iPad Air IPad Air 4 vs iPad 8

[F23]

Air 4: 6 hours of light use gets me to 20% on max brightness. Kinda disappointing. Thought it would be closer to 8 or 9. I have the slightest backlight bleed. It's very subtle. Doesn't bother me.

 

[Zazoh]

Wife has the Air 4 and is getting 10 hours. Charges about every 3 days. She uses indoors and thus doesn't need max brightness. She has on Auto.

 

[F23]

Also the intel WiFi chip on the Air 4 is garbage. My Qualcomm WiFi chip iPhone 12 Pro gets 450 Mbps. Mac Mini gets 450 Mbps. Air 4 gets 270 Mbps max no matter what. Intel is so trash. My iPhone XS and 11 Pro had the same issue bc of the intel chip.

 

[rui no onna]

It was charged to 80% at 15:08 on Saturday and I estimate I used it for about 1hr 10 after that time on that day, 2hr 37 on Sunday which totals 3hrs 47 for 66% (was on 14% when I took the screenshot), so 227 mins for 66% which is circa 343 mins/5.75hrs for a full charge. When I bought my Ipad air 2 new I would get 10-12 hrs at the start. To me, that isn't good for a 3 week old ipad.
However, it is the inconsistency that I don't understand because if you compare that to Wednesday when I used it for 6hrs 40 for what looks like about 60% battery usage - that equates to circa 666 mins/11 hrs for 100% which is so, so different and I was basically using it in the same way (similar apps etc.).

From the chart you posted, it looks more like over 2 hours usage Saturday and almost 3 hours on Sunday. Also, in my experience, it usually takes forever to drain from 100% to 90% compared to, say, 50% to 40%.

Another factor, Air 2 max brightness is 400 nits, Air 4 max brightness is 500 nits so brightness levels aren't the same.

I find my Air 4 battery life to be OK, but not as good as my Air 3 (air 3 has a slightly larger battery). Maybe it could be Ipad OS 14 being the cause as there have been reports of battery drain issues with iphones, but then again the Air 4 was released with Ipad OS 14, so you would think the device is optimised for the ios version its released with.

That is disappointing. I was hoping 5nm would bring some improvement to battery life but I guess the energy savings mostly went to improving performance and making up for the smaller battery.

Air 4: 6 hours of light use gets me to 20% on max brightness. Kinda disappointing. Thought it would be closer to 8 or 9. I have the slightest backlight bleed. It's very subtle. Doesn't bother me.

The 10 hour battery life figure quoted by Apple on their website is for 50% brightness. The higher the brightness, the bigger the battery drain. I generally get more than the advertised battery life on my iPads, particularly non-X chipset ones but that's because I've got a light workload (mostly reading) and use fairly low brightness (0-25%).

 

[F23]

From the chart you posted, it looks more like over 2 hours usage Saturday and almost 3 hours on Sunday. Also, in my experience, it usually takes forever to drain from 100% to 90% compared to, say, 50% to 40%.

Another factor, Air 2 max brightness is 400 nits, Air 4 max brightness is 500 nits so brightness levels aren't the same.




That is disappointing. I was hoping 5nm would bring some improvement to battery life but I guess the energy savings mostly went to improving performance and making up for the smaller battery.




The 10 hour battery life figure quoted by Apple on their website is for 50% brightness. The higher the brightness, the bigger the battery drain. I generally get more than the advertised battery life on my iPads, particularly non-X chipset ones but that's because I've got a light workload (mostly reading) and use fairly low brightness (0-25%).

I haven't used an iPad for years. I've gotten used to my OLED iPhones, the LCD screen for watching movies is such a big downgrade especially in dim/dark scenes. So I tend to increase the brightness to full on the iPad to get the most out of my content, but I know brightness on LCD is more draining than OLED (unless it's white pixels). So i guess I'll have to keep it around 70% brightness for a balance of battery and content enjoyment.

