iPad Air 2 specs review
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Design
Display
There are no surprises, when in comes to the display of the new iPad Air 2. The screen keeps the same 9.7” display size that the iPads have been toting since the first model, employs the same 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution, and delivers a 264 ppi pixel density, which will all look pretty familiar to anyone who has used iPad 3 or above.
What this should mean to the user is that, due to the less amount of layers standing between the LCD and the outside world, the on-screen image will be even brighter, more vivid, and have better viewing angles. The same tech is assumed to be used in the creation of the iPhone 6 screens and the praise the handsets are getting for their picture quality is pretty explanatory.
Processor and Memory
The iPad Air 2 will be powered by a new A8X chip. Still a 64-bit architecture, of course, the successor of the A7 in the original Air is at least two times faster, according to Apple, yet power-efficient enough to maintain the 10-hour battery life that iPads are known for.
Recently published Geekbench tests of the new tablet show that the A8X is actually a triple-core processor – quite an unusual setup – with each core clocked at 1.5 GHz. As far as speed goes – in the single-core test, the A8X showed only about 25% better performance, compared to the A7. However, in the multi-core test, the new CPU truly shined, scoring 4,477 where the old one only got 2,644 points. Of course, Apple-promised hardware performances are usually possible in very specific scenarios. None the less, even if the Air 2 didn't
As far as memory goes – Apple has finally bumped the RAM of its flagship tablet to 2 GB. Many techies were not exactly pleased with Cupertinians' stubbornness to touch the memory of their flagship devices and this upgrade has been a long time coming. Now, iOS has never had trouble running smoothly on iDevices with 1 GB of RAM, however, what the increase should mean to you is that the new tablet will be better capable of maintaining multiple apps and should suspend them on rarer occasions, which, in turn, means faster task-switching, without waiting for the app to "un-freeze" itself.. Also, it is probably safe to assume that Apple upgraded the RAM in order to have the device better prepared for whatever games the developers may throw at it, now that the Metal API is here to allow “console-grade” graphics.
Camera
It's hard to imagine anyone ever reaching for their tablet, when they want to take a photo, yet sometimes – it's either an only option, due to lack of another device, or the fastest and easiest one, due to logistics. Apple acknowledged that and gave the iPad Air 2's camera its respective bump. The old 5 MP snapper has been replaced with an 8 MP iSight camera, capable of shooting pictures in a 3264×2448 resolution, with a still rather average aperture of F2.4.
The camera app's features consist of manual exposure control, burst mode, HDR, timer, up to 1080p video with stereo sound, 120 fps slow-motion capture, time lapse, and panoramic modes.
The front-facing snapper's resolution is still kept at the modest 1.2 megapixels, though, Apple bumped the aperture up to F2.2 to help you get seen when video chatting in low lighting conditions.
Battery
Following their own style to the T, Cupertinians did not dabble in numbers and diagnostics, therefore – did not reveal any details about the battery. All we know about it at this stage is that it should provide the very same battery life that we are used to expect from an iPad; namely – no less than 10 hours of normal usage.
Expectations
So, is the iPad Air 2 a good choice for someone, looking at the premium market? We'd say certainly – Apple's line of tablets has always been presented by great performers, and no small part of that is due to the company's iOS - an operating system for Apple's mobile devices, developed with its own hardware in mind. However, software aside, the new A8X has proven itself in the Geekbench arena, outscoring the pretty powerful in its own right Nexus 9, while the (finally) upgraded RAM will keep multitaskers happy.
Things that are NOT allowed: