Air or Air 2

[rockymtnhigh]

Ok, after almost 3 years, my iPad 3 is in need of a refresh, and I am debating - really between all of the iPads, but right now I am thinking iPad Air or Air 2. I'd love the touch id, and the reflective screen, but I am not sure if the price differential is worth it.

I am not a heavy gamer at all, so I doubt I'll notice much of a performance hit with an A7 vs an A8 processor.

I would like to use the iPad outside a bit more, other than in landscape mode. But I am not sure even how much of a difference the new screen makes.

Price wise I am looking at about $430 for an iPad Air 32GB or $539 for a 64Gb, vs. $639 for the Air 2/64.

Those who have the Air 2, did you have an original Air? Is it worth the premium price?

For full disclosure, I was debating originally about an iPad Mini 2, which might still be in the mix, but I need to go sit and play with it. I am not sure if the smaller size would work for my personal workflow.

 

[dangue]

I have an air and have so far resisted the jump up to the air2. But having Touch ID on my phone and not on my iPad is killing me. I find myself waiting for the iPad to unlock with my finger.

The one piece of advice I would give is wait until Black Friday. There's a retailer that is giving $100 off all iPads (I think it's bestbuy).

I would not get a mini 2, they did next to nothing to upgrade it over the 1. I think Touch ID and gold color is it. If you're going for that size, I'd save the money and get last year's model.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Yeah, I won't be purchasing before the Black Friday deals come out.

I also would like touch ID. I have a iPhone 6, and I am finally getting used to the power on the side, and I keep trying to turn on my iPad with the dang volume button. But IF I get a Mini, I would still get the Mini 2, not the 3, for the reasons you say.

But with the Air, I just checked the education store. Price is $579 for the Air 2/64 vs. $429 for the Air/32 from Apple directly.

 

[tigerfan33]

I had a choice going from the 3 like you to the air or air 2. I couldn't justify the higher price. I do have to admit from time to time I accidentally use the fingerprint touch to no avail .
I sold my 3 on Glyde so wasn't as much out of pocket.
BTW. You'll enjoy the new speed with either you pick!

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Went to Best Buy and thought I'd be able to gain clarity, but instead, after playing with the mini 3 (they didn't have a mini 2 on display) I'd say it really is now a battle between mini 2 vs Air. Oh,the Air 2 looks great, but the extra price premium puts it out of my ballpark. But this shall be interesting. I think I could be happy with the mini. Still...

 

[Neutron]

I like my Air 2 but didn't have the first Air to compare to. With the A8X and 2GB of RAM I'm expecting this Air 2 to last a while.

 

[mike123abc]

Relax it will be top of the line for a year...

 

[Ilya]

Just my personal opinion, but if it wasn't for Touch ID and Apple Pay, I would've kept my iPad 3 for another year!

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Just my personal opinion, but if it wasn't for Touch ID and Apple Pay, I would've kept my iPad 3 for another year!

My 3 has 3 years of usage, and is starting to show its age. BUT my wife's iPad 2 is in serious disrepair, and she wants my 3. She does not want to have to get a new external keyboard for it, and is always ok with hand-me-down.

I think I will get the mini 2. But need to stop by the Technology shop on campus tomorrow to see what they have. Might be able to just walk in and grab one and charge it to the department.

 

[Ilya]

I think people underestimate the power and the convenience of Touch ID! It's not just for unlocking the iPad or for ApplePay. Sine Apple has recently opened the Touch ID API to software developers, more and more apps now take full advantage of it. Password managers like 1Password are now way easier to use with Touch ID. Productivity tools like Microsoft OneNote allow you to unlock password-protected pages with your finger, and the list will grow dramatically in the next few months! I expect all major apps that require user authentication to support Touch ID in a very near future. So for me, that is the most important feature in the Air 2, well worth the premium cost!

 

[navychop]

Still happy with our iPad3. Can't see any reason to "upgrade." It works, does what we want, no speed issues- I don't see any improved day to day functionality in later models, other than the fingerprint reader, and that's not enough. Current resolution is more than good enough. Thinner and lighter means nothing to us- heck, the lightning connector means more, and that's not enough reason to change either. And I know of no app that won't run on the iPad3, outside of fingerprint related stuff. And NFC on an iPad is of no interest to us.