 

[1BadManVan]

Also the intel WiFi chip on the Air 4 is garbage. My Qualcomm WiFi chip iPhone 12 Pro gets 450 Mbps. Mac Mini gets 450 Mbps. Air 4 gets 270 Mbps max no matter what. Intel is so trash. My iPhone XS and 11 Pro had the same issue bc of the intel chip.

Why would these have an intel chip? It uses the same A14 as the 12’s. That’s disappointing to hear, though for the short time I had mine, it scored the same download speeds as my 12 pro max.

Still waiting on my replacement

 

[rui no onna]

Why would these have an intel chip? It uses the same A14 as the 12’s. That’s disappointing to hear, though for the short time I had mine, it scored the same download speeds as my 12 pro max.

For the radio (wifi/cellular) which is separate from the A14 SoC.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I haven’t had any WiFi issues with my Air so far. It doesn’t feel any slower than my iPhone 12. Overall it’s a brilliant tablet, I’m just a little disappointed with the battery so far as I assumed being a current model and bigger than my old iPad, it might have a more efficient battery. It may improve though as the updates come. The Air seems to get quite a bad reception on these forums which I’m shocked at. I can’t work out if it’s the consensus of people who only seem to like Pro devices like we see in the iPhone section, or whether it’s genuine criticism.

 

[F23]

Why would these have an intel chip? It uses the same A14 as the 12’s. That’s disappointing to hear, though for the short time I had mine, it scored the same download speeds as my 12 pro max.

Still waiting on my replacement

idk but on the iFixit tear down it revealed Intel chips. I guess iPhones got the priority for the Qualcomm ones

 

[rui no onna]

idk but on the iFixit tear down it revealed Intel chips. I guess iPhones got the priority for the Qualcomm ones

Probably more like Qualcomm is Apple's only option for 5G so they have no other choice.

 

[F23]

Probably more like Qualcomm is Apple's only option for 5G so they have no other choice.

true. apple needs to hurry up and start using their own modems. intel is a-s-s.

 

[snipr125]

I haven’t had any WiFi issues with my Air so far. It doesn’t feel any slower than my iPhone 12. Overall it’s a brilliant tablet, I’m just a little disappointed with the battery so far as I assumed being a current model and bigger than my old iPad, it might have a more efficient battery. It may improve though as the updates come. The Air seems to get quite a bad reception on these forums which I’m shocked at. I can’t work out if it’s the consensus of people who only seem to like Pro devices like we see in the iPhone section, or whether it’s genuine criticism.

A lot of the complaints are from some elitist iPad Pro 11 owners, who look down on the Air 4 as it does not have Pro-motion 120 mHz display or quad speakers. They also perhaps feel slightly threatened that the A14 goes toe to toe with the A12Z, and beats it in some areas. They should not feel this way though, the Air 4 was naturally going to be based on the Pro 11 design, it’s just the way Apple products evolve, just like the regular iphone 12’s now have some features of the Pro models. Anyway look at the reviews on you tube, tech websites etc, they all love the Air 4 and consider it the best all round iPad to buy right now.

 

[DefeatedSouls]

I’ve been using my iPad Air 4 about 3 months now And let me tell you this. I don’t need pro motion, I don’t need quad speakers, and I sure as hell don’t need the ridiculous price tag that comes with the pro. This A14 chip is powerful and does everything most users will need flawlessly. I suggest going the iPad Air 4 over the iPad 8.

 

[Sensamic]

That's disappointing to hear about the Intel WiFi chipset. Is that also available on the WiFi iPad Air 4 model?

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

A lot of the complaints are from some elitist iPad Pro 11 owners, who look down on the Air 4 as it does not have Pro-motion 120 mHz display or quad speakers. They also perhaps feel slightly threatened that the A14 goes toe to toe with the A12Z, and beats it in some areas. They should not feel this way though, the Air 4 was naturally going to be based on the Pro 11 design, it’s just the way Apple products evolve, just like the regular iphone 12’s now have some features of the Pro models. Anyway look at the reviews on you tube, tech websites etc, they all love the Air 4 and consider it the best all round iPad to buy right now.

