Review: Apple iPad Air

Text and Photos by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla 

The iPad Air steps up the tablet game and brings computing power and functionality to another level. The device that ushered in the post-PC era four years ago now seems well positioned to continue to put a dent in the PC market while continuing to dominate the tablet space. 

The fifth generation Apple Pad takes on the shape and design of the iPad mini with smaller bezels on the sides and a thinner and lighter profile. It is 28 per cent lighter and 20 per cent thinner than last year’s version  while maintaining the same screen size and yet, it only weighs one pound. 

This alone would be a remarkable feat if all the specs were the same, but they aren’t. iPad Air features the latest Apple A7 processor, which is the first ARM-based processor that can run on a 64-Bit architecture. That’s desktop class computing in a device that’s about as thin as a pencil, a fact that Apple underscores in its latest iPad Air advertisement.

 

What the A7 processor brings is up to twice the CPU performance from last year’s model, twice the graphics performance and the same 10 hour battery life on a smaller battery (the powerful yet frugal A7 processor can churn our the same runtime as the previous model from a smaller, thinner battery).

Testing against previous iPads

 

I tested the iPad Air against the iPad 2 (which is still being sold as the entry level large iPad) and last year’s iPad with Retina Display (4th generation).

iPad Air would render complete complex webpages like bbc.co.uk three to four seconds faster than the iPad 2. Opening apps and even more complex games showed the iPad Air blowing past the iPad 2 at three or sometimes four times the speed.

This  actually approximates the disparity in performance between last year’s iPad mini (which has the iPad 2’s specs) and this year’s iPad mini with Retina Display which has similar a A7 processor as the iPad Air.

 

Against last year’s iPad, the results were a bit more mixed. The iPad Air managed to launch complex websites like El Pais Digital a bit faster, but the older iPad managed to keep pace. The difference wasn’t all that dramatic although it was visible.

This was specially true when launching certain apps, as both iPads seemed to be just as fast and the older one even got started a bit faster in some instances, but this is likely due to caching previously opened apps on the older device while iPad Air ran them for the first time.

The reason for this parity could simply be that most of the apps I tested weren’t optimized for the new 64-bit architecture, so there’s no real reason for them to launch any quicker. 

 

The A7’s 64-bit architecture is a nascent technology, one that’s forward thinking and whose dividends are likely to pay off not in the next few months, but maybe early next year when more apps can support this desktop class architecture on a mobile device. 64-bit architecture can address more memory but also helps boost various processes, provided the apps are writtent to take advantage of it.

During my time with Apple last week in San Francisco, I saw a demo of the vjay app, which is a video mixer that's similar to various audio mixing apps out there. The premise of vjay was that it could mix two streams of 1080p video simultanously into one output. This is with real time rendering of graphics and audio. The iPad Air breezed through these processes without any issue whatsoever. It showed that the A7's processing power can kick in on demand and tackle these intensive tasks easily.

The new iPad also features faster WiFi (MiMO) which uses two antennas instead of one and can double download speeds where supported. Apple avoided adding the new 802.11ac standard it supports on its entire desktop and notebook line now but perhaps because ac radios could impact the iPad Air’s battery life and/or overall thickness and weight. 

I plan on pitting the iPad Air against a recent Android Tablet as well as the Microsoft Surface 2, at least in loading websites and fulfilling basic tasks. I will add that information to this review in the coming days.

Dimensions and Design

 

The iPad Air’s weight loss is nothing short of remarkable. While older full-sized iPads were sometimes a chore to use with one hand for prolonged periods, the new iPad is much better. This makes it ideal for reading, viewing photos and movies. 

The iPad Air’s construction is even more seamless than its predecessors. Just like the iPad mini and the iPhone 5s, the iPad Air is built to an extreme degree of precision and despite its thin profile, remains remarkably rigid and strong. You would expect a degree of flex with the iPad Air being so thin, but there isn’t any.

 

The diamond-cut chamfered edges add a subtle but useful way to hold and grip the corners of the tablet. This feels better than the shiny curved treatment of previous iPads.

Side-by-side comparison with last year’s iPad with Retina is quite dramatic, since the previous model was actually thicker than the iPad 2. 

The result is that the iPad Air is one of the slimmest and lightest 9.7-inch tablets in the market right now. 

This is even more impressive if you consider that it is one of the few that is constructed mostly out of stainless steel and glass, where competing tablets are made of plastic.

Anyone who is out shopping for a new tablet will be able to tell the difference in build and quality simply by touching and feeling the iPad Air versu any of the current competitors.

Anyone who uses FaceTime will also appreciate the new front-facing camera, now with backside illumination as well as larger pixels. You can see the difference in quality in lower light conditions as well as when using apps like PhotoBooth. Apple added an extra microphone in the iPad Air’s rear which helps in noise cancellation.

