iPad Air 2
It's even thinner and lighter than last time around and to a noticeable
extent. The screen is better, with more vibrant colours, it's more powerful
thanks to its A8X processor and the battery life holds up just as well. It even
benefits from Touch ID and Apple Pay and while these features aren't as
exciting here as they are on phones they're still nice to have. Performance
The 64-bit A7
processor introduced on the iPhone 5S was altered to provide a power boost to
last year’s iPad Air. Called the A7X this chip was similar in performance to
the A7 – up 5-10% in our benchmark tests.
This year Apple
has gone further and designed a processor specifically for the iPad Air 2. The
A8X has a tri-core CPU running at 1.5GHz and a quad-core graphics processing
unit coupled, for the first time, to 2GB of RAM.
If we play Specs
Top Trumps the iPad Air 2 looks a shadow of top-end Android tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 and its 2.3GHz quad-core processor.
Don’t let that fool you, though. The iPad Air 2 is the most powerful tablet
we’ve ever tested – and that’s including Nvidia’s Shield Tablet that packs the great new Tegra K1.
And while the
processor is key to that performance, Apple has also ensured that iOS 8 can
make the most of it. Metal lets developers take full advantage of the quad-core
GPU, while the new iOS programming language, Swift, means apps can hook into
certain features such as Touch ID.
Some observers have even compared the iPad Air 2's
performance to a desktop PC. In some respects they’re right. The A8X processor
performs a few tasks faster than PCs just a few years old, but the question is:
do you need all that power? If you intend to use your iPad as a productivity
device then you’ll appreciate it. Even if you don’t, you may find yourself
using it more as a laptop replacement than you anticipated.
During the launch of the Air 2, Apple showed off a
video-editing app called Replay that lets you create slick-looking videos with
ease. The iPad Air 2 powered through the edits.
There are clear benefits to be had from the extra
performance, but let’s see how it stacks up against the competition.
The iPad Air 2 scores an excellent 4,509 on Geekbench 3.
To put that in some context, the next fastest tablet we’ve reviewed, the Nvidia
Shield, scored 3220 – that’s 40% faster. That also makes the iPad Air 2 almost
70% faster than the iPad Air. That’s some impressive work in just a year.
And the wins keep coming with a 3D Mark Ice Storm
Unlimited score of 21,797. That’s 33% higher than the Shield and almost 50%
better than the first-generation iPad Air.
The iPad Air 2 is astonishingly fast – so fast, in fact,
that you might not know what to do with all that power. Not that we’re
complaining, of course. The extra grunt means that this is a tablet you can use
for more than just checking out the latest memes and Facebook. It future-proofs
the Air 2 to some degree.
There’s also been an upgrade to the co-processor, now
called the M8. This handles all the sensor data from the iPad Air 2, such as
the accelerometer and the new barometer. The reason that Apple favours a
co-processor is that it uses much less power than the main processor, helping the
battery to last longer.
In short the iPad Air 2 really is the complete package and while
you can always find things to niggle about there are no significant flaws.
In the time since the original iPad Air
launched everything else is still struggling to match it and yet Apple has
managed to raise the benchmark higher still. Everyone else really has their
work cut out if the iPad Air 2 is going to be unseated from the number one
spot. The new iPad Air gets an improved A8X
processor, better rear and front-facing cameras, an even thinner and lighter
design, an anti-reflective screen, a Touch ID fingerprint sensor, and more
built-in storage at higher configurations than last year. But The Air 2 isn't a big change from last year's iPad in terms of
overall function; battery life remains the same, although its battery life is
already pretty good. Audio playback via speakers makes the thin metal body
resonate more than before. The
Bottom Line The iPad Air 2 is a nice refinement and finesse of last year's
model, with a bevy of tweaks, enhancements, a much faster processor, and the
welcome addition of Touch ID. Simply put: it's still the gold standard for
tablets.
Weight: 437g | Dimensions:
240 x 169.5 x 6.1mm | OS: iOS 8.1 | Screen size: 9.7-inch | Resolution:
1536 x 2048 | CPU: Triple-core 1.5 GHz | RAM: 2GB | Storage:
16/64/128GB | Battery: 7340mAh | Rear camera: 8MP | Front
camera: 1.2MP Lenovomiix210 . The new Miix 2 10 is not just a subtle update of the
predecessor: in addition to a current-generation Bay Trail Atom processor and a
significantly higher-resolution display, the Miix 2 10 makes use of a magnetic latch system to secure the tablet portion to the
included keyboard dock in a fixed position - a quite interesting take on the
more traditional hybrid tablet-concept with a detachable keyboard like theAsus Transformer Book T100TA-C1-GR
Convertible. Of course, there are also hybrids which have the
keyboards attached at all times, like Lenovo's own IdeaPad Yoga 2 11 Convertible.
The Yoga is more powerful, features a slightly larger display, but is also
heavier and bulkier.
At the time of writing,
Lenovo offers a version of the Miix 2 10 with 64 GB of eMMC storage for $500;
our review model costs $100 more and ships with 128 GB flashinstead.
The 10-inch Miix 2 has a
high-res 1,920x1,200 display and a clever magnetic keyboard dock. The 128GB SSD
is large for a hybrid tablet. Performance
and battery life
The Miix 2 (10-inch) has a 10.1 inch screen. It has a
resolution of 1,920 by 1,200 pixels. This measures out to 224 PPI
pixels-per-inch (PPI), making it sharper than
average for a tablet display. The Miix 2 (10-inch) has a battery life of 8
hours with typical use, which is typical for a tablet. Keep in mind that this
is an average figure, and actual battery life largely depends on the strain a
tablet is under at any given time. Reading an e-book consumes far less power
than watching a high definition video, for example. The Miix 2 (10-inch) is
powered by a a quad core Intel Atom Z3740 system on a chip. Its clock speed is
1.3 GHz, which is about average for a tablet processor. With a quad core
processor, this tablet will be more effective at multitasking compared to
tablets with single core CPUs.
The
base version of the Miix 2 (10-inch) houses a healthy 128 GB of internal storage, making it an
ideal choice for users looking to have a lot of music, videos, and pictures on
the go.
If 128 GB isn't enough,
you can expand its storage by up to 32 GB via
microSD card. The Miix 2 (10-inch) has two
cameras, a 2 megapixel front camera and a 5 megapixel rear camera. Its camera
doesn't autofocus, which can hurt image quality. All tablets have WiFi
connectivity to connect to local wireless networks. This model also has a
Bluetooth 4.0 connection to pair with various accessory devices.
but,The keyboard and touchpad have just
enough lag and ergonomic weirdness to discourage productivity, and the fixed
angle may not work for you. The pokey Atom processor is better suited for some
Windows tasks than others.
THE BOTTOM LINE With a
bigger screen than most Windows tablets and an included keyboard dock, the
10-inch Lenovo Miix 2 tries to walk the line between entertainment and
productivity, but it's still a few keyboard tweaks away from success. Price:$499.99
VS 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
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