iPad Air iPad Air 5 is a joke

[joshwithachance]

Nobody should be realistically buying a 256GB iPad Air 5 for $749 when you can get a 128GB 11" Pro for only $50 more, and you can often find it on sale for the same $749... Had Apple made the base storage 128GB it'd actually be a pretty decent purchase at $599. I was hoping for a bit of a display upgrade because even though it's P3 I still feel like it's quite washed out and low quality.

 

[GuruZac]

I think it would have made way more sense to raise base price $50 to offer 128GB as a base and 256GB as the upgrade, put the A15 in it with 6GB of RAM from a product tier perspective. I think the Air is too expensive when compared to the 11” iPad Pro. I think the Air at $749 makes the base 11” iPad Pro look like a really good deal. For the extra $50 you get a much better and larger ProMOTION display, much better speakers, FaceID, Thunderbolt port, cameras/LiDAR.

 

[mlody]

for $10 more one can get 11" Pro refurb with 128 GB storage - Air at $599 is a joke, even with M1 in it.

 

[rui no onna]

I think it would have made way more sense to raise base price $50 to offer 128GB as a base and 256GB as the upgrade, put the A15 in it with 6GB of RAM from a product tier perspective. I imagine a lot of people who may have purchased the iPad Pro 11” will go for a less expensive Air now.

I expect majority of 2021 iPad Pro buyers already bought theirs last year. Later this year, we'll likely get a Mini-LED iPad Pro 11 (at $899) so that's another feature differentiating Air 5 and Pro 11.

 

[yitwail]

Nobody should be buying a 256GB iPad Air 5 for $749 when you can get a 128GB 11" Pro for only $50 more, and you can often find it on sale for the same $749... Had Apple made the base storage 128GB it'd actually be a pretty decent purchase at $599. I was hoping for a bit of a display upgrade because even though it's P3 I still feel like it's quite washed out and low quality.

Sure, and maybe they should throw in a free pencil while they're at it. Keeping the price unchanged while doubling the ram, improving the camera, and speeding up CPU, GPU, and usb is a joke, right? As to the 258gb, nobody should buy it, for sure, unless they actually might need more than 128gb.

 

[kc9hzn]

It’s not about spending $10 on a third-party app.

It’s not about the quality or complexity of calculator.
It’s simply about Apple not providing a basic function for a computer. It’s about usability and convenience. All the things an iPad is suppose to help you with. And yes, I need the use a calculator daily, but inconveniently have to reach for my iPhone instead.

Is it a pot shot against iOS, or is it a fair ask to simply drop in a basic calculator that has been absent from the iPad since day one?

I just don’t see a calculator as an essential daily app for me, and, if it were, I’d likely need an upgraded one anyway. PCalc, PocketCAS, or something like that. I don’t use the calculator on my phone (instead, I use PCalc), because it’s too basic for my needs.

Sure, it’s a computer, but I imagine very few people even realize their computer has a calculator (or that calculations are the derivation of the word “computer”). Would it be simpler and more convenient for Apple to include one? Well yeah, on some level, I suppose it would be. But, even as a programmer, I don’t need to use a calculator every day. I’d imagine most people using iPads for social media, reading, video, maybe even basic productivity don’t even miss having a calculator.

I dunno, it feels a little like complaining that the iPad doesn’t have an included BASIC interpreter. Yes, that was an essential piece of computer functionality as late as the late 80s (well, Macs dropped BASIC before that, but they still had HyperCard and AppleScript to support DIY consumer programming, with PCs retaining support for it up to the Windows era [well, to today, if you count VBA in Office]), but it is at best tangential to what most people use computers for today. Loading a new calculator app is just a one-time complexity, so it’s not that much more convenient or simpler to have one included. And while you could argue that crunching numbers is essential to how computers operate, so it’s silly the iPad doesn’t offer a calculator, I could easily turn that around and suggest that it’s silly the iPad (or the iPhone, for that matter) doesn’t have a way of running user written code out of the box (since that’s just as much a part of how computers operate as calculations are).

It just seems like unnecessary hyperbole to suggest that an iPad is incomplete without one, even as a matter of principle. Put another way, it strikes me as a silly hill to die on. Who knows, maybe holding this hill really truly is life or death for you, but I doubt many people would agree, and I’ve seen it get used as a bit of an anti-iPad meme on here.

