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Reviews of New iPad Air 2 [Video]

Reviews of New iPad Air 2 [Video]

Posted October 22, 2014 at 6:00am by iClarified
Reviews of the new iPad Air 2 have been published online by various sources.

Check out a few of the highlights below!

The Verge:
There’s no question that the iPad Air 2 is the best iPad ever made. It’s also the best tablet ever made — its incredible hardware and enormous ecosystem of apps offer a commanding advantage over the competition. But it’s not Apple’s best product; it’s not the company’s most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price. It’s mostly just thinner.



CNET:
If you've been holding off on getting an iPad for a few years, the Air 2 is the best powerhouse you can get. Its speed is definitely impressive. But think twice about how much power you need in an iPad: iPads last for years, and you might not need to dive in to get the latest one. Then again, you really might envy Touch ID and Apple Pay down the road.

TechCrunch:
Apple’s iPad is a category that in some ways is trying to define itself, now that it’s moving into its relative young adulthood. Larger phones mean that it will mean different things for users than it did when it was introduced four years ago. The iPad Air 2 is the best reflection of what a tablet likely means to users currently, though – it’s a big-screened slate with a gorgeous display, an exhaustive software library and powerful processing capabilities that you’d be comfortable holding all day, should you have to. To build the iPad Air 2, Apple had to speed up and improve its usual hardware update process, and the intense focus and commitment required shows in the final results. There’s no question that if you’re in the market for a tablet, this is the best one available today.

WSJ:
The iPad Air 2 pushes forward in all the ways you’d expect Apple’s tablet to. The blend of screen, build and app quality make it the best full-size tablet you can buy. But it doesn’t move ahead in one area where some of us have been waiting (desperately) for evolution: true multi-tasking, going beyond the one-app-at-a-time functionality. Perhaps that’s the big surprise that Apple will bring when it introduces a 12.9-inch iPad next year.


Engadget:
In the wake of dire sales, the Air 2 is exactly what Apple needed to keep the lineup fresh. It may not be a brand-new design, per se, but its thin frame helps keep the marquee tablet looking sleek and exciting, and the extra burst of performance ensures that it stays among the most powerful tablets on the market for the next year. It could use a little help with battery life compared to the Air, but it's still an improvement over the iPad fourth-gen and older. Most importantly, the Air 2 feels like Apple hasn't given up on the tablet form factor, even if it's experiencing a dip in sales.


Re/code:
So I don’t recommend that average iPad Air owners upgrade to the Air 2. But what about the vast majority of iPad owners who own older models? That’s a different story. If you have an iPad 2, 3 or 4, the new Air 2 will make a big difference. Its thinness and lightness will be a dramatic change, and it will be faster and more fluid.

However, here’s the catch: Upgrading to last year’s iPad Air would have pretty much the same effect, and that model is now, suddenly, $100 cheaper, starting at $399.


Fast Company:
Let’s make this simple: If you already own last year’s iPad Air, you probably don’t want to buy an iPad Air 2. The new version’s improvements, though noticeable and welcome, are too minor to make the tablet you bought less than a year ago feel obsolete. If, however, you own one of the earlier full-sized iPads and are hankering for an upgrade--or are in the market for your first iPad--the Air 2 is pretty darn compelling.

Mashable:
It boils down to this: The iPad Air 2 is still the best tablet on the market, but it comes at a premium price. If you are married to iOS, there is no better choice. However, if you’re open to other platforms, you have to consider the Amazon Kindle HDX. It’s a tremendous value and you likely won’t notice all that you’re missing, including Touch ID, Continuity, slo-mo video, AirPlay and AirDrop, a truly vast app store and Microsoft Word for iPad.


New York Times:
I performed a test of tech benchmarks — Geekbench 3 — on the device, and I got a single-processor performance score of 1,812 on the Air 2, and a multi-core score of 4,530. Don’t worry if those numbers are greek to you. What they mean, technically, is that the iPad Air 2 is faster than any other iOS or Android device ever sold. It’s about as fast as the Macs that Apple was selling as recently as 2011. This gets to what is perhaps the main reason to choose an iPad Air 2. All that power will last a long while; you could get four or five years of use out of this tablet before you’ll need to upgrade. Of course, you’ll pay a pretty penny for that longevity.

Yahoo:
It must be darned hard coming up with a new tablet model every October. In any case, the list of incremental improvements keep the iPad Air 2 at the front of the state of the art. It’s a glorious, fast, beautiful, tablet, edging ever closer into laptop-replacement territory. And with the impressive iOS 8 and Apple’s universe of online services behind it, this iPad will light up a lot of faces under the 2014 Christmas tree.


