Is there a significant difference in how the two of these would function? How noticeable would the difference be?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad Air 2 specs vs 6th gen specs?
- Thread starter ssledoux
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
The main advantage of air 2 is the laminated display as well as the slightly thinner design and maybe you can find them cheaper but the 6th gen iPad is so cheap now and supports Apple Pencil, and should have a longer shelf life due to being currently on the market (Apple will support it longer based on that, not solely due to the stronger processor)
I’ve seen new sealed iPad 6th gens sub-300$ Canadian. That’s really good value.
I’ve seen new sealed iPad 6th gens sub-300$ Canadian. That’s really good value.
In terms of internals, the biggest difference is the processor: a 3 core A8X in the Air 2 compared to a quad core A10 in the 6th Gen. I think there’s a a fairly notable power difference in the two chips, on paper at least, and I would expect probably at least a couple years more support for the A10 past what the A8X gets.
The 6th Gen also has Pencil and AR support.
The 6th Gen also has Pencil and AR support.
Depends on what you're doing. On some sites with heavier JavaScript, I've noticed even the A9-based 5th gen load pages 5+ seconds faster.
I checked out the latest iPads in store and right now, the A10-based iPads don't feel much slower (maybe 1-2 second diff) compared to the latest Pros (at least as far as web browsing). Meanwhile, the Air 2 is showing its age.
Honestly, if you're gonna get another 6th gen LTE, you would've been better off doing the $250 OOW replacement with Apple.
I checked out the latest iPads in store and right now, the A10-based iPads don't feel much slower (maybe 1-2 second diff) compared to the latest Pros (at least as far as web browsing). Meanwhile, the Air 2 is showing its age.
Honestly, if you're gonna get another 6th gen LTE, you would've been better off doing the $250 OOW replacement with Apple.
Laminated advantage? Not for some of us. I find the non-laminated perfectly fine and excellent. And no worries about white spots, yellow bands, or light bleeding.
Nobody is saying that the displays in iPad 5/6 are bad, but the laminated displays look much nicer and you don't get this hollow feeling when tapping the screen.
I'm using the iPad Pro 9.7 with A9X, my boyfriend has the iPad 6 with the A10. Performance is - I'd say - the same. Since the Air 2 has A8X, it would be an upgrade performance-wise, but not as significant as one might imagine.
The direct upgrade from Air 2 is the Air (3-rd generation). The iPad 6 is more for the education market/first timers/people rocking iPad 2/3/4.
Ok, I hear your point of view. Myself, I've never undestood this tapping problem issue with non-laminated. I've owned both, and to me it's a non-issue. I also never considered laminated as nicer looking, but that might be just me.
According to Geekbench, it would seem that the 6th Gen is a significant update.
[doublepost=1564679805][/doublepost]
I didn’t think it would bother me, but having had it, I do prefer it. That said, I’d take the performance increase of the 6th Gen over the Air 2’s laminated display. On the upside, OOW servicing for a non-laminated device is cheaper, so may be best for the OP who would spend a small fortune if buying AC+ for all the grandkids. OOW is currently cheaper on the 6th Gen than the Air 2, despite the latter being released over three years earlier.
I’m confused as to why iPad 4 is priced the same as the Air 2 for OOW mind, but that’s another subject.
[doublepost=1564679805][/doublepost]
I didn’t think it would bother me, but having had it, I do prefer it. That said, I’d take the performance increase of the 6th Gen over the Air 2’s laminated display. On the upside, OOW servicing for a non-laminated device is cheaper, so may be best for the OP who would spend a small fortune if buying AC+ for all the grandkids. OOW is currently cheaper on the 6th Gen than the Air 2, despite the latter being released over three years earlier.
I’m confused as to why iPad 4 is priced the same as the Air 2 for OOW mind, but that’s another subject.
Attachments
The aged battery in the Air 2 is already a big disadvantage, unless you want to set aside money for replacing that. The Air 2 is unlikely to receive updates beyond iPadOS 13. It doesn't support ARKit apps at all.
Those are huge trade-offs with the only plus being a laminated display. It's not even worth considering.
