Apple iPad 4thGen vs iPad Air

Status
Not open for further replies.
B

bmwphysics

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
1,906
Hey there, I am in the market for an iPad for my girlfriend, she will be mainly using it for reading, emails, web browsing and watching Netflix around the house etc.

I have been comparing these two and was looking for someone with hands on experience with the Air concerning performance and battery life. Also have heard some people say it's "flimsy" and feels cheap and too light.compared to the earlier models.
I can save a good 130$ getting the 4th gen, but is the Air THAT much more improved that it's worth the extra cash for the newer model?

Also, both have retina displays if that makes a difference, my first tablet purchase of any kind.


TLDR: Which would you get?
 
I bought the iPAD Air as a gift. Not worth the money. Get her a Nexus 7 2nd gen. You can find the 16GB and 32 GB versions for around $179 to $230.
 
metril said:
I bought the iPAD Air as a gift. Not worth the money. Get her a Nexus 7 2nd gen. You can find the 16GB and 32 GB versions for around $179 to $230.
Click to expand...

But is it user friendly? She is very non techie, she loves her iphone because it just works and easy to navigate, not to mention no constantly crashing apps like her Droids have in the past.

I had all sorts of trouble with my droid phones before switching to the 5s as well.

Hence my reasoning for sticking with Apple, im assuming those run on some form of android?

Also I'm assuming it can't run itunes where we have all our music movies etc. not looking forward to try and migrate all that stuff to a new OS environment.
 
You don't need to migrate to a new environment. There are quite a few free and low cost programs that can help you sync iTunes with Android. The Power Amp program on Android costs $3.00 and can play all of Apple's music formats.

Android can be as user unfriendly or friendly as you want it to be. If you're a tinkerer, you can tinker on Android. If you're a lax user, you can be as lazy as you want on Android.
 
metril said:
You don't need to migrate to a new environment. There are quite a few free and low cost programs that can help you sync iTunes with Android. The Power Amp program on Android costs $3.00 and can play all of Apple's music formats.

Android can be as user unfriendly or friendly as you want it to be. If you're a tinkerer, you can tinker on Android. If you're a lax user, you can be as lazy as you want on Android.
Click to expand...

Cool, I will check out that app, appreciate the info.

Still open to hear from others who have used the Air and can advise, thank you.
 
The iPad Air is very thin and light. To me the iPad4>Air comparison is like iPhone 4s>5. The build feels cheap only because it's SO much lighter. But there is no doubt the iPhone5 is well made.
 
SuperSubZero said:
The iPad Air is very thin and light. To me the iPad4>Air comparison is like iPhone 4s>5. The build feels cheap only because it's SO much lighter. But there is no doubt the iPhone5 is well made.
Click to expand...

Ok nice, so you think it's worth it for the extra cost to get the newer version? Considering I nor she has ever owned a tablet of any sort.
 
The iPad Air is very similar in build to the iPad Mini, just with a larger screen. It definitely feels a bit cheaper in comparison, but still is a quality piece.

I would not switch her to Android if she is used to iPhone. Stupid move and just going to create struggles. In non-techies, keep them with the platform they are use to.
 
Grentz said:
The iPad Air is very similar in build to the iPad Mini, just with a larger screen. It definitely feels a bit cheaper in comparison, but still is a quality piece.

I would not switch her to Android if she is used to iPhone. Stupid move and just going to create struggles. In non-techies, keep them with the platform they are use to.
Click to expand...

This makes a lot of sense, going to go with the iPad air.

Thanks everyone for the help!
 
I would also get the AppleCare warranty, gives you two years of warranty service and 2 accidental breakages at $50 per incident.
I had my internal speaker fail after 16 months and they replaced the iPad the next day at the apple store.
My brother spilled my coffee all over my 21 month old iPhone 4S and was able to get a replacement later that day for $50. So the AppleCare warranty came in handy two times for me.
The claims for the phones went up to $79/ incident from $49, which is a bummer, but the iPad is still $49.
 