Am I missing something?

 

[Ilya]

There is no NFC on the iPad. Otherwise I agree. Unless you really want Touch ID, to me there is no real reason to upgrade from iPad 3 - it is still good enough for most purposes.

 

[klang]

I upgraded from the 3 to the first Air model due to the lightning connector. Better cable management for me as my iPhone used the lightning.

 

[Ilya]

Yes, the Lightning adapter, the smaller weight and the size, faster load times for some apps: all add to the overall convenience. But nothing comes close to the convenience of not having to enter dozens of pin codes and passwords every single day!

 

[navychop]

There is no NFC on the iPad. Otherwise I agree. Unless you really want Touch ID, to me there is no real reason to upgrade from iPad 3 - it is still good enough for most purposes.

I meant if the next iPad added NFC, it still wouldn't tempt us to "upgrade."

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I think people underestimate the power and the convenience of Touch ID! It's not just for unlocking the iPad or for ApplePay. Sine Apple has recently opened the Touch ID API to software developers, more and more apps now take full advantage of it. Password managers like 1Password are now way easier to use with Touch ID. Productivity tools like Microsoft OneNote allow you to unlock password-protected pages with your finger, and the list will grow dramatically in the next few months! I expect all major apps that require user authentication to support Touch ID in a very near future. So for me, that is the most important feature in the Air 2, well worth the premium cost!

I am thinking about the iPad mini 3, since I can get it within budget from the university. But until I say BUY, I might change my mind. The Air 2 is less and less in the mix due to price.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Speaking of Touch ID, I know use it with Dropbox. Quite nice.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Been doing research. Education store pricing for mini and Air.
32Gb mini 2 = $329
64Gb mini 3 = $479

Amazon pricing for a NEW mini 2 with 64GB (sold before they discontinued the model = approx $450

That means, 64Gb 2 vs 64Gb 3 price difference of roughly $30.

The same is true with Air and Air 2.
Air 1, 32Gb = $429
Air 2, 64Gb = $579
Air 1, 64GB online = $430-440,
The same price difference.

The Apples to Oranges comparisons which exist when looking at Apple's lineup of 32Gb previous generation vs. 64Gb current generation, disappears, and you end up with a $30 price difference. Thus, for the mini 2, mini 3, and Air 1, all have A7 processor. All have same resolution, same camera, the Air has somewhat better color saturation, but pretty darn minor differences, just size. They have the same rated battery.

Air to Air 2 has a small body (Air 2, lighter), and a smaller battery (Air 2) and thus shorter battery life.

But since I have a $500 budget (I won a Research Award, and thus now have money to spend), I could get all but the 64Gb models of the Air.

In the end it boils down to can I afford to live with a 32Gb iPad, when I have ALWAYS used more than 32Gb of storage on my iPad 2 and 3, although I often don't use many of the apps on it. Add to that, the fact that I can't count how many times I have tried to unlock my iPad with the home button in the last year.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

There is no NFC on the iPad. Otherwise I agree. Unless you really want Touch ID, to me there is no real reason to upgrade from iPad 3 - it is still good enough for most purposes.

Actually... the iPad Air 2 has the same NFC chip that the iPhone 6 has in it. For whatever reason they never put an antenna on it.

I asked a friend from Apple why this was done and he says that the chip does a majority of the processing for Apple Pay and Touch ID now. He didn't know why they didn't put an antenna on it.

I have a second generation iPad Mini and I am upset. Mine is a Verizon version and I activate service on it when I need it. It has been working good for me until the other day when I turned the data service off This time when I turned the data service off it put a message up on the screen that if I want to use Verizon service again I would need to go to Verizon and get a new Sim Card as the old sim card has now been marked as invalid. How dumb is that? I always enjoyed the convenience of turning it off and on as needed.

 

[Ilya]

Actually... the iPad Air 2 has the same NFC chip that the iPhone 6 has in it. For whatever reason they never put an antenna on it.

No antenna - no NFC!