Evolution of iPad

I’ve used every single iPad model since the very first one came out. I’ve bought into the whole Post-PC ideal hoping that a tablet could eventually replace my notebook as an on-the-go content consumption and even creation device.

Each version of the iPad has brought physical improvements, performance upgrades and desirable new features to bring it closer to the Post-PC ideal.

The iPad Air offers the most substantial jump, since it has been designed from the ground up to take full advantage of iOS 7, which is the biggest revision of Apple’s mobile OS, as well as introduce the 64-bit architecture to the tablet line.

While the iPhone 5s has the same raw power as the iPad Air (and new iPad mini with Retina Display), I feel it is the Apple tablets that will really be able to take full advantage of what the new processor can do specially in terms of productivity and content creation.

iPad Air at Work 

Physical keyboards, are an unfortunate necessity for me and my line of work and as much as I tried to enjoy typing on a touchscreen, it doesn’t really work for when I’m doing 1,000 word reviews. Specially since the keyboard takes on more than half the screen.

Thankfully, there’s no shortage of compatible Bluetooth keyboards and keyboard cases that work with the iPad mini (although, right now I am using Apple’s own bluetooth keyboard).

Internet connectivity has also become a must-have feature which few tablets offer. I can’t consider any tablet in the market for my work that doesn’t support it’s own 4G-LTE connectivity. Piggybacking on my smartphone’s data plan via mobile hotspot or looking for open WiFi accounts is time consuming and gets in the way of mission critical nature of my work. 

The iPad has always featured data connectivity, albeit in their more expensive models. With the iPad Air, the Wi-Fi + Cellular versions of iPad Air now have access to the most 4G-LTE bands, making this a global data device.

My review iPad Air has the WiFi + Cellular configuration and the 128GB SSD, which would be paltry storage for a PC or Mac notebook,  but feels lavish and spacious on a tablet. During my testing period, the iPad Air managed around 11-12 hours of use on a single charge and that’s with intermittent use of 4G-LTE when out and about.

Having useful apps as well as fast Internet connectivity on a tablet of this size can be game changing. I was able to take work on the go, submit stories, as well as access files on Dropbox, iCloud and SkyDrive without any issue.

Personal Use

Ultra-portable, 64-Bit desktop architecture, 4G-LTE baked in, simply add an accessory keyboard and the iPad Air becomes a world-class and multi-faceted device. Now, whether or not it is a proper PC replacement for content creation, would depend on the level and quality of the apps one uses.

As someone who writes, blogs, takes photos and edits video on a day to day basis. The tools are certainly there. Could they be better, hell yes. 

The Squarespace App I use to update my blog, for example, crashes intermittently on iOS 7, it seem to choke whenever I upload a photo. 

That’s on the developer and not Apple’s issue.  Various apps need to catch up to where iOS 7 and the A7 processor is today and that will take time.

I have yet to fully explore the new iWork and iLife suite (now free with every new iOS or Mac device) but If these can fully replicate the functions of the applications I use on  MS Office on my four year old MacBook Pro and three-year old ThinkPad X220, then it is a no brainer. 

The full value of the A7 processor’s architecture is still to come as apps continue to be revised to take advantage of the hardware.

As a Post-PC device, the iPad Air doesn’t just compete with the Android tablets or Surface 2’s available today. 

It really has the chops to go head-on with various ultra books and professional-focused tablets like the Surface Pro 2. Provided that the apps people need are readily available.

Apple was wise to give iWork and iLife apps for free, since they now enable users with an instant office suite and content creation suite right out of the box. 

iWork is also compatible with MS Office and since it is evident that Microsoft has no intention of releasing iPad native versions of Office anytime soon, Pages, Keynote and Numbers should be a good enough substitute for most tasks.

Conclusion

 

The heft and thickness of previous iPads has been reduced dramatically with the iPad Air. At one pound, it is easy enough to hold in one hand for leisurely reading, watching videos, playing games and checking email. 

The iPad Air is the most complete full-sized tablet experience in the market today. In terms of hardware, software, functionality, 4G-LTE connectivity and ecosystem (both for apps and accessories), nothing comes close. 

The competition has continued to bank on spec upgrades or making their new versions slightly thinner and lighter or adding full HD screens and even withholding key apps (i.e. MS Office) to try and gain and advantage over the iPad. 

The good news for consumers is that more choice exists in the tablet space today. While we may have more choice, there is still no true competition for the full-sized iPad. 

Apple has improved the hardware and software of iPad Air to such a degree that it feels like a completely new device save for the familiar screen size. There are currently 475,000 apps designed specifically for the iPad right now. That's a staggering amount of choice. 

Just as competition locked in to what last year’s iPad delivered in features and power, Apple has created its most impressive mobile tablet yet in the iPad Air which substantially cuts size and weight while almost doubling performance. It is far and away the best all-around tablet for most users today.

iPad Air starts selling on Friday November 1 from Apple Retail Stores as well as Online.

Rating: 5 out of 5