In-depth review: Apple's iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3

24

Comments

  • Reply 21 of 80
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    This is one reason (along with 2GB RAM) I ordered an Air 2 which should be arriving today. Air 1 screen is on the left.



    B05p-PiCAAAKXGe.jpg

     

    Love the screen!  Makes me wanna play some games and read colourful ebooks for the past few days.

  • Reply 22 of 80
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    rogifan wrote: »
    I thought the Air 2 had mute switch and rotation lock toggles in control center. If that's the case then what's the point of a physical switch? As far as speakers, yes the iPad probably could have better speakers (though some Air 2 owners on MacRumors claim the speakers have a louder sound and more bass) but they'd never be as good as my Bose SoundLink mini so that doesn't bother me so much.

    The only thing I don't like about how the rotate control works in Control Center, is that you have to swipe Control Center away before the Air 2 rotates, and then open Control Center to lock that new rotation. I don't know why they did it that way. I would prefer that after I unlock rotation in Control Center, it rotated at once, so that I can lock it again without having to go through several more steps.

    That being said, it's generally easier to swipe for Control Center than fumble around for the switch, particularly if it's in some of the bulkier cases.
  • Reply 23 of 80
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post



    And the Music app on iPad needs a serious rethink.

    Agreed.

  • Reply 24 of 80
    Originally Posted by pazuzu View Post

    And this is why I never buy a first gen product of Apple ever- always to be massive improvement on gen 2.

     

    Good thing the Air wasn’t a first-gen anything, huh.

  • Reply 25 of 80
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    mpantone wrote: »

    Well, the article is titled "In-depth review", followed by "2014 iPad mini 3 in review", "2014 iPad Air 2 in review" section headers and scores.

    I'd say it's a review.

    It doesn't matter what it says. It matters what it does, and all it does it to repeat what we can read about it on Apple's own site. The rest is just mumbo jumbo. No comparisons that mean anything between this and competitors tablets. Just a few statements of his rather jaundiced opinion. I noticed that the Nexus 9 wasn't in the numbers, because he got those numbers from somewhere else that didn't have the new Nexus 9.

    How about him testing tabs? I've found that tabs still reload, despite the 2GB RAM. How about app compatibility, or the fact that it disconnects from a WiFi network all too often? How about testing some higher end apps to see how they perform? I've found that those apps perform better than with my original Air. I've also found that many apps that reload every time you tap on them no longer do so, as a result both of more RAM and faster processing.

    How about the difference in feel? My old Air is just two thirds of an ounce heavier, but the feel of the 2 is different, mostly because of the thickness. It just feel lighter. As iSuppli has stated in their tear down, the 2 is also more rigid due to the bonding of the glass, the touch layer, and the LCD. Yes, you can feel that. Gently twisting my Air results in some movement. It's rather alarming, even though it means little in daily use. But the 2 doesn't move at all! Nada! Almost like a single slab of metal. Maybe it means nothing in use, but it sure is reassuring.

    The screen is better. But the colors are slightly different. Without taking my spectrophotometer out and doing the tests, something I'll leave to Anandtech, it looks better. Better blacks without losing detail there. Better whites without washing out. More saturation. The reflections are less, but without having the Air right there to compare, it could be hard to tell. But outdoors viewing proves better.

    The speakers are definitely louder, by more than a little, though I didn't measuring them. But the back really vibrates whenever lower frequencies are strong. Odd feeling, but makes it feel more bassy. But the bass really is better. Very low distortion at high levels.

    I could say more, but that's enough for a post. This post is much more of a review than DED's article is.

    Maybe I'll add more, or do another post.
  • Reply 26 of 80
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    melgross wrote: »
    The only thing I don't like about how the rotate control works in Control Center, is that you have to swipe Control Center away before the Air 2 rotates, and then open Control Center to lock that new rotation. I don't know why they did it that way. I would prefer that after I unlock rotation in Control Center, it rotated at once, so that I can lock it again without having to go through several more steps.

