perfect iPad is proof that no problem exists, but whatever makes you happy.
 
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