Those are huge trade-offs with the only plus being a laminated display. It's not even worth considering.
Thanks everyone. I was planning to give my grandson a hand-me-down 6th gen (from his older brother) with LTE after I bought his older brother the Air 3. However, the 6th gen had a faulty charging port, and wouldn’t charge at all. I took it to Apple, and they wanted $250 to replace it, plus I still had a balance on the NEXT plan. Instead I listed it on eBay as-is, and sold it for enough to pay off the next and be in the clear on that.
Now I need to find him something, and it really needs to have LTE. He is on the spectrum, and gets really frustrated when we are somewhere without wifi. Hotspots don’t work great either since the data is limited. My sister has an Air 2 with LTE, and I was thinking of going that route, but I think he’ll get frustrated (actually, he’s currently using a 5th gen, so there may not be as much difference).
Just hating to cough up that much money again right now, and AT&T doesn’t seem to have those available on NEXT anymore.
Now I need to find him something, and it really needs to have LTE. He is on the spectrum, and gets really frustrated when we are somewhere without wifi. Hotspots don’t work great either since the data is limited. My sister has an Air 2 with LTE, and I was thinking of going that route, but I think he’ll get frustrated (actually, he’s currently using a 5th gen, so there may not be as much difference).
Just hating to cough up that much money again right now, and AT&T doesn’t seem to have those available on NEXT anymore.
Checked just now and AT&T does have them on Next but at $23/mo for 32GB 6th gen, I think you're better off getting another 64GB Air 3 for $31.50/mo or waiting until fall to see if the entry level iPad gets updated.
If the 6-year-old's iPad 5 still works, waiting might be your best option. Could even be a nice Xmas gift or something.
So my thought about the new 6th gen standard iPad and the attractive pricing is how much effort to spend in trying to get a deal on a refurb Pro, such as that 9.7 you've got. Anything major that you will miss when IOS 13 drops, functionality wise?
Pro 9.7 to 6th gen, you're pretty much losing just laminated screen and quad speakers.
If getting a used Pro 9.7, I'd be concerned about battery wear at this point in time. I use mine a lot and it was at 90% health/10% wear after a year. I've been switching between Pro 9.7, Pro 12.9 and 5th gen otherwise, battery wear would probably be worse.
There's a noticeable drop in battery life but it still lasts longer than iPhones on full health. One of the reasons I love my iPads is their amazing battery life and the Pro 9.7 no longer has that (still decent but not amazing). Consider that if you're gonna buy used. Apple refurbs get new chassis and battery but they're pricey.
Last I checked, Apple certified refurb Pro 9.7 cost more than brand new 6th gen.
My iPad 3 is still at 80ish percent capacity, after almost six very active years of use! It's been a wonderful tool that really allows you to not have to worry nearly as much (as when using a laptop) about having an available power plug nearby.
Yeah, the older iPads had huge batteries. When we traded the iPad 3 in 2017, it still had much better standby time compared to the barely year old Pro 9.7. I actually think these older gen have better standby battery life compared to 2017 Pro 12.9 (A10X/4GB).
I'm surprised you can still tolerate using the iPad 3, though. Even my dad thought it was unbearably slow and he's usually not picky.
2012 iPad 3rd gen: 43 Wh
2012 iPad 4th gen: 43 Wh
2013 iPad Air: 32.9 Wh
2014 iPad Air 2: 27.82 Wh
2015 iPad Pro 12.9: 38.8 Wh
2016 iPad Pro 9.7: 27.91 Wh
2017 iPad Pro 10.5: 30.8 Wh
2017 iPad Pro 12.9: 41.4 Wh
Ironically, recent sales from Amazon has meant refurb iPads were more expensive than brand new. Iirc, 32GB 6th gen LTE frequently dropped to $379 on Amazon in recent weeks.
I didn’t see them as an option when I was looking, but yeah, I really hate to buy one at full price through NEXT with them already being year and a half old tech.
No way I want to get an Air 3 for him though. He’s only 4. The only reason I’m even doing this is because he’s on the spectrum and there’s just no making him understand why his videos won’t work. With LTE we wouldn’t have to worry about loss of wifi.