W.A.Khan, Apple iPad Air The Air is a tangible upgrade over the previous, fourth-generation iPad, no longer in production and so banished to the annals of history. The new iPad slots right in where its predecessor left off, priced at $499 for a lowly 16GB, $599 for 32GB, $699 for 64GB, and $799 for the maximum 128GB configuration. The iPad Air delivers more performance and comparable battery life in an attractive and impossibly thin-and-light package. An improved front-facing camera makes FaceTiming look better, and the Retina Display still looks great.
But, The Touch ID fingerprint scanner, introduced on the iPhone 5S, is sadly absent here, meaning you’ll still have to type in a passcode with every unlock and a password with every purchase. Starting at $499 for 16GB, it’s still expensive compared with the competition. Performance: The iPad Air shares the same processor with Apple’s flagship phone, albeit with a slight bump in clock speed. While the 5S runs at 1.3GHz the Air runs at 1.39GHz. It can achieve this because of the increased space and improved heat dissipation of the Air compared to the much smaller iPhone 5S.
Indeed, before we go into the detail about performance it’s worth noting that the iPad Air manages to keep its cool with consummate ease. Even when running intensive 3D games and apps for hours it barely breaks a sweat and, therefore, neither do your hands.
In practice, the iPad Air is blisteringly fast. Apps open instantly and games like Infinity Blade 3 look sumptuous and run smoothly. The benefits of having a SoC means that the GPU can be used to tackle compute tasks, which makes video editing and compute intensive apps, like AutoCAD, show no hint of slowdown.
The iPad Air performs 59% faster than the iPad 4 in the 3D Mark Ice Storm Unlimited CPU and GPU test and 91% faster in Geekbench 3 tests. The Peacekeeper browser test, which assesses web browsing performance, shows that the Air trounces its predecessor by being more than twice as fast. It's also faster than the stonking Snapdragon 800 processor on the likes of the Sony Xperia Z Ultra and Google Nexus 5. We're talking matter of degrees here, but the difference is there all the same.
Battery life: Battery life on the iPad Air is quoted at "Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music". We would say that's actually not a bad estimate, although the drain was closer to 2% every 10 minutes in general use, which equates to around nine hours' use.
Standby time is much, much better though. We found that we could stick the iPad Air in a bag, taking it out for the commute and messing about with on the sofa at home, for at least three days before it began to get low on battery.
In fact, the only real task that killed it was connecting to our amplifier via Wi-Fi while simultaneously streaming music to the same device through Bluetooth. It's doing things like this that make you realise that this is the kind of thing that we envisaged at the turn of the century, a tablet that has the brains and connectivity to do all the tasks we could want.In terms of connectivity, we've already mentioned the excellent Wi-Fi performance (in terms of distance from router, rather than improved speed) through the Multiple In, Multiple Out (MIMO) technology.
4G bands are now covered throughout the globe, and low power Bluetooth is also on board as well, making it an incredibly well-connected device.
The bottom line: Functionally, the iPad Air is nearly identical to last year’s model, offering only faster performance and better video chatting. But factor in design and aesthetics, and the iPad Air is on another planet. It’s the best full-size consumer tablet on the market. Specifications
Release date11/1/13
Display type9.7 in
OSApple iOS
ProcessorApple
Wireless connectivityWi-Fi
Dimensions (WxDxH)6.6 in x 0.29 in x 9.4 in
Weight1 lbs Price:$479.00 VS Apple iPad 4 The newest iPad's faster A6X processor adds extra system speed and graphics power.It's clear, it's bright, it's crisp; essentially it properly expands the smartphone experience onto a larger tablet and takes us into a new generation of displays. Improved worldwide cellular compatibility makes the LTE model a more appealing proposition. And the iOS App Store remains best in class, with the widest selection.The iPad range remains among the best in class for battery life considering their size and weight, providing a genuine 10hrs use between charges and lasting for weeks in standby.Gaming tends to cause the biggest drain on battery life but you’ll still get 6-7 hours solid play from even the most demanding 3D titles.
But, The fourth-gen iPad is otherwise identical to its recent predecessor -- same size, weight, and Retina screen. It's heavy to hold in one hand, and most older accessories won't work without investing in a pricey Lightning adapter.
