Tag Archives: ipad Air 2

Apple iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 – my reviews

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Late night shopping is excellent. Perfect for browsing all the latest and greatest tablets or I should say iPads from Apple.

First up, here is my review of the iPad Mini 3. WOW (sarcastic). It costs you £100 more for a finger print sensor and gold finish if required. So not worth buying if you have an older version of the Mini. Also, if you have the iPhone 6 Plus, the iPad Mini is redundant.

Next my review of the iPad Air 2. So lets salivate over the 6.1mm thickness, a minor reduction in weight, a more advanced screen build which features less air gaps and less reflective, a new A8X processor, new improved 8mp camera and shooting modes, Touch ID and a new gold finish. STOP. No need to salivate. All the spec improvements made no difference to the original iPad Air. The screen and weight and thickness make no difference and are not really noticeable versus the original iPad Air. Let me rephrase that. There is no difference period. The A8X processor is faster. It feels faster on an empty iPad with no apps and games and the 2Gb ram meant more web browser tabs could be left open. But really, unless you use iMovie, GarageBand or similar or are a hardcore gamer, there is no obvious benefit. Touch ID is convenient but not essential. In fact, you lose the mute switch , and battery life tests from early reviews say it is not as strong as the original iPad Air.

So if you have the first iPad or the second model, the Air 2 is a great update. Otherwise, I just cannot recommend upgrading in any way, shape or form!

Apple iPad Air 2 and Mini 3 and available in stores to buy today

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So are you stampeding to your nearest Apple store to purchase a new iPad Air 2 or iPad Mini 3. This device is totally not on my radar. So have you ordered one or picking one up today?

Now, the iPad Air 2 is a class leading product but unless your current tablet is faulty or your just in the mood for the latest and greatest, there really is no reason to buy this device. The iPad Mini 3 is really a poor choice since for £100 more all you get is Touch ID. There are no other changes other than the choice of a gold finish.

The Apple Keynote from yesterday – new products, software and my views

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So yesterday Apple streamed its keynote speech live to the world. It was a rather dull affair but a fair amount was announced or confirmed.

First of all the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have been off the charts successful. OS X Yosemite will be free as well as iWork for the Mac. iCloud Photo library beta goes live. iOS 8.1 launches on Monday as brings back the camera roll, fixes loads of stuff, and for US citizens incorporates Apple Pay. Other improvements are occurring for iOS 8.1 too.

Hello to the iPad Air 2. Thinner at 6.1mm. Faster processor A8X. Better camera with more shooting modes from burst, time lapse, panoramic. The screen is laminated on this time, producing the same great visuals as that found on the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Touch ID was added. The screen also had a anti reflective coating. Faster wifi too and more LTE bands on the cellular version.

The iPad Mini 3 hardly got changed. Faster wifi and Touch ID.

Both the iPad Air 2 and Mini 3 will be available now in a 3rd colour, gold.

Apple mentioned a WatchKit would be available next month for developers.

Apple announced a 5K iMac Retina and a new Mac Mini.

Apple SIM – Each cellular iPad will now come with its own Apple SIM card. This SIM card will work with multiple US carriers—AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile—and allow users to not only enable or disable a cellular plan as they see fit, but also switch back and forth between carriers to find the plan that works best for them at the moment. It will also work with EE in the UK. Verizon isn’t supported on the Apple SIM at present.

Apple is now selling 5 iPads. The original iPad Mini. iPad Mini 2. iPad Mini 3. iPad Air. iPad Air 2. Confused? Apple has dropped the 32gb memory option. Just 16, 64 and 128gb. If you want the full specs head over to Apple http://www.apple.com/uk/ipad/

So what are my thoughts?

First up Apple seems to have been trying to focus more on the software, the 2 new iPhones (6 and 6 Plus) and only the larger iPad. This makes me wonder if it thinks that the iPhone 6 Plus will kill off the iPad Mini. All the other changes were really small changes, but if you were looking for a new tablet, Apple reduced the price of everything by $100. So clearly it is a competitive world. My worry is can the tablet arena really get any better where people actually care about buying the better specs. I for one will not be considering any of the new hardware Apple announced. What I already have works just fine and I am sure that will apply to many of you. However, I am sure the new iPad Air 2 is far more exciting in person than on paper.

So what do you think? Has Apple done enough?

Apple – It is your turn to strike!

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Samsung, Sony, HTC, Huawei and many others have all laid their wares out for all to see.

Now in a few days time, it is down to Apple to steal everyones thunder with new iPhones, maybe iPads and a wearable or two.

Predictably, it will either be a stampede of hardware/software ecstasy or in reality it will just be small iterations over previous hardware.

Personally, I am not expecting miracles!