 

[jsmith1]

Apple being Apple is nothing new, they knew putting 128gb option would pretty much make the Pro useless the rest of the year to buy so they went the greedy route per normal, you would think in the times we are in they would have some compassion for their loyal consumers but they dont. It will never change with them, I was surprised to see 8gb of ram but found out it was needed to use up the old M1 inventory to make it run.

 

[joshwithachance]

Sure, and maybe they should throw in a free pencil while they're at it. Keeping the price unchanged while doubling the ram, improving the camera, and speeding up CPU, GPU, and usb is a joke, right? As to the 258gb, nobody should buy it, for sure, unless they actually might need more than 128gb.

I just think it was tasteless to put an M1 (which makes the Air an ideal content creation, editing machine) in a device that only has 64GB of storage. You can disagree all you want.

 

[sparksd]

I just don’t see a calculator as an essential daily app for me, and, if it were, I’d likely need an upgraded one anyway. PCalc, PocketCAS, or something like that. I don’t use the calculator on my phone (instead, I use PCalc), because it’s too basic for my needs.

Sure, it’s a computer, but I imagine very few people even realize their computer has a calculator (or that calculations are the derivation of the word “computer”). Would it be simpler and more convenient for Apple to include one? Well yeah, on some level, I suppose it would be. But, even as a programmer, I don’t need to use a calculator every day. I’d imagine most people using iPads for social media, reading, video, maybe even basic productivity don’t even miss having a calculator.

I dunno, it feels a little like complaining that the iPad doesn’t have an included BASIC interpreter. Yes, that was an essential piece of computer functionality as late as the late 80s (well, Macs dropped BASIC before that, but they still had HyperCard and AppleScript to support DIY consumer programming, with PCs retaining support for it up to the Windows era [well, to today, if you count VBA in Office]), but it is at best tangential to what most people use computers for today. Loading a new calculator app is just a one-time complexity, so it’s not that much more convenient or simpler to have one included. And while you could argue that crunching numbers is essential to how computers operate, so it’s silly the iPad doesn’t offer a calculator, I could easily turn that around and suggest that it’s silly the iPad (or the iPhone, for that matter) doesn’t have a way of running user written code out of the box (since that’s just as much a part of how computers operate as calculations are).

It just seems like unnecessary hyperbole to suggest that an iPad is incomplete without one, even as a matter of principle. Put another way, it strikes me as a silly hill to die on. Who knows, maybe holding this hill really truly is life or death for you, but I doubt many people would agree, and I’ve seen it get used as a bit of an anti-iPad meme on here.

I have PCalc on my iPad Pro but never use it there - I prefer using it on my phone in a size more akin to a true physical calculator. (Does anyone buy a physical calculator anymore? I've had too many of them over years, since the day they replaced my slide rule as an engineer.)

 

[kc9hzn]

I have PCalc on my iPad Pro but never use it there - I prefer using it on my phone in a size more akin to a true physical calculator. (Does anyone buy a physical calculator anymore? I've had too many of them over years, since the day they replaced my slide rule as an engineer.)

I mean, I’d kinda like to own an HP-15C or some other hardware RPN calculator, but I don’t NEED one, sure. I could also see using a calculator in social contexts where phone use is discouraged (standardized testing in school, for instance, or certain licensing exams), and buying and using that calculator ahead of time so you’re comfortable with its use.

 

[sparksd]

I mean, I’d kinda like to own an HP-15C or some other hardware RPN calculator, but I don’t NEED one, sure. I could also see using a calculator in social contexts where phone use is discouraged (standardized testing in school, for instance, or certain licensing exams), and buying and using that calculator ahead of time so you’re comfortable with its use.

"phone use is discouraged" - when I was in college, electronic calculators were just coming on the market but we were not allowed to use them because their high cost made them prohibitive except to very well-off students. Really had to practice to be proficient and comfortable with a slide rule.

 

[yitwail]

I mean, I’d kinda like to own an HP-15C or some other hardware RPN calculator, but I don’t NEED one, sure. I could also see using a calculator in social contexts where phone use is discouraged (standardized testing in school, for instance, or certain licensing exams), and buying and using that calculator ahead of time so you’re comfortable with its use.

I have Retro 15C app in my iPhone, and it pretty much replicates the HP RPN calc I used to own. The only shortcoming is, it doesn't retain anything you store to memory once you close the app. ?‍♂️

 

[satchmo]

I just don’t see a calculator as an essential daily app for me, and, if it were, I’d likely need an upgraded one anyway. PCalc, PocketCAS, or something like that. I don’t use the calculator on my phone (instead, I use PCalc), because it’s too basic for my needs.

Sure, it’s a computer, but I imagine very few people even realize their computer has a calculator (or that calculations are the derivation of the word “computer”). Would it be simpler and more convenient for Apple to include one? Well yeah, on some level, I suppose it would be. But, even as a programmer, I don’t need to use a calculator every day. I’d imagine most people using iPads for social media, reading, video, maybe even basic productivity don’t even miss having a calculator.

I dunno, it feels a little like complaining that the iPad doesn’t have an included BASIC interpreter. Yes, that was an essential piece of computer functionality as late as the late 80s (well, Macs dropped BASIC before that, but they still had HyperCard and AppleScript to support DIY consumer programming, with PCs retaining support for it up to the Windows era [well, to today, if you count VBA in Office]), but it is at best tangential to what most people use computers for today. Loading a new calculator app is just a one-time complexity, so it’s not that much more convenient or simpler to have one included. And while you could argue that crunching numbers is essential to how computers operate, so it’s silly the iPad doesn’t offer a calculator, I could easily turn that around and suggest that it’s silly the iPad (or the iPhone, for that matter) doesn’t have a way of running user written code out of the box (since that’s just as much a part of how computers operate as calculations are).

It just seems like unnecessary hyperbole to suggest that an iPad is incomplete without one, even as a matter of principle. Put another way, it strikes me as a silly hill to die on. Who knows, maybe holding this hill really truly is life or death for you, but I doubt many people would agree, and I’ve seen it get used as a bit of an anti-iPad meme on here.

You're looking at it from your use case scenario (in some respect, so am I). But I'm really looking at it from the perspective of what a computer should have. Basic core functions...like a calendar, and email. I mean even the original Apple II to a bloody Casio watch from the 80's had a calculator.

I really love my iPad Air 4. I use it for both productivity and as a consumption device. If I was truly anti-iPad, I would have stopped buying one after the iPad 2. But I've endured through multiple generations of iPads. I find it embarrassing that Apple hasn't addressed this even after Federeghi was called out during an interview with Gruber. I mean how hard is it to include one given it's already on iOS?

 

[DFZD]

Totally disagree. As a Mini 6 owner, I do not feel screwed in the least - I bought it for the size, an important characteristic you left out of your comparison.

Good for you. iPad Air now has 61% more power so technically the Mini is 2 generation old at least in terms of raw power and has half the RAM. And if that wasn't enough, Apple underclocked the A15 chip on Mini for some reason.

Do you know what it all means? Yes it means the Mini will get atleast 3 years of updates less.

 

[sparksd]

Good for you. iPad Air now has 61% more power so technically the Mini is 2 generation old at least in terms of raw power and has half the RAM. And if that wasn't enough, Apple underclocked the A15 chip on Mini for some reason.

Do you know what it all means? Yes it means the Mini will get atleast 3 years of updates less.

View attachment 1970539

Super. Doesn't matter to me for what I use it for. I'm perfectly happy with it and the Air's specs are totally irrelevant to me.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

At least those of us with the Air 4 have no reason to upgrade and that’s got to be a positive lol.

 

[BeefCake 15]

I picked up a 9th gen basic iPad for about $300 chapter than the iPad Air, it's got a fast processor, a better screen than expected, I use it for comics and media and web browsing and does those things every bit as well as the iPad Air. In fact if I wanted to edit video on it it could do that pretty well. I can't see the cost benefit of the new iPad. For its price it needed more

Agree big time. Wondering when the 10th gen will be announced as I'm in the market for one but no big rush.

 

[DFZD]

Super. Doesn't matter to me for what I use it for. I'm perfectly happy with it and the Air's specs are totally irrelevant to me.

As I said good for you. But Apple made it really complicated for a lot of new buyers. M1 with 8gb on iPad Air is a real odd ball. A lot of Mini consumers buy it because its amazing for gaming, due to its perfect ergonomics. Now it feels like a really underpowered device for that price point.

 

[sparksd]

As I said good for you. But Apple made it really complicated for a lot of new buyers. M1 with 8gb on iPad Air is a real odd ball. A lot of Mini consumers buy it because its amazing for gaming, due to its perfect ergonomics. Now it feels like a really underpowered device for that price point.

I'm using it, it doesn't feel the least underpowered, and I bought it for the screen size - which I think is the primary reason people buy the Mini.

 

[DFZD]

I'm using it, it doesn't feel the least underpowered, and I bought it for the screen size - which I think is the primary reason people buy the Mini.

You should try Apple Arcade games. They are quite detailed. Make my iPad Pro heat up as well. Oceanhorn 2 or Samurai Jack.

 

[sparksd]

You should try Apple Arcade games. They are quite detailed. Make my iPad Pro heat up as well. Oceanhorn 2 or Samurai Jack.

I don't subscribe to Apple Arcade.

 

[satchmo]

I think it would have made way more sense to raise base price $50 to offer 128GB as a base and 256GB as the upgrade, put the A15 in it with 6GB of RAM from a product tier perspective. I think the Air is too expensive when compared to the 11” iPad Pro. I think the Air at $749 makes the base 11” iPad Pro look like a really good deal. For the extra $50 you get a much better and larger ProMOTION display, much better speakers, FaceID, Thunderbolt port, cameras/LiDAR.

Funny, this is practically the exact discussion/scenario when iPad Air 4 was launched with the A14 chip surpassing the 11" iPad Pro w/A12x chip at the time.

This overlapping strategy must have worked out well for Apple, given they've decided to do this again.

 

[*~Kim~*]

I am starting to think that it would be the better buy as a gift, to a user that is currently using a 16GB iPad. Not once have they complained about the storage, but instead about unavailable apps, videos not displaying etc. M1 and 8GB seem much more futureproof for a device that will be kept for a long time, while the storage is still a 4x increase to them. I agree that the Pro is a better deal for 256GB, though the price being lower than expected does take the sting out of the storage upgrade if one wants a starlight, blue, pink or purple model.

For me it doesn’t make sense to trade my Mini 6 for an Air 5 as annoyed as I am, as I would lose far more on the upgrade than I did moving from Mini 5 to 6. As I want to keep a Mini with cellular it’s better for me to keep what I have and then buy a WiFi Air 6 or 7 when the time comes, by which time I might want and they might offer 128GB base (after the Pro has been moved to start at 256, of course.) 2013 and 2019 really were the times to be a Mini fan, as the Mini was on par with the Air.

I was thinking of an Air 4 refurb for my relative, but am now thinking that the Air 5 will be a better buy as the price went down and not up as I expected for those specs. Unless the refurb is say around the £400 mark and I can’t see Apple doing that with the Air 3 still listed for £409.

 

[shakopeemn]

This is a 1.5 year update, people.
My 8th gen budget iPad is fast enough. Hell, my mom’s 5th gen is plenty fast.
64GB base storage? Stupid. 256GB for $150 more? Complete money grab.
This thing offers nothing worthwhile. Center Stage? It’s a gimmick.
I watched the presentation. As each minute passed, I thought there was something special coming. Nope.
For those who are going to buy this, you’re getting screwed.

My advice is don't buy the new ipad air, it will only upset you.

 

[rui no onna]

Good for you. iPad Air now has 61% more power so technically the Mini is 2 generation old at least in terms of raw power and has half the RAM. And if that wasn't enough, Apple underclocked the A15 chip on Mini for some reason.

Do you know what it all means? Yes it means the Mini will get atleast 3 years of updates less.

View attachment 1970539

Typical real world usage, the single core chart matters more and there's less than 10% difference there. M1 vs A14/15 performance difference would likely only be noticeable in gaming, video editing, etc.

Also, Apple likely couldn't put M1 on the iPad mini due to thermal considerations. Heck, the Air 2 (A8X/2GB) and mini 4 (A8/2GB) were both selling at exactly the same price of $399 back in 2015 and the CPU gap then is similar to A14/A15 vs M1. Granted, would've been nice if the iPad mini 6 got full fat A15/6GB similar to the iPhone 13 Pros.