Yeah I get a similar impression. It’s quite off putting contributing to iPhone and iPad threads where so many people seem to get off on rubbishing devices that haven’t exceeded a certain price tag. Do these people not realise how good the lower tier devices actually are and just how many people use them? The iPad Air is so far for me a really decent tablet and is snappy in use. The lack of promotion complaint is like a broken record and for those of us that have not used it, it’s really not missed nor does it affect the experience. The screen on the Air is great quality too.

 

[Adelphos33]

It's funny, I have an iPad 8th Gen, my fiancé has an iPad Air 4 (I also have a 12.9" iPad Pro 2018). I carry my 8th gen to work every day and use it for personal and work (particularly Webex and zoom calls). The iPad 8th Gen is super underrated IMO - the processor update from the 7th Gen was well worth it, and it is well priced with the 128G and cellular capability. Where it lacks is speakers (use AirPods I guess) and screen. But in terms of iPad functionality it is as useful as any iPad I have owned

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

It's funny, I have an iPad 8th Gen, my fiancé has an iPad Air 4 (I also have a 12.9" iPad Pro 2018). I carry my 8th gen to work every day and use it for personal and work (particularly Webex and zoom calls). The iPad 8th Gen is super underrated IMO - the processor update from the 7th Gen was well worth it, and it is well priced with the 128G and cellular capability. Where it lacks is speakers (use AirPods I guess) and screen. But in terms of iPad functionality it is as useful as any iPad I have owned

My wife has the 8th Gen and it’s a great tablet and very competitively priced. The only reason I didn’t go for it was purely based on aesthetics to be honest. I didn’t want another 4 years with the older looking form factor and liked the idea of TouchID in the power button. That doesn’t take away from the fact the 8th Gen is a very competent device.

 

[snipr125]

My wife has the 8th Gen and it’s a great tablet and very competitively priced. The only reason I didn’t go for it was purely based on aesthetics to be honest. I didn’t want another 4 years with the older looking form factor and liked the idea of TouchID in the power button. That doesn’t take away from the fact the 8th Gen is a very competent device.

Absolutely, the Ipad 8th Gen is basically a Ipad Air 3 without a laminated screen, for just £329, which is incredible value for money.

 

[rosegoldoli]

upgraded from a gold gen 6 ipad to the rose gold iPad air and i LOVE it. i haven't experienced any issues, not with the screen or battery or anything (and if there were an issue that's what Apple Care+ is for). I just want to be on the iPad Air 4's team here since it should not be discredited for being an incredible device

 

[F23]

ipad pro is a bad deal and waste of money. literally only actual benefit is 120 hz. nothing else is significant enough to justify $200+ price increase. not even face id. bc ipad is not like iphone where you need to lock unlock multiple times so the biometrics are not as important. ipad air 4 is the best value for the money. ipad pro is for those who need to sketch things with the pencil or want face id or the bigger screen.

 

[rui no onna]

ipad pro is a bad deal and waste of money. literally only actual benefit is 120 hz. nothing else is significant enough to justify $200+ price increase. not even face id. bc ipad is not like iphone where you need to lock unlock multiple times so the biometrics are not as important. ipad air 4 is the best value for the money. ipad pro is for those who need to sketch things with the pencil or want face id or the bigger screen.

Personally, ever since Apple added mouse support to the iPad, I've been using the iPad docked more often.

I'm still using home button/TouchID iPhones and iPads. I find FaceID more useful for the iPad than the iPhone. When I'm using the phone, I'm always holding it already so TouchID isn't much of a stretch. On a docked iPad ~2ft away, TouchID is a tad more annoying when needing to login on websites, financial apps, etc.

I'm looking forward to upgrading my 12.9 when the new model is released.

 

[1BadManVan]

And here I am still waiting on my replacement air 4... sigh