    That being said, it's generally easier to swipe for Control Center than fumble around for the switch, particularly if it's in some of the bulkier cases.

    I'd second that; it is kludgy to have to close the drawer before you rotate. Must be that the Contol Center function locks all other input to and from the screen. How would they get around that? Maybe screen lock shouldn't be in Control Center at all, since it has to include rotation to unlock and relock.
  • Reply 27 of 80
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    flaneur wrote: »
    I'd second that; it is kludgy to have to close the drawer before you rotate. Must be that the Contol Center function locks all other input to and from the screen. How would they get around that? Maybe screen lock shouldn't be in Control Center at all, since it has to include rotation to unlock and relock.

    I believe that your reason is correct. Though I've been trying to think of why they couldn't program in an exception. Haven't tried the volume control there while something is playing., or the mute.
  • Reply 28 of 80
    Just received my refurbished iPad mini 2 last week and I love this device more than my old iPad 4.
    Not to mention that I only paid around $300 for the 32GB model.
  • Reply 29 of 80
    pazuzu wrote: »
    What color did you get for Air2. I don't get the faux gold appeal. I liked the space grey I think but silver looks good too. The speed and screen are fantastic.
    From a "strictly looks alone" standpoint, I like the space grey. But, I wanted the white bezel on the front - easier for me to keep my fingers off the active region on the screen. I found the fingers holding the iPad "spilling" over the bezel area un-noticed on the narrower bezels on the space grey. That said, I prefer the gold/white combo over the silver/white - but, any of the color schemes would have worked for me ????.
  • Reply 30 of 80
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    rogifan wrote: »
    Anyone buying a mini 3 right now is a sucker.

    There are use cases, I'm sure, where Touch ID will be worth a lousy $100 to have on your hand-carried or jacket-pocketable go-everywhere device. Not every buyer will have a recent iPhone. That's a possible buyer's point of view. A hundred bucks is a parking ticket.

    You are thinking that the cost of adding Touch ID is a matter of adding a few dollars worth of hardware, and that leads you to say unkind things about someone who would pay the price. That strikes me as arrogant, unfair, and worse. You don't have any idea about the hidden costs of adding Touch ID (R&D writedown, sapphire sourcing, Secure Enclave support, etc.), nor any idea about other corrections they might be adding to the mini's price at this point after a year of running the production of this platform.

    In other words, don't call people buying new minis "suckers"—there's no way you can justify that kind of slur. But you did manage to get pazuzu's agreement.
  • Reply 31 of 80
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Here's a "review"of the new tablets screens by Displaymate.

    http://www.displaymate.com/iPad6_ShootOut.htm#Table
  • Reply 32 of 80
    zoetmbzoetmb Posts: 2,654member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by pmz View Post

     

    No and No.

     

    The speakers are just fine, 


    No.  Audio can always be better and you can't say that better audio would be a negative.    Audio is amazing considering how incredibly tiny the transducers are, but it's still lacking in what good, full frequency response audio should sound like.  While it's true that a headset can be plugged in for better audio, there would be nothing wrong and everything good about getting better audio directly out of the device.   

  • Reply 33 of 80
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    sog35 wrote: »
    agree.

    I'd pay $100 if it was possible to retro fit my Air1 with TouchID

    For  many people the convience and security of TouchID is well worth $100.

    How many times do you unlock your iPad?  I'd say at least 10x a day.  Multiple by 365 days.  Multiply by 3 years.
    You are paying $0.00009 each time to unlock.  Well worth it.

    I'm amazed at how well it works. It took about a minute to set it up, after I pressed too hard, and clicked the button, after which it told me to begin again. But I can hold my thumb at any angle, and a second or so after touching it, after clicking first, it opens.

