The iPad Air is the 5th Generation iPad. It was launched at a special event on October 22 at San Francisco. The iPad Air features an all new design that is similar to that of the iPad mini that was launched last year.
Design
The iPad Air was the full redesign that we have all been waiting for. The iPad weighed so little that it had to be given a new name, i.e., the iPad Air. The iPad Air weighs just 1 pound which in metric units is just about 469 grams. Thats a weight reduction of about 28% from the 4th gen iPad. It is also 20% thinner at just 7.5mm. It is the thinnest full size tablet produced by Apple till now. It has thinner bezels much like the iPad mini. Infact it becomes difficult to tell the 2 apart without any visual cues. Also the volume of the iPad has been reduced by 24%.
There are Stereo speakers flanking either side of the lighting connector. But you easily cover the speakers while holding the iPad in Landscape mode. The Lock/Unlock Button, the Volume rocker are all made of metal, as opposed to plastic in the previous iPads. Apple has also failed to include the Touch ID fingerprint sensor into the iPad Air as it would prove to be uncomfortable unlocking the iPad with your finger.
A7 Power
The iPad Air comes equipped with the latest Apple A7 processor. It is a dual-core processor clocked at 1.39GHz vs. the 1.29GHz A7 chip in the iPhone 5s. The iPad Air has 1GB of RAM. Most important of all, the iPad Air brings desktop class performance to the tablet with 64-bit OS. The A7 Processor is a 64-bit processor. The iPad Air also comes with the M7 motion co-processor. This provides the iPad with unparalleled power and performance. The iPad is the Fastest tablet on the market as of now according to the Benchmark tests. The second faster being the Microsoft Surface 2 Pro.
When the iPad Air was put through some popular benchmark tests, the results were quite compelling. In Sun Spyder 1.0.2, the Air blasted through in 385ms average; the fastest tablet. Geekbench 2 was similarly improved, 1797 vs. 2382, and on Geekbench 3, the gap widened, 1249 vs. 2383. Infact, the iPad Air's single-core score of 1475 is higher than the dual-core score of the 4th Gen iPad.
Web pages render more snappily, and overall responsiveness of the operating system is improved. The 4th Gen iPad remains a great performer, but the iPad Air takes it to a whole new level, despite not suffering on battery life.
Battery Life
Apple promises a 10 hour batter life for the iPad Air, which is similar to all the other iPads launched previously. The iPad Air provides this extraordinary battery life in a smaller package. The iPad Air has a 32.4Wh battery as compared to the 4th gen iPad's 42.6Wh battery. Yet the iPad Air delivers better battery life due to the A7 chip which manages power efficiently. The iPad Air will easily last for about a day and a half with moderate use.
Camera
I'm no fan of tablet photography and perhaps Apple agrees it isn't an area worthy of focus, as the (already quite competent) 5MP, rear facing camera of the iPad Air hasn't changed.The front-facing, 1.2 MP FaceTime HD camera has, however, seen an upgrade, and a noticeable one. That's the same megapixel count as last year's, but its a new sensor with backside illumination and bigger pixels. the result is far better low-light performance, which is important if you don't want to look like you're FaceTiming from a Dungeon.
Connectivity
Apple, with the iPad Air has stepped up the wifi to a dual antenna system called MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output). It also comes equipped with Dual Channel 2.4GHz and 5GHz wifi. The iPad Air also has Bluetooth 4.0 . However, the absence of 802.11ac is disappointing as there are many compatible routers available now.For those who opt for the wifi + cellular model of the Air will be able to get EDGE, HSPA+, CDMA & LTE connections. Since there is only one iPad Air model worldwide, you will be able to change from carrier, regardless of where you travel, you will be able to get a connection, if the carrier has nano-sims available.
What's in the Box?
As with Apple, there isn't much in the box. There is just the 12W power brick, the USB-to-Lightning cable, a few pages of Legal Information and a couple of the Apple Stickers. If you buy the cellular version, Apple also includes a tool to open the SIM tray.
Competition
The iPad Air has a lot of Competition in the Tablet market, from within Apple to other companies. The Surface 2 starts at $449, $50 less than the iPad Air. The Surface 2, is a very well built tablet, but much more thicker and heavier. Windows RT also does not have as great an app ecosystem as Apple's. The iPad mini with Retina display from the house of Apple is it self the greatest competitor to the iPad Air as it is just a smaller version of the iPad Air at $100 lesser. It also has a great display with the highest pip of 326 among its competitors. In the Android world, there is the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 that starts at $549 for 16GB, but comes with a stylus. There is also the Google Nexus 10 from last year that costs just $399 for the 16GB version. All in all, the iPad mini the most compelling alternative to the iPad Air.
Conclusion
The iPad Air is the iPad in an whole new avatar. It's in a much lighter and thinner body and features the latest A7 processor that's 64-bit. The only let down on the iPad Air that it lacks the Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Perhaps, Apple is saving that feature for later. But the performance increase and the same, if not better battery life, shows that progress is still being made on the inside. The old iPad always felt a little hefty, but this one is compellingly lithe.
My Verdict, if you are using an iPad 2 or older, it's a good time to upgrade to the iPad Air. If you have the 3rd of 4th Generation of the iPad, its worth holding no to them for a while. For those looking to enter the Apple ecosystem this is the perfect place to do so. In India the iPad Air starts at Rs.35,900 for the 16GB wifi only model.
