Apple iPad Air is the new ultra-thin tablet of the apple, with 9.7-inch screen, a powerful 64-bit processor A7 and the new iOS 7. The launch of the new Apple iPad Air has threatened to overshadow that of coupled smartphone iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. While the latter two are an update of the previous iPhone 5, the latest evolution of the tablet apple introduces important innovations, from the revamped design.
It seems a lifetime ago since the first iPad with its boxy shape. Now, after about two and a half years, characterized by improvements to the processor and screen, here comes one that promises to be a revolution, or nearly so, in the design. Already from the name, iPad, Air, one senses a characteristic feature: the restyling has produced a tablet thinner, lighter, with a frame size of the screen finally reduced to more acceptable, at least on the long sides.
Not only, the aesthetics and manageability earn, because Apple has also acted with the hardware trade, more powerful, and autonomy, which remains high. This replaces iPad Air and iPad complements the previous fourth generation, thus becoming the new tablet flagship of the bitten apple. It is offered in two versions, only Wi-Fi connectivity, or even with 4G/LTE, each in four cuts with regard to capacity: 16, 32, 64 and 128 GB.
Table of Contents
Apple iPad Air: Design
The design of the new Apple iPad Air was anticipated by the iPad Mini in 2012, which had evolved from the previous series in new, more compact and lightweight. Since its first outlet in the hand can appreciate how thin, with a gain of about 2 mm compared to the previous iPad (7.5 against 9.4 mm). The proverbial care in construction is supported by materials and finishes of the highest quality and accuracy, with the miniaturization that has not had a negative effect on strength and stiffness.
The versions Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi 4G are equal in all respects, with similar dimensions (240 × 169.5 × 7.5 mm), only the weight goes from 469 to 478 g, doing this iPad Air a reference market also from this point of view. Putting it alongside the new iPad Mini Retina, impresses the small difference in terms of weight, a little over a pound and a half, which is just incredible.
The rethinking of design, focusing on philosophy Air, has not only produced a more compact and lightweight tablet, and more beautiful to look at, but also more enjoyable to use. The rounded and beveled edges improve grip in hand, as well as making them easier to reach the power button, and the volume rocker placed as usual in the upper-right corner on the long side.
Apple, following an approach common to many manufacturers of mobile devices – smartphones and tablets – has placed grids of the two stereo speakers along the short edge lower (with the center of the Lightning proprietary connector) so you do not accidentally cover while holding the tablet in hand. It has also enhanced the audio, to fill an obvious gap in the previous generation. Too bad the Air Pad does not agree with the iPhone 5s Touch ID technology, the new fingerprint reader that surrounds the home button.
Apple iPad Air: Performance
In any case, Apple has made it even more powerful than the iPad Air. In the previous, series was built a more powerful processor than the one found on the iPhone 5, called A6X, but now takes another step forward with the A7 CPU 64-bit, shared with the iPhone 5s: it is a processor dual core clocked at 1.4 GHz (100 MHz more than the fourth-generation iPad), always supported by 1 GB of RAM and the unprecedented co-processor of motion M7.
We invite you to read the test of the iPhone 5s to find out all the details of the new A7 64-bit processor and co-processor M7, designed to handle all the inputs coming from the built-in sensors (accelerometer, compass, gyroscope). Here we focus on the impact they have on performance and usability of the tablet as well.
As always, the proprietary operating system, now in its iOS version 7, it is essential and slender, making it unnecessary to a quad core CPU clocked at about a gigahertz higher, as is the case in the Android world to get the very best performance. This iPad Air does not disappoint and could not be otherwise: the gain in performance is between 25% and 40% in the synthetic benchmarks compared to the previous iPad, confirming its leadership in the tablet world.
We look forward to the first app, but most of the first games to evaluate the 64-bit real and tangible performance increase promised by the new A7 processor. In any case, the enhanced hardware is felt even in the most mundane tasks, such as browsing the Web and / or in the transition between the various pages and screens of the app, with a general increase in the responsiveness of the tablet.
The screen is always the excellent Retina multi-touch 9.7 “ and a resolution of 2,048 × 1,536 points, ultra light and highly detailed. With a slim chassis that comes from the hardware sector which reaches temperatures under load, for example, in extended gaming sessions or continuous playback of HD video clips. The iPad Air actually gets warm, but less than expected, a sign that it was not neglected anything in a design that has not focused exclusively on beauty and lightness.
Remains pending a final answer, that the question of whether higher performance has had a negative impact on autonomy. Well, the power management is one of the flagships of Apple, and the iPad Air provides almost the same power reserve of the previous fourth-generation iPad. The natural higher consumption of the hardware is upgraded successfully absorbed by polymer battery capable of 32.3 Wh Lithium, allowing for heavy usage away from the outlet well over a day’s work. To browse the web, view social networking sites or reading books and magazines. It becomes easy to overcome even the two days of autonomy.
Connectivity and Camera
Connectivity – The model tested here is Wi-Fi, which you can appreciate what is one of the most interesting iPad Air, or MIMO (multiple input multiple output). We discover this tablet comes with a dual antenna, which in practice almost doubles the theoretical maximum data flow management in sending and receiving, so as to properly take advantage of the newer routers, which reach up to 300 Mbps There is also Bluetooth 4.0 introduced the previous iPad, while the antenna is integrated aGPS model only Wi-Fi 4G.
Camera – There are no major updates in the photographic industry iPad Air, with the usual rear 5-megapixel iSight camera, while the front FaceTime HD 1.2 megapixel benefits from a new sensor BSI backlit. If the first takes decent pictures to share on social networks, the front now improves performance in low light, as well as ensuring proper control of exposure with a simple touch on the screen. Apple then honed craft with a fund that does not absolve one of the main functions of a tablet, to take pictures, devoting himself exclusively to better performance in video chat via Wi-Fi or cellular network below.
Conclusion
In contrast to the last iPhone 5S, iPad Air brings this important news both for design and for the hardware sector as well as for the new operating system. Overall, the result is a user experience revamped, mainly thanks to the more compact chassis and easy to handle. If the previous fourth-generation iPad could pass almost unnoticed, at least by anyone who is not a fan of the bitten apple, it’s really hard not to be charmed by the iPad Air for its innate beauty and elegance.
Although still thinner and lighter, does not neglect the performance, always very high thanks to the new A7 processor 64-bit (unfortunately the potential still untapped). Not be neglected even autonomy, almost unchanged compared to the previous iPad, but it reconfirmed at the top of a growing fiercer, with the new Microsoft Surface 2 just then joining to the large array of tablets, Windows and Android. Shame about the lack of fingerprint reader Touch ID that we enjoyed on the iPhone 5s for the large increase in the safety of the device and for the high price for the models with capacities greater than 32 GB with Wi-Fi connectivity and 4G.
Where to Buy Apple iPad Air
- Apple iOS 5, 9.7 inches Display
- Apple A6 1.4 GHz
- 16 GB Flash Memory, 1 GB RAM Memory
- 10-hour battery life, 1.00 pounds
Features
Design
Performance
Value of Money
PROS : Spectacular design, high performance, Improved front-facing camera and autonomy.
CONS : Missing Touch ID, Price.
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