    Apple is careful that the sapphire button doesn't get scratched by recessing it a bit. It has an odd feel after so many years of using their phones and tablets. Also strange not to see the small rounded white square in the middle, even though I understand why they had to drop it.
  • Reply 34 of 80
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    melgross wrote: »
    Here's a "review"of the new tablets screens by Displaymate.

    http://www.displaymate.com/iPad6_ShootOut.htm#Table

    Thanks, been waiting for that. Still gimped gamut on the mini. Such a cross to bear. /s

    Actually, i haven't missed the full colors that much on my mini retina 1, but I don't use it for looking at my own videos much. Perhaps that's why, though.
  • Reply 35 of 80
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    zoetmb wrote: »
    No.  Audio can always be better and you can't say that better audio would be a negative.    Audio is amazing considering how incredibly tiny the transducers are, but it's still lacking in what good, full frequency response audio should sound like.  While it's true that a headset can be plugged in for better audio, there would be nothing wrong and everything good about getting better audio directly out of the device.   

    Well compared to my seven foot high speakers, and pair of subs with four 12" drivers each, they do sound a bit tinny, and lacking in highs and dynamics, but we can't have everything.
  • Reply 36 of 80
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    flaneur wrote: »
    Thanks, been waiting for that. Still gimped gamut on the mini. Such a cross to bear. /s

    Actually, i haven't missed the full colors that much on my mini retina 1, but I don't use it for looking at my own videos much. Perhaps that's why, though.

    It's like everything else, it depends on what it's being used for.
  • Reply 37 of 80

    I have been a little disappointed with the Air 2 (Wifi) battery life on mine. (Unlike my 6 Plus which has been nearly unreal, it's that amazing) Granted my previous iPad was old but I would have thought this should have been as good or better and so far it's not. Standby is fine, but in actual use, even basic web browsing it drains faster. Maybe a few more charge cycles will help, and again it's not poor, but a little disappointing, especially if this is just due a thinness 'war'.

     

    Everything else about it is completely 11/10. Can't put it down. 

  • Reply 38 of 80
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by maccherry View Post



    A pathetically long review!!!

    I still have the original iPad mini. Awesome beyond words.

    Ha, yea it was long.  But "pathetically" long?  Lighten up.

  • Reply 39 of 80
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    First of all, I agree that the iPad Air 2 gets five stars! I've had mine since day one, and it is indeed a powerhouse. I've been running some CPU intensive tasks and apps on it and it screams.

     

    One thing that I don't see mentioned much anywhere is that the display doesn't just look better, because it's now bonded, but I also read that the touch sensors in the display are new and improved, so the iPad Air 2 is even more responsive and accurate, not that it was bad before!

     

    Just about every single damn thing in the iPad Air 2 has been improved!

     

    (1) Improved and more powerful CPU

    (2) Improved and more powerful GPU

    (3) Thinner and lighter. It's awesome for holding and reading now, crazy thin.

    (4) Improved display, because it's now bonded and has anti-reflective coating

    (5) Improved Touch sensors in the display

    (6) iPad now has Touch ID!

    (7) Increased RAM to 2 GB!

    (8) Improved front camera

    (9) Improved back camera

    (10) iPad now has Apple Pay (online only!)

    (11) iPad now has camera features from iPhone (Slow mo,time lapse, Panorama etc.)

    (12) Sound is louder and better than before!

    (13) Improved and faster WIFI!

     

    I'm probably forgetting a thing or two here, even though that list is long!

     

    The bottom line is that the iPad Air 2 rules! I bet that it's selling in huge numbers!

  • Reply 40 of 80
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sog35 View Post

     

     

    Your expectations for audio on an ultra thin device is ridiculous.  Its simply the laws of physics.


     

    Agreed. 

     

    It's a super thin tablet! It's not a damn boom box!

     

    If I want awesome audio and deep bass, I'll just plug in a pair of expensive headphones or hook up the iPad to a pair of audiophile speakers.

     

    The sound is actually better than before, but it's silly to have totally unrealistic expectations as to what it can produce.

Sign In or Register to comment.