The bottom line: The latest iPad adds several tweaks and improvements to secure its position at the top of the tablet heap. It's better all around, but third-gen owners need not apply. Specifications
Display type9.7 inTFT active matrix - LED backlight - Yes
OSApple iOS
ProcessorApple A6X
Wireless connectivityIEEE 802.11nIEEE 802.11bIEEE 802.11aIEEE 802.11gBluetooth 4.0
Dimensions (WxDxH)7.31 in x 0.37 in x 9.5 in
Weight1.44 lbs Price;$499.00 to $509.49 VS Apple iPad Mini The iPad Mini's ultrathin and light design is far more intimate and booklike than the larger iPad, and its cameras, storage capacities, optional LTE antenna, and general functionality offer a full iPad experience. The screen's dimensions elegantly display larger-format magazines and apps. Performance:
Another similarity with the iPad 2 is the processor. The A5 chip is getting a bit old, but our benchmark results show it can still rub shoulders with the current crop of 7in tablets. Importantly - and this is something benchmarks often fail to reflect - the iPad mini feels snappy in use, whether loading apps, scrolling around maps or browsing the web.
In the SunSpider JavaScript test, the iPad mini scored 1442ms, which puts it towards the head of the pack, but in the synthetic Geekbench 2, it managed only 752 - not a great score compared to the Nexus 7 (1452) and even the Kindle Fire HD (1124). For gaming, it's still pretty good, managing 24fps in GLBenchmark 2.5.1. The Kindle Fire HD could muster only 8.2fps here, and the Nexus 7 just 14fps. It shows that, when it comes to more demanding games, the iPad mini leads the way.
Battery life:
In terms of battery life, we found the mini didn't quite live up to Apple's 10-hour claim. Running our usual video-looping test, we recorded just 7 hours and 21 minutes with Wi-Fi turned on. That was at maximum screen brightness, however, so at a lower brightness, you might just reach 10 hours.
But, The iPad Mini costs too much, especially considering the lower resolution of its 7.9-inch non-Retina Display. The A5 processor isn't as robust as the one in the fourth-gen iPad and iPhone 5. Typing on the smaller screen is not quite as comfy.
The bottom line: If you want the full, polished Apple tablet experience in a smaller package, the iPad Mini is worth the premium price. Otherwise, good alternatives are available for less money. Specifications
Display type7.9 inTFT active matrix - LED backlight - Yes
OSApple iOS
ProcessorApple A5
Wireless connectivityBluetooth 4.0
Dimensions (WxDxH)5.3 in x 0.28 in x 7.87 in
Weight0.68 lbs Price;$329.00
But, The Touch ID fingerprint scanner, introduced on the iPhone 5S, is sadly absent here, meaning you’ll still have to type in a passcode with every unlock and a password with every purchase. Starting at $499 for 16GB, it’s still expensive compared with the competition. Performance: The iPad Air shares the same processor with Apple’s flagship phone, albeit with a slight bump in clock speed. While the 5S runs at 1.3GHz the Air runs at 1.39GHz. It can achieve this because of the increased space and improved heat dissipation of the Air compared to the much smaller iPhone 5S.
Indeed, before we go into the detail about performance it’s worth noting that the iPad Air manages to keep its cool with consummate ease. Even when running intensive 3D games and apps for hours it barely breaks a sweat and, therefore, neither do your hands.
In practice, the iPad Air is blisteringly fast. Apps open instantly and games like Infinity Blade 3 look sumptuous and run smoothly. The benefits of having a SoC means that the GPU can be used to tackle compute tasks, which makes video editing and compute intensive apps, like AutoCAD, show no hint of slowdown.
The iPad Air performs 59% faster than the iPad 4 in the 3D Mark Ice Storm Unlimited CPU and GPU test and 91% faster in Geekbench 3 tests. The Peacekeeper browser test, which assesses web browsing performance, shows that the Air trounces its predecessor by being more than twice as fast. It's also faster than the stonking Snapdragon 800 processor on the likes of the Sony Xperia Z Ultra and Google Nexus 5. We're talking matter of degrees here, but the difference is there all the same.
Battery life: Battery life on the iPad Air is quoted at "Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music". We would say that's actually not a bad estimate, although the drain was closer to 2% every 10 minutes in general use, which equates to around nine hours' use.
Standby time is much, much better though. We found that we could stick the iPad Air in a bag, taking it out for the commute and messing about with on the sofa at home, for at least three days before it began to get low on battery.
