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Apple just announced the brand new iPad Air 2. It’s thinner, more powerful, and comes in gold. But for those of you who own an original iPad Air is it worth upgrading? We look at both to see how they compare.
Specs
First up, let’s take a look at the raw specs of each:
Original iPad Air
Display: 9.7-inch 2048×1536 pixel color IGZO display at 264 pixels per inch
Colors: Silver, Space Grey
Storage: 16, 32, 64, and 128GB
Processors: 64-bit A7 and M7
RAM: 1GB
Touch ID: no
Cameras: front 1.2MP 720p HD camera and a rear 5MP 1080p HD camera
Connectivity: 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, optional 4G
Size: 240 mm (9.4 in) (h) x 169.5 mm (6.67 in) (w) x 7.5 mm (0.30 in) (d)
Weight: 469 grams
iPad Air 2
Display: 9.7-inch 2048×1536 pixel color IGZO display at 264 pixels per inch
Colors: Silver, Space Grey, Gold
Storage: 16, 64, and 128GB
Processors: 64-bit A8X and M8
RAM: 2GB
Touch ID: yes
Cameras: front 1.2MP 720p HD camera and a rear 8MP 1080p HD camera
Connectivity: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, optional 4G
Size: 240 mm (9.4 in) (h) x 169.5 mm (6.67 in) (w) x 6.1 mm (0.24 in) (d)
Weight: 437 grams
Design and Display
The biggest physical difference between the original iPad Air and the iPad Air 2 is that the iPad Air 2 comes in at a whopping 18% thinner than its predecessor. That’s pretty amazing considering that the iPad Air was thinner than a pencil already. Apple manages to shrink the thickness of the iPad Air 2 mainly by removing the space between the touchscreen and the display. Since thinner is always better, this is a major win and allows Apple to firmly claim the bragging rights to the “thinnest tablet on the market”.
But besides the thinner profile, the width and height of the iPad Air stays the same--as does it’s display. No changes have been made to the resolution or the technology in its touch screen. However, since the iPad Air 2 is now thinner, that has allowed Apple to shave 32 grams off the weight of the iPad Air 2.
The last major cosmetic change to the iPad Air 2 over the previous model is now it comes in three colors: Silver, Space Grey, and Gold.
Processors, RAM, and Storage
Unsurprisingly the iPad Air 2 gets a major processor bump. The original iPad Air game with the 64-bit Apple A7 chip and the M7 motion coprocessor. The iPad Air 2 tops that with a 64-bit A8X chip and the M8 motion coprocessor.
Apple says the A8X gives 40 percent faster CPU performance over the A7 and a whopping 2.5 times the graphics performance of the A7 chip. Further, the company claims the graphics processor in the A8X are so good it’s now “delivers graphics once possible only on desktop computers and gaming consoles.”
In addition to the A8X, the iPad Air 2 gains the M8 motion coprocessor. This is more power efficient than the M7 and it also adds a barometer, so your iPad can tell the elevation you’re at.
The iPad Air 2 should also get a huge boost from the 2GB of RAM included with it. This is twice as much as the 1GB found in the original iPad Air. Once thing the iPad Air 2 loses is the 32GB storage option. The original iPad Air came in 16, 32, 64, and 128 storage sizes. The iPad Air 2 only comes in 16, 64, or 128.
Touch ID and Apple Pay
Perhaps the biggest new feature of the iPad Air 2 is Touch ID. Gone is the standard home button found on the original iPad Air--it’s been replaced with Apple’s awesome fingerprint sensor. What that will now allow you to do is, as with the iPhone 5s, 6, and 6 Plus, you can now log into your iPad Air 2 with the touch of your finger. And thanks to iOS 8, you’ll also be able to use the Touch ID to log into apps and confirm payments using Apple Pay.
A note about Apple Pay: yes, the iPad Air 2 does support it--put only in-app Apple Pay purchases. The iPad Air 2 lacks an NFC chip, so you won’t be able to make Apple Pay purchases at NFC terminals.
Cameras and Connectivity
Another area where the iPad Air 2 got a big boost is with its cameras. The original iPad Air featured a front 1.2MP 720p HD camera and a rear 5MP 1080p HD camera. The new iSight camera (the rear camera) in the iPad Air 2 gains an 8MP sensor that captures images in 3264-by-2448 native resolution and 1080p HD video. Because of the graphics processing power of the A8X chip, the rear camera also gain several new tricks like time lapse and 120 FPS Slo-Mo video.
The front FaceTime camera has also been improved. Though it retains its 1.2MP 720p HD camera, its sensor now has an f/2.2 aperture that lets in 81 percent more light.
As for connectivity, the new iPad Air 2 gets 802.11ac Wi-Fi with MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) capabilities. A 802.11ac Wi-Fi with MIMO can result in up to 2.8x faster performance. The iPad Air 2 now also supports 20 LTE bands with support for speeds up to 150 Mbps via LTE Advanced.
Price
Preorders for the iPad Air 2 begin on October 17th. The Wi-Fi model costs £399 (16GB), £479 (64GB), or £559 (128GB). The Wi-Fi+Cellular models costs £499 (16GB), £579 (64GB), or £659 (128GB).
11:24, 17 Oct 2014
by pbriden via Featured Articles
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