AnandTech on the new iPad Air 2:
Overall, the iPad Air 2 is likely to be one of the only tablets worth buying on the market today. While iOS isn’t perfect, it’s definitely delivering the best tablet experience as its app support is second to none. While other OEMs may have more features, iOS manages to hold on by virtue of its superior polish and integration with Apple hardware. While I’d like to see Apple push the envelope further with the iPad line, it’s hard to argue this when other OEMs seem to be content with the status quo. While it’s likely that Apple will be able to hold on to its tablet lead, it remains to be seen if Google’s Nexus 9 can prove to be a viable competitor to the iPad Air 2.
Still the best tablet you can buy.
No doubt the iPad is technically superior to any of its competitors, and I don’t see any competition on the horizon because the high-end tablet market is much smaller than the high-end phone market. Unless mobile carriers convince people to buy tablets on contract, I don’t see this changing.
Nevertheless, most people probably wouldn’t get too much more practical benefit out of an iPad than much of the cheaper competition. The same story is true of phones as well – most folks don’t need an iPhone, Galaxy S etc.
As a tech enthusiast, I am, of course, prone to wanting the best of the best for its own sake, but not being especially wealthy, I’ve found mid-range phones and tablets to be just as good for my needs as the more expensive models.
Apple, I suspect, wants to move from X86 to ARM. That’s a controversial suggestion, but I’m still in the camp that believes it’s where there headed, so it makes sense for them to push ahead even when few of their customers are benefiting.
problem is market saturation and lifespan of these products is a bit longer than the stockmarket wishes.
my household has had 2 iphones and a single ipad2 for many years now and hasn’t had much reason to upgrade. even though i’d probably buy a new one within 24 hours of the old one dying, it shows no signs of age since it’s been cased and has no moving parts.
there’s been 3-5 new ipads released since i bought mine but it’s still just about as good. i don’t even know what those ipads do that mine can’t. mine works fine, with no monthly payments since it doesn’t have a cell radio.
Well, I upgraded from an iPad 2 to an Air 2 and it has definitely increased my tablet usage. The screen and the speed(!) of this thing have made it enjoyable to use an iPad again.
Still feel like a victim of planned obsolescence, though. Not just is iOS 7/8 clearly designed for Retina displays with thin lines and fonts everywhere (looks quite horrible on the iPad 2 IMO), but the way it has slowed down since iOS 6 isn’t acceptable, since it hasn’t really received many of the new features in the OS, nor the new fancy UI stuff like translucency. Actually, iOS 7/8 with the fancy effects disabled, like on the iPad 2, may even be easier to render than iOS 6. Less shadows, glow and other bling. So it doesn’t justify more stuttering and lag. But I think the biggest problem is that iOS has gotten more RAM hungry (now running much more cloud stuff and other services in the background), and Apple has been so greedy on the RAM, until now (finally!). The fact that I can now open apps I haven’t used for a long time and find that it doesn’t need to reload makes up for a whole new desktop-ish experience. As far as I’ve heard even the Air struggles there, since it has only 1 GB.
Edited 2014-11-10 20:11 UTC
I think you are right on there. I’m disappointed at the performance hit that the iPad line took in iOS 7/8. I think the move to a lot more layout-based design rather than pixel positioning of elements is the culprit here. Unfortunately this is a necessary transition.
The iPad 2 is a great device though that has lived a heck of a long time. If you bought it when it came out you got a lot of years out of it and it is still on the latest iOS and likely will continue to be updated for quite a while. Yes it’s slower but it works pretty well still. The iPad 3 and iPad 4 actually seem slower because they have to push so many more pixels.
The Air 2 will live just as long or even longer than the iPad 2. With the upgraded RAM it will be able to handle any future update for a lot longer than the AIr or previous iPads.
Same reason I would not buy an iPhone 6 these days. The processor is blazing fast, but the RAM will be a problem in a couple years. Next time I update will be to the 7 or 8.
Won’t argue with the product quality and what you get, but have people actually tried to use an ipad regularly? They’re heavy! I would find it pretty uncomfortably to keep them in my hand for an extended period of time. And on app support, what am I missing ? What does the ipad have for which I can’t find a replacement or a superior solution?
Have you picked up an iPad Air 2 recently? If those things get any lighter, they won’t exist anymore
Some apps are definitely superior on iPad, esp music making/midi control surface apps – no contest. (Though hopefully the audio latency tweaks in lollipop will help turn this around.) Also, you’re going to get a much more consistent experience on iPad. For example, some games/apps work great on some high-end Android tablets, but run like dogshit and/or don’t work at all, or just plain don’t look right on others.
Plus, the hoops you have to jump through to install some apps is kind of a hassle, like the Amazon Video app, where you have to install it through their regular Amazon app. Worse still, their tablet app hasn’t been updated (or wasn’t last time I checked) to do this, so I had to download the phone app apk manually from the Play store. Not too much of a big deal for me, but try walking my parents through something like that
Personally, my BIGGEST gripe with Android tablets (esp the smaller ones) is the paltry amount of storage options they have. In 2014, 16gb is just not enough, so you end up having to root the damn thing and install an app like Folder Mount, just so you have enough internal storage to install whatever apps you want. I’m now in my 40’s and getting too old for that shit.
