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.
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
Samsung Galaxy Tab S
Samsung
has been pouring a lot of effort into making a really decent iPad rival, and
that strategy has seen some hare-brained decisions (such as launching the Tab
Pro in January 2014, and then replacing it a few months later with the Galaxy
Tab S).
But,
apart from annoying anyone that's already bought into the Tab Pro range, this
strategy has finally yielded a brilliant tablet in the shape of this Super
AMOLED-shod Tab S duo. Available in both 8.4- and 10.5-inch screen sizes,
Samsung has taken the best of its OS and technology ability, fused them with
the best display on a tablet and created something pretty special.
The
battery life is great, the screen has to be seen to be believed (and is
excellent for media and internet viewing, which is really the point of a
tablet) and the price is on a par with the rest of the industry. Well done,
Samsung.
Weight: 467g | Dimensions: 247.3 x 177.3 x
6.6mm | OS: Android 4.4.2 | Screen size: 10.5-inch | Resolution:
2560 x 1600 | CPU: Quad-core 2.3 GHz | RAM: 3GB | Storage:
16/32GB | Battery : 7900mAh | Rear
camera: 8MP | Front camera: 2.1MP
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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