iPad iPad Air 3 vs iPad 8

[levander]

I’m currently looking at last years iPad Air 3 vs this year’s iPad 8 for my Mom.

Her current iPad Pro 9.7” (the very first iPad Pro I think) has 32 GB of disk, and she has had problems running out of space. Though she doesn’t manage it very well. She’s resistant to ideas like having old text messages auto-deleted.

I’m leaning towards the iPad Air 3.

i believe the base model iPad Air 3 comes with 64 GB disk. Versus only 32 GB for the iPad 8. So that would be good for Mom.

Doesn’t the iPad Air 3 have a 10.5“ screen vs the iPad 8’s 10.2” screen? Mom doesn’t complain about the 9.7” screen on her iPad now. But she is in her early 70‘s, goes to an eye doctor regularly for a condition they have under control, and wears reading glasses. So I figure, the bigger the better even if 9.7” doesn’t bother her.

I’m thinking no iPad Air 4 because it has a USB-C charging port. And she’s already got lightning cables in like 5 different places (2 of them are in a small vacation condo near the town she grew up in, 1 in the car). And I’m thinking transition her to USB-C slowly with fast-charge Lightning first. Like when she needs a new charger somewhere, I’ll get her one with USB-C ports and USB-C/lightning cables. But she can still use her old chargers till we upgrade. And we’ll know more about Apple’s long term charging cable planning with this wireless stuff going on before the next time she upgrades her Apple stuff.

I know the iPad Air 3 supports fast charging over lightning because I’ve got one. Does the iPad 8 support the same?

That’s what I’m thinking. Stuff I’ve got wrong or other ideas appreciated.

 

[rui no onna]

I know the iPad Air 3 supports fast charging over lightning because I’ve got one. Does the iPad 8 support the same?

Air 3 will pull up to ~30W via USB-C.

I remember reading a post here saying iPad 8 testing shows it will only pull ~15W max via USB C (same as iPad 7).

 

[AutomaticApple]

I’m currently looking at last years iPad Air 3 vs this year’s iPad 8 for my Mom.

Ner current iPad Pro 9.7” (the very first iPad Pro I think) has 32 GB of disk, and she has had problems running out of space. Though she doesn’t manage it very well. She’s distant to ideas like having old text messages auto-deleted.

I’m leaning towards the iPad Air 3.

i believe the base model iPad Air 3 comes with 64 GB disk. Versus only 32 GB for the iPad 8. So that would be good for Mom.

Doesn’t the iPad Air 3 have a 10.5“ screen vs the iPad 8’s 10.2” screen? Mom doesn’t complain about the 9.7” screen on her iPad now. But she is in her early 70‘s, goes to an eye doctor regularly for a condition they have under control, and wears reading glasses. So I figure, the bigger the better even if 9.7” doesn’t bother her.

I’m thinking no iPad Air 4 because it has a USB-C charging port. And she’s already got lightning cables in like 5 different places (2 of them are in a small vacation condo near the town she grew up in, 1 in the car). And I’m thinking transition her to USB-C slowly with fast-charge Lightning first. Like when she needs a new charger somewhere, I’ll get her one with USB-C ports and USB-C/lightning cables. But she can still use her old chargers till we upgrade. And we’ll know more about Apple’s long term charging cable planning with this wireless stuff going on before the next time she upgrades her Apple stuff.

I know the iPad Air 3 supports fast charging over lightning because I’ve got one. Does the iPad 8 support the same?

That’s what I’m thinking. Stuff I’ve got wrong or other ideas appreciated.

Go with your gut and get the iPad Air 3 for the reasons you've already mentioned.

 

[levander]

Go with your gut and get the iPad Air 3 for the reasons you've already mentioned.

Thanks Automatic.

But part of what I’m wondering is if I have all the tech specs right in my post. Wouldn’t surprise me at all if I’ve got some of them wrong.

 

[rui no onna]

But part of what I’m wondering is if I have all the tech specs right in my post. Wouldn’t surprise me at all if I’ve got some of them wrong.

You’ve mentioned your mom’s having trouble with 32GB. Is offloading to iCloud feasible for her usage? I set that up for both my mom and aunt since they only had 32GB on their iPhones before and it worked wonderfully for them (photos being their largest space hog).

If storage is still iffy due to iCloud, then by all means get her something with more storage. I remember dealing with 16GB on the OG iPad Air back in 2015 and having to constantly delete stuff was extremely frustrating.

 

[levander]

You’ve mentioned your mom’s having trouble with 32GB. Is offloading to iCloud feasible for her usage? I set that up for both my mom and aunt since they only had 32GB on their iPhones before and it worked wonderfully for them (photos being their largest space hog).

If storage is still iffy due to iCloud, then by all means get her something with more storage. I remember dealing with 16GB on the OG iPad Air back in 2015 and having to constantly delete stuff was extremely frustrating.

Mom’s biggest space hog is she won’t delete old text messages. She’s got like 5 GB of old messages (including old photos and self-shot videos people have sent her) on her iPhone. I’m not sure how much she has on her iPad. And I talk to her about auto-deleting them and she half ignores me, half makes it hard to work with her, and half says she goes through the old ones occasionally.

I don’t think you can offload old Messages to iCloud.

 

[levander]

I still haven’t bought Mom a new iPad. So if anyone knows if I’m wrong about the specs of the iPads I’ve mentioned above, I’d love to hear it.

 

[rui no onna]

Mom’s biggest space hog is she won’t delete old text messages. She’s got like 5 GB of old messages (including old photos and self-shot videos people have sent her) on her iPhone. I’m not sure how much she has on her iPad. And I talk to her about auto-deleting them and she half ignores me, half makes it hard to work with her, and half says she goes through the old ones occasionally.

I don’t think you can offload old Messages to iCloud.

Honestly, I still have text messages from 2007 from when I bought my first iPhone. For a long time, restoring old messages is one of the reasons I wouldn't setup my devices as new.

I think if you enable Messages syncing in iCloud, it will be possible to offload those similar to iCloud Photos when the device is running low on space. Messages app on my iPad only shows 142MB used while on iCloud storage, it uses 1.3GB.

 

[QCassidy352]

The two devices are very similar, but the Air wins in a number of small ways, in particular, the display: Air has a display that is .3” bigger, laminated, P3 wide color gamut, and True Tone. Air is very slightly thinner and lighter than the iPad 8. Air has Bluetooth 5 vs 4.2 on the iPad 8. Air has a 7 MP front camera vs 1.2 on the iPad 8. And as you’ve mentioned, Air is available in 64/256 as opposed to 32/128 on the iPad 8.

Bottom line is that athough they will be very similar in day to day use, there is really no *advantage* to the iPad 8. In every area where there are differences, the Air wins. Get the Air, unless there’s a big price difference or you can’t find an Air given that it’s discontinued now.

 

[Amenard]

Price was a factor for me so I went with the Ipad (not air) 32Gb. I've been rocking an Ipad 3 since they were released. I mostly use it for Youtube and to access my Plex server in bed and to test the apps I'm currently working on. I never store anything locally so the 32Gb is adequate for me. The Air is about $200 more around here.

 

[QCassidy352]

Price was a factor for me so I went with the Ipad (not air) 32Gb. I've been rocking an Ipad 3 since they were released. I mostly use it for Youtube and to access my Plex server in bed and to test the apps I'm currently working on. I never store anything locally so the 32Gb is adequate for me. The Air is about $200 more around here.

$200 more! Yeah, it's a little better but not $200 better.