I myself am a big fan of Android on phones. But for a tablet? I’m getting an iPad Air 2.
Edited 2014-11-10 19:11 UTC
I would be quite fine even with 16GB. Most of my stuff can be streamed over the network, so there’s no need to keep local copies of much of anything. What do you store there that needs so much space?
Me, I’m still sticking to Android on tablets. I don’t own any Apple-devices at all, I don’t have any investments with them and as such I would not benefit from their all-encompassing ecosystem at all. I can understand their ecosystem’s draw for those people who already have some investments made there and/or who likes the easy connectivity between all of the iDevices, but I just ain’t a part of it. I benefit none.
As for the device itself, I just do not like the 4:3 aspect ratio, it is awkward in so many ways. I don’t really like the looks of it, either, but I could live with that; as long as the device otherwise suits me its looks are essentially irrelevant. I just don’t quite understand all the people who claim it’s so gosh darn beautiful…
Apps + games. Esp with some of the latter creeping up to 1gb+, that 10gb+ internal storage ain’t gonna last long.
Oh, and I never said anything about it being ‘beautiful’. You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone on this planet who gives less of a shit about such things than I do. In fact, I wish it had the soft back feel of the Nexus 7, instead of the aluminum.
Edited 2014-11-10 19:45 UTC
you have demonstrated perfectly a different use case from me.
I travel a lot often to places where there is no network so streaming is out for that good reason OR it cots two arms and a leg to get the data flowing. Data Roaming charges are obscene.
Then the Screen Aspect Ratio. For me, 4:3 is perfect. I dislike widescreen displays but have to put up with them. My desktop is two 1920×1200 displays rotated to give 2400×1920. On my tablet, I don’t watch a lot of movies as I’d prefer to read an Ebook (or write my own!). For that 4:3 is perfect.
My use case is different to yours that’s why there is no ‘one size fits all and long may it continue.
Porn?
It seems like it’s not exactly meant for work: http://linuxfonts.narod.ru/why-iphones-and-ipads-suck.html .
Edited 2014-11-10 20:05 UTC
Microsoft just last week released versions of their Office program, Word, Excel and Powerpoint, for iOS, both iPhones and iPads, so yes, they can be used for work. At least Microsoft feels they can since they are responding to the demand for those apps.
My Nvidia Shield Tablet likes to disagree with you.
While the iPads are pleasing to the eye in terms of design (though that’s a matter of taste as well – I know some Android tablets which have a better optical appeal) they cannot really keep up with what I can do with an Android based device, let alone do what the Shield Tablet lets me do (show me a maxiPad that can stream a game from the Trashcan… err… Mac Pro).
So, “the best tablet you can buy” is a “personal preference” rather than a “scientific observation”.
And while we’re at it: What’s the point of this article, Thom?
That’s neiter “OS news” nor “tech news” nor your usual “rant” … it’s blatant “iFanboi iProduct iAdvertisement” paired up with “featuring a vastly superior tech site to this blog”.
You consider AnandTech to be a fanboy site???? Sorry, man, you just lost all credibility with that assertion.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/09/anandtech-founder-anand-shim…
If you would have acquired the skills of “reading” and “comprehension” paired up with maybe some “common sense” you _might_ have noticed that this was actually adressed at Thom. Its his blog and he’s free to do whatever he pleases, but “best” clearly depends on your definition of “poorly iengineered ielectronics junk made in china”.
As for AnandTech … it may not be the most superior site out there, but I followed Anand almost since the time he started the site. Now that he’s gone let’s see how long it takes for things to go “El Reg level”.
Anyway, thank you for telling me that I lost credibility (you actually already dropped your balls or you just attempting to troll?) while you fail at three most basic skills.
Edited 2014-11-11 13:26 UTC
They are basically setting the iPad as the standard of what a tablet should be, and then make the conclusion that other tablets aren’t as good because they are not the iPad.
Every part of this review mentions that there are tablets that are faster, there are tablets that have longer battery life, there are tablets with more features, there are tablets that look better, there are tablets that can do things that the iPad can simply not do…and after 10 pages price is never even mentioned once…yet the conclusion is that the iPad cannot be beaten?
They start of wrongly by naming the Nexus as the main competitor. If you look at any sales number you will see that Nexus devices hardly sell compared to any tablet that Samsung makes (and they make a lot). And of course there is the Surface Pro 3 in the highend tablet market (oh wait, that doesn’t count because it isn’t ARM). And in the low end market there is simply no Apple device.
Most people do simple things with there tablets. Browse the web, read mail, show pictures, read something or watch a movie. And of course play some games (mostly very simple ones, look at the top 10) and use a few apps. None of this requires the iPad-Air-2 so it is quite clear why iPad sales are dropping every quarter. Tablets used to be novel devices that performed a function that people wanted (easy, portable device) but that market is saturated. And with phablets and low cost laptops there is only going to be a market for devices that offer something different hardwarewise. Touch-ID is not enough. This market needs innovation to come back quickly or it will be gone soon