Apple iPad Air vs iPad Air 2
Differences to appear between Apple iPad Air and iPad Air 2 is inevitable as iPad Air 2 is the latest edition of iPad Air. Apple iPad Air, which is a tablet computer, was released to the market in November 2013 by Apple. Apple iPad Air 2, which is the successor of iPad Air and consists more powerful and latest features, was unveiled in the near past, on the 16th October 2014, by Apple. Apple iPad Air 2, which is thinner and less weighty than iPad Air while having newest features such as anti reflective display, Touch ID, and new camera features, will provide even better performances with the new A8X chip. Apple iPad Air 2 is available from prices starting from $499 while Apple iPad Air prices starts from $399.
Apple iPad Air 2 Review – features of iPad Air 2
Being 6.1 mm thin and weight being just 0.96 pounds, iPad Air 2 is very portable, but yet a very powerful tablet. The redesigned retina display has an anti-reflective coating that prevents reflections on the screen. The display that is 9.7 inches provides a very high resolution of 2048×1536 pixels (264 pixels per inch) ensuring a great picture quality. Though the CPU and graphics performance are immense, the power consumption is very efficient with up to 10 hour battery life. The technology called Touch ID provides security against unauthorized access by using the fingerprint as the password. The new iSight camera which can take 8 megapixel photos has many new features while picture quality is high even in low light. The videos can be recorded at 1080p HD quality and even slow motion videos can be captured.
There are several models of iPad Air 2 based on the storage capacity and the availability of cellular connectivity hardware. The model with the lowest capacity of 16 GB with no cellular connectivity feature is around $499 while the highest capacity of 128 GB with both Wi-Fi and cellular is $829.
Apple iPad Air Review – features of iPad Air
Apple iPad Air, which is the predecessor of iPad Air 2 is obviously not as sophisticated and high-tech as iPad Air 2, but yet a considerable number of features are almost the same or very close. Though the display does not have anti-reflective coating, yet the retina display has the same 2048×1536 pixels resolution (264 pixels per inch). So apart from the lack of few additional features, the display is almost the same as on iPad Air 2. While the weight is slightly higher than iPad Air 2, just by 0.04 pounds, the width and the length are exactly the same. The thickness is a bit higher, which is 7.5 mm here. The camera is just 5 megapixel and features such as burst mode that is there is iPad Air 2 is missing here. The videos can be captured at 1080p quality, but the slow motion videos are not supported. The battery life is the same, which is up to 10 hours.
Apple iPad Air too has several models with varying storage capacity and based on the availability of cellular connectivity hardware, but the model with a maximum capacity is just 32GB. The prices of the models are between $399 to $579.
What is the difference between Apple iPad Air and iPad Air 2?
• Apple iPad Air 2 has dimensions of 240mm x 169.6 mm x 6.1 mm while Apple iPad Air has dimensions of 240mm x 169.6 mm x 7.5 mm. The length and width are exactly the same, but iPad Air 2 has even lesser thickness.
• The weight of iPad Air 2 is 0.96 pounds (437g) while iPad Air is 1 pound(469g). So the weight of iPad Air 2 is just less by 32g.
• Apple iPad Air 2 uses 64 bit A8X chip with a M8 coprocessor. However, Apple iPad Air has just 64 bit A7 chip with M7 coprocessor. A8X and M8, which are newer than A7 and M7, have better CPU speed and better graphics performance and other added improvements.
• Both devices have 9.7 inches LED backlit multi-touch displays. The resolution of them are 2048 x1536 pixels and the pixel density is 264 pixels per inch. Both have fingerprint resistant coating. The difference is Apple iPad Air 2 has a fully laminated display with an anti reflective coating while these two features are missing in Apple iPad Air.
• The iSight camera in Apple iPad Air 2 can take 8 megapixel photos, but the camera in Apple iPad Air is just 5MP. Both consists of features such as autofocus, face detection, backside illumination, HDR photos and Panorama but burst mode is only supported in iPad Air 2.
• Both can record videos with 1080p resolution ad 3x zooming with features such as video stabilization, face detection, backside illumination and time-lapse video, but slowmovideo is only supported in iPad Air 2.
• The FaceTime HD camera is found in both devices and both are the same with 1.2 MP photo quality and 720p video quality.
• Apple iPad Air 2 has the new feature called Touch ID that includes a fingerprint identity sensor. This is not found in Apple iPad Air.
• Wi-Fi and cellular features are almost the same except that iPad Air 2 supports 802.11 ac that enables ultra-high speeds.
• Both devices have a three-axis gyro, an accelerometer and an ambient light sensor, but Barometer sensor is only found in iPad Air 2.
• Apple iPad Air 2 has models with storage capacities of 16GB, 64GB and 128 GB. However, Apple iPad Air has only models with storage capacities of 16GB and 32 GB. So, Apple iPad Air 2 has models with huge storage capacities for those who store a lot of files.
Apple iPad Air vs iPad Air 2 Summary
Apple iPad Air and iPad Air 2 are high-end tablet computers designed by apple from which the iPad Air 2 is the latest one. With the A8X chip, Apple iPad Air 2 can provide more CPU and graphical performance than Apple iPad Air. Apple iPad Air 2 has latest features like anti-reflective display, fingerprint sensor and an improved camera than Apple iPad Air. The models in iPad Air 2 are available up to 128GB while iPad Air has maximum of 32GB storage space. Despite the lack of certain features iPad Air also has all expected features in a tablet at a cost much lower than the price of Apple iPad Air 2.
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