In fact, the only real task that killed it was connecting to our amplifier via Wi-Fi while simultaneously streaming music to the same device through Bluetooth. It's doing things like this that make you realise that this is the kind of thing that we envisaged at the turn of the century, a tablet that has the brains and connectivity to do all the tasks we could want.In terms of connectivity, we've already mentioned the excellent Wi-Fi performance (in terms of distance from router, rather than improved speed) through the Multiple In, Multiple Out (MIMO) technology.
4G bands are now covered throughout the globe, and low power Bluetooth is also on board as well, making it an incredibly well-connected device.
The bottom line: Functionally, the iPad Air is nearly identical to last year’s model, offering only faster performance and better video chatting. But factor in design and aesthetics, and the iPad Air is on another planet. It’s the best full-size consumer tablet on the market. Specifications
Release date11/1/13
Display type9.7 in
OSApple iOS
ProcessorApple
Wireless connectivityWi-Fi
Dimensions (WxDxH)6.6 in x 0.29 in x 9.4 in
Weight1 lbs Price:$479.00 VS Apple iPad 4 The newest iPad's faster A6X processor adds extra system speed and graphics power.It's clear, it's bright, it's crisp; essentially it properly expands the smartphone experience onto a larger tablet and takes us into a new generation of displays. Improved worldwide cellular compatibility makes the LTE model a more appealing proposition. And the iOS App Store remains best in class, with the widest selection.The iPad range remains among the best in class for battery life considering their size and weight, providing a genuine 10hrs use between charges and lasting for weeks in standby.Gaming tends to cause the biggest drain on battery life but you’ll still get 6-7 hours solid play from even the most demanding 3D titles.
But, The fourth-gen iPad is otherwise identical to its recent predecessor -- same size, weight, and Retina screen. It's heavy to hold in one hand, and most older accessories won't work without investing in a pricey Lightning adapter.
The bottom line: The latest iPad adds several tweaks and improvements to secure its position at the top of the tablet heap. It's better all around, but third-gen owners need not apply. Specifications
Display type9.7 inTFT active matrix - LED backlight - Yes
OSApple iOS
ProcessorApple A6X
Wireless connectivityIEEE 802.11nIEEE 802.11bIEEE 802.11aIEEE 802.11gBluetooth 4.0
Dimensions (WxDxH)7.31 in x 0.37 in x 9.5 in
Weight1.44 lbs Price;$499.00 to $509.49 VS Apple iPad Mini The iPad Mini's ultrathin and light design is far more intimate and booklike than the larger iPad, and its cameras, storage capacities, optional LTE antenna, and general functionality offer a full iPad experience. The screen's dimensions elegantly display larger-format magazines and apps. Performance:
Another similarity with the iPad 2 is the processor. The A5 chip is getting a bit old, but our benchmark results show it can still rub shoulders with the current crop of 7in tablets. Importantly - and this is something benchmarks often fail to reflect - the iPad mini feels snappy in use, whether loading apps, scrolling around maps or browsing the web.
In the SunSpider JavaScript test, the iPad mini scored 1442ms, which puts it towards the head of the pack, but in the synthetic Geekbench 2, it managed only 752 - not a great score compared to the Nexus 7 (1452) and even the Kindle Fire HD (1124). For gaming, it's still pretty good, managing 24fps in GLBenchmark 2.5.1. The Kindle Fire HD could muster only 8.2fps here, and the Nexus 7 just 14fps. It shows that, when it comes to more demanding games, the iPad mini leads the way.
Battery life:
In terms of battery life, we found the mini didn't quite live up to Apple's 10-hour claim. Running our usual video-looping test, we recorded just 7 hours and 21 minutes with Wi-Fi turned on. That was at maximum screen brightness, however, so at a lower brightness, you might just reach 10 hours.
But, The iPad Mini costs too much, especially considering the lower resolution of its 7.9-inch non-Retina Display. The A5 processor isn't as robust as the one in the fourth-gen iPad and iPhone 5. Typing on the smaller screen is not quite as comfy.
The bottom line: If you want the full, polished Apple tablet experience in a smaller package, the iPad Mini is worth the premium price. Otherwise, good alternatives are available for less money. Specifications
Display type7.9 inTFT active matrix - LED backlight - Yes
OSApple iOS
ProcessorApple A5
Wireless connectivityBluetooth 4.0
Dimensions (WxDxH)5.3 in x 0.28 in x 7.87 in
Weight0.68 lbs Price;$329.00
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