Apple iPad Air 2 vs Apple iPad Air vs Apple iPad 4: specs comparison

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Apple iPad Air 2 vs Apple iPad Air vs Apple iPad 4: specs comparison
They might not have grown in size, but Apple's hot-out-of-the-oven new iPads are surely top notch when it comes to internal hardware prowess (compared to their predecessors, that is). Both tablets have been refreshed with an Apple A8X chipset, a custom version of the 64-bit Apple A8 SoC found inside the Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which is a first for Apple and cements the future-proofness of its brand new tablets. 

Frankly said, the improvements are not many, but they are mostly spot on. As we said, they sport most of the bells and whistles that the latest two generations of iPhones had in store, such as the Touch ID fingerprint sensor under the home button, support for Apple's Pay on-the-move payment system, and several other novelties. Then again, are these improvements enough to deem the new iPad Air vastly superior to its predecessor? Or the new slate is nothing but a minor improvement over last year's Apple iPad Air?

We decided to pit the new iPad Air 2 against its prequel and see what's happening specs-wise. We've also thrown in the older Apple iPad 4 for a good measure as well.

Apple iPad Air 2 Apple iPad Air Apple iPad 4

Design

Dimensions
9.45 x 6.67 x 0.24 inches
240 x 169.5 x 6.1 mm
9.45 x 6.67 x 0.30 inches
240 x 169.5 x 7.5 mm
9.50 x 7.31 x 0.37 inches
241.2 x 185.7 x 9.4 mm
Weight
15.41 oz (437.0 g) 16.86 oz (478.0 g) 23.35 oz (662.0 g)
Materials
Back: Aluminum Back: Aluminum
Biometrics
Fingerprint (touch)
Keys
Right: Volume control Right: Volume control, Other Right: Volume control, Other
Colors
Gold, Gray, Silver Black, Gray, Silver, White Black, White

Display

Size
9.7-inch 9.7-inch 9.7-inch
Resolution
2048x1536px, 264 PPI 1536x2048px, 264 PPI 1536x2048px, 264 PPI
Technology
IPS LCD IPS LCD IPS LCD
Screen-to-body
71.65 % 71.65 % 65.03 %
Colors
16 777 216 16 777 216 16 777 216
Features
Oleophobic coating, Ambient light sensor Oleophobic coating, Ambient light sensor Oleophobic coating, Ambient light sensor

Hardware

System chip
Apple A8X Apple A7 Apple A6X
Processor
Triple-core
1500 MHz
Cyclone
Dual-core
1400 MHz
Cyclone
Dual-core
1400 MHz
GPU
PowerVR GXA6850 PowerVR G6430 PowerVR SGX554
RAM
2GB (LPDDR3) 1GB (LPDDR3) 1GB
Internal storage
128GB 128GB 128GB
OS
iOS (13.x, 12.x, 11.x, 10.x, 9.x, 8.x) iOS (12.x, 11.x, 10.x, 9.x, 8.x, 7.x) iOS (10.x, 9.x, 8.x, 7.x, 6.1, 6.x)

Battery

Capacity
7340 mAh 8820 mAh
Type
Li - Polymer Li - Polymer

Camera

Rear
Single camera Single camera Single camera
Main camera
8 MP (Autofocus, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F2.4
Focal length: 31 mm
5 MP (Autofocus, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F2.4
Focal length: 33 mm
5 MP (Autofocus, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F2.4
Video recording
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (120 fps)
Time-lapse video, EIS, Video calling
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)
Time-lapse video, EIS, Video calling
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)
EIS
Front
1.2 MP, Video capture: 1280x720 (HD) (30 fps) 1.2 MP, Video capture: 1280x720 (HD) (30 fps) 1.2 MP, Video capture: 1280x720 (HD)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.0 4.0 4.0
WLAN
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
Multiple antennas, MIMO, Hotspot
802.11 a,b,g,n,dual-band
Multiple antennas, MIMO, Hotspot
802.11 a,b,g,n,dual-band
Hotspot
USB
Lightning Lightning Lightning
HDMI
Yes
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning A-GPS, Glonass, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning A-GPS, Glonass, Wi-Fi positioning
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass
Other
Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync, AirDrop Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync, AirDrop Computer sync, OTA sync, AirDrop

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Multiple speakers Multiple speakers Loudspeaker
Features
Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback, Dolby Digital
Screen mirroring
TV-out TV-out TV-out
Additional microphone(s)
Yes Yes

Cellular

4G (FDD)
Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 13(700 c), 17(700 b), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 25(1900+), 26(850+) Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 13(700 c), 17(700 b), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 25(1900+), 26(850+) Bands 4(AWS-1), 17(700 b)
3G
Bands 5(850), 8(900), 4(1700/2100), 2(1900), 1(2100) Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100) Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100)
Data Speed
LTE, HSPA, UMTS LTE, HSPA, UMTS LTE Cat 3 (100/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s, UMTS
SIM type
Nano SIM Nano SIM Micro SIM

Phone Features

Notifications
Flight mode, Silent mode Flight mode, Silent mode Silent mode, Speakerphone
Other features
Voice commands, Voice recording Voice commands, Voice recording Voice commands, Voice recording

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Oct 16, 2014
FCC ID value: BCGA1566
Date approved: Oct 22, 2013
FCC ID value: BCGA1475
Measured SAR
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.56 W/kg Body: 1.19 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.33 W/kg
Body: 1.19 W/kg

Buyers information

MSRP
$ 829 $ 929 $ 799
In The Box
Lightning to USB Cable, USB Power Adapter Lightning to USB Cable, USB Power Adapter Lightning to USB Cable, USB Power Adapter

Availability

Officially announced
Oct 16, 2014 Oct 22, 2013 Oct 23, 2012



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