Reviews of New iPad Air 2 [Video]
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Comments (12)
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theimagehouse design studio
theimagehouse design studio - October 26, 2014 at 12:06am
Agghhh this is boring now. Hope you LIKE my Facebook page and website, and if you ever need a screen replacement - gimme a call. Be careful your new iPad doesn't BEND too. Im off to watch Guardians of the Galaxy on my NOT NEEDED 12.2-inch Galaxy Note, dont worry you have a whole year to wait for your big screen iPad too. enjoy boy - its been a pleasure. Rashaad
iObligated
iObligated - October 24, 2014 at 3:49am
I can clearly understand that nobody is perfect here, and I do love the new iPad Mini and Air, but I did think that making them thinner and adding a new color wasn't necessary. The TouchID was a good addition to the iPads, but it came a little too late to be considered as an "innovation" considering that the iPhone 5S had the TouchID from the beginning. The original iPad Mini and iPad Air were the real "new change" in my opinion.
gamerscul9870
gamerscul9870 - October 24, 2014 at 10:41am
To little as innovation? The chip is boost up above and beyond, the display is laminated to make it look like you are touching what you control in the games which also looks more real, the thinnest and most powerful tablet and lightest full sized one yet, adding a color I find kind of necessary. No other tablet comes this close. Even the camera is super clear compared to the air.
Rashaad Sallie
Rashaad Sallie - October 22, 2014 at 10:31am
No bigger screen? - Useless. Thats why I have the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2-inch. Make the iPad look like a iPad mini, and the iPad mini look like the iPhone 6+. Come on Apple give us that big screen tablet.
gamerscul9870
gamerscul9870 - October 22, 2014 at 10:56am
Why make it TV sized and how it that useless? You have the space to work on and like 3" is going to make a difference here? And that's all that matters? Wow I feel sorry for you. Mind blowing things it bought and all you needed was size.
Rudi Duarte
Rudi Duarte - October 22, 2014 at 2:57pm
Bigger screen? canon @Rashaad Sallie you need a Doctor!
gamerscul9870
gamerscul9870 - October 24, 2014 at 8:01pm
Useless. LAWLAWLAWLLAWLAWLAWL there's jailbreaking to make those capabilities more possible. Hence ios stays simpler hut having it your way will come from jailbreaking, what about getting to an app quicker compared to competition? Exactly!!
Rashaad Sallie
Rashaad Sallie - October 24, 2014 at 9:54pm
Dont be an idiot - Im not a kid to be jailbreaking my device - I have a business to run and cant waste my time in JB, also if you read my biggest issue is the screen size so please inform me where jailbreaking will give me a 12-inch screen. Kids !!
Rashaad Sallie
Rashaad Sallie - October 25, 2014 at 10:17am
Listen I agree that the iPad is a very good if not the best tablet BUT, for ME, it is NOT. Like I said every device in my home is a Apple brand and we have a total of 7 devices all networked and sync seamlessly - so I know the ins and outs of these devices - not to mention I repair them ALL as well, from the iPods to the iMacs etc etc etc. I also used to build Hackintoshes and "crack" OSX, and yes at one point used to jailbreak too. After a while you get tired of waiting for JB to come out, and the apps that you run dont need to be JB'oken so I pay for all my apps and software. Anyway back to the iPad for DESIGN and PAINTING. Remember this is for MY use. AGAIN as a artist you want a bigger screen - thats a no brainer. As a gamer anyone would appreciate a bigger screen - no brainer, Reading books, browsing, writing documents etc etc - Im sure if all of you had a bigger screen option, you'd take it - no brainer again. You spoke of "possibilities" - like what? explain these "possibilities". Okay lets look at how thin the iPad is. Sure a a mm or two thinner than the samsung BUT, heres the thing.... most people are still going to slot their iPad into a case, and one that has a screen protector too, and what a bout ones with a keyboard - that will just make the ipad thicker than the original ipad - so again why make a bug thing at how "thin" it is. Also as a artist I need to carry my stylus with me.... now with the iPad I have to keep it seperate (easy to get lost or forgotten at home), or buy a huge case for the ipad to house the pen as well - thinnes in the drain - whereas with the Samsung the pen slots INTO the tablet - neatly tucked away - always there.... and not to mention its the BEST pen out there - due to the fact that WACOM made it - you CANNOT argue with that. Screen size - your iPad with its bezel fits into my samsungs screen - come and enjoy some games on my big screen if you will. lets talk ease of use - it swipes, up down left right just like the ipad - oh and it has a right click for extra menus, not to mention the customisation of icons, sizes and themes - cool hey - just imagine the possibilities IF the iPad could do that. Also lets say you away, no wifi or network signal and you wanted a movie from a friend, or a picture or music. How will you transfer it to your iPad? well let me tell you how simple it is... I plug my DUAL 64GB USB flash stick into ANY computer, copy the movies or music onto it, then plug that SAME usb stick into my tablet - no need to even transfer the files just listen or watch the movie straight off the device. No meed for iTunes, Apple ID's or syncing where it HAS TO TAKE UP MY TABLES SPACE. look it up - its a Dual USB by SANDISK. Also, the samsung has ALL the apps that the ipad has. Oh yeah, I can browse the app store on my mac and buy an app and it isntantly get downloaded to my tablet no matter where it is - no itunes syncing and no apps get downloaded to my Mac. So, with all this LIMITLESSNESS of my Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 inch, with integrated S-Pen made by Wacom and the simple customisation of the Android OS and seamless integration of Google apps and Apple iCloud - Imagine the POSSIBILITIES. Lets hear YOUR possibilities in your response.
gamerscul9870
gamerscul9870 - October 25, 2014 at 10:43am
the possibilities of ipad is that it's more portable than ever which serves a purpose into making space if you put a lot in your backpack. What you can do with it is use it like OS X when jailbreaking, plus that gives out more possibilities. You can arrange icons the way you want, you can add dimensions to them, stream by flash (but eventually html5 will replace it because it's lag and malware fee after downloading. Not only that, it has air display like having it as a second monitor, yet it to can be used like a computer since you did mention the keyboard but will barely increase iPads thickness but because it connects wirelessly, you can use it without attaching it to your ipad, also you can mirror it to more than just a TV. It works with projectors and will take windows 7 on the iPad. Apps though, I always found more on the iPad even though there are some just for android. No matter what I looked for, it always showed up on App Store. The downloads there explain it all. You can have your gestures your way. Again when jail broken. Forgot to mention you can do it without a computer (maybe on lte unlocked ones only), and about the apps again, it's used to create a home your way thanks to Apple mentioning the home styler app on their page, sports is easy to learn with it, it can even be used for training kids and cooking. Possibilities are endless. Just watch the iPad stories which is aka life on ipad videos. There are tons to be blown away by. They couldn't be any happier like me.
Rashaad Sallie
Rashaad Sallie - October 25, 2014 at 11:56pm
Who said I didn't compare? Ive had EVERY iPhone and EVERY iPad ! I told you I even repair these things - check who I am dude - www.theimagehouse.co.za or applecomputers.co.za - I know what I'm talking about. I told you as an ARTIST and DESIGNER the bigger screen is better. I dont hide dude. I know what I'm talking about when it comes to Apple. Ive ONLY got this Samsung for a month now and it has proven to be a damn good tablet - not only with the huge screen but the S-Pen and I actually enjoy the Android - I mean the flexibility of the OS as opposed to iOS - unless iOS is jailbroken. The screen is way bigger yet the battery life lasts much longer than any iPad Ive had. Its easy to add more memory (Micro SDCard) and attach an external storage device. Also it does everything the iPad does - and more. I know the ins and outs of an iPad (Software wise and Hardware - especially because I repair them). Ive been using Mac for over 14 years - And believe me not all Apple decisions have been the best. Its all a matter of preference - Like a Ferarri is a damn nice car, way better and faster than a Merc, but yet for me Id buy the Merc as it serves my purpose better (more comfy, takes the whole family, more room space and boot space etc). Same with the iPad and Galaxy Note Pro - iPad is faster and iOS is better - yet I preferred to SELL my iPad Air because the Samsung Galaxy serves me better. Like I said if Apple made a bigger screen iPad I would have bought that, but for them to come out with just a thinner iPad? nah its a waste. And as for you? What have you achieved? Who are you - don't hide. Show us your lovely business and how old you really are and what experience YOU have in the technological world to be able to make UNFANBOYISH decisions or comparisons. visit our sister site www.saspares.com if you ever need spares for your cracked iPad screen too.
theimagehouse design studio
theimagehouse design studio - October 26, 2014 at 12:07am
Agghhh this is boring now. Hope you LIKE my Facebook page and website, and if you ever need a screen replacement - gimme a call. Be careful your new iPad doesn't BEND too. Im off to watch Guardians of the Galaxy on my NOT NEEDED 12.2-inch Galaxy Note, dont worry you have a whole year to wait for your big screen iPad too. enjoy boy - its been a pleasure. Rashaad S
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