The new screens are thinner and have a softer feel. People are confusing this with "hollow and cheap". The Air/mini are neither.
 
Id go with an iPad 4.... save the money, for her uses it will be great. But dont swap to an android tablet if she has an iPhone already (thats the reason im swapping my iPad for an nexus 7, using two ecosystems gets to be a PITA).

The Air is a nice tablet, my sister just got one, but honestly I dont see it as worth it (price wise) over my iPad 4.
 
setup the new air for my boss the other day, its like mentioned above, iPhone 4vs5

its so much lighter it "feels" cheaper but seemed just fine, very nice to use and much more comfortable to hold than the 4

myself, id buy a mini retina, but I sold my mbair and ipad4 and got a new i7 mbpro, didn't find I used the ipad nearly as much as I thought I would, iPhone does everything the ipad did just the screen size of course
 
I picked up the IPad Air 128GB LTE version and it's a huge improvement over my iPad 3, both in feel and in weight. Way lighter. While I do like the Air, I ordered an iPad mini w/Retina 128GB LTE to try and will see how it compares. I'll probably pass the iPad 3 onto a family member and the iPad I prefer will be the one I keep. I may just keep them both, with the Air for home use and the mini for portability, but I'll see what happens...;)

What drove me to the iPad was initially the Retina Screen, but the availability of 128GB of storage has kept me on an iPad...I'd use a larger version if it were available. All the Nexus/Galaxy tablet are offering is 16/32GB, which is totally ridiculous today, especially for HD devices. MicroSD is still slow and I've had two MicroSD cards die on me for no apparent reason. The only other comparable device for storage is the Surface 2 Pro, which has significant drawbacks of its own. I only really wish Apple would put 2GB of RAM on the iPad...it needs it badly...
 
iPad Air is pointless now that the new Mini is out. It's a joy to use in landscape mode.
 
FWIW the iPad Mini Retina has a smaller color gamut than the iPad Air and 4. The Mini Retina has a similar gamut as the original Mini and iPad 2. For those of us who do art on iPads or use the iPad for displaying art or pictures the mini isn't ideal.
 
I have an iPad 3, tried out the Air, and while its a nice upgrade I doubt I'll notice the difference besides the weight. But iOS 7 is so laggy its like they almost force customers to upgrade to the faster cpu.
 
|Tch0rT| said:
FWIW the iPad Mini Retina has a smaller color gamut than the iPad Air and 4. The Mini Retina has a similar gamut as the original Mini and iPad 2. For those of us who do art on iPads or use the iPad for displaying art or pictures the mini isn't ideal.
Click to expand...

Did not know that.
 
If your buying this for the GF it frankly depends on her eh? Since it seems she prefer the iOS environment, either one would be excellent.

Points of Note:
-Its very light. If you consider lightness a characteristic trait of a crappy gadget then the Air will certainly be the wrong choice. However if you appreciate that lightness then Air will rule king.
-Its gonna be better supported in the long run.
-A lot of retailers such as Target are running some great giftcard promotions currently so the diff in price is almost negligible.
-Battery life is better then the iPad 4
-If your GF is an active user of Cloud, no better way than an ipad to complement her existing data.

Gluck
 
Thanks everyone for all the great advice, I went with the Air and it just arrived this morning.

Unboxing and setting it up now, but it def. does not feel "cheap" like some have said before.

Very fast on the IOS 7 and connects to my WiFi super fast as well.

Never used the other iPads but I think she will be happy with this one.

Take care
 
I would get the Air if I could get my hands on that Target deal on Black Friday, but chances are very slim.
 
The daughters and wife really like their minis. For a small person or a purse, I'd go mini over the air.
 
I would get the Air because it's light and not as heavy. It's like buying a MB Air compared to a MBP
 
Yeah I have been happy with my Air, so much so I ordered one for my parents for xmas.

Hope they like it!
 
Grentz said:
I would not switch her to Android if she is used to iPhone. Stupid move and just going to create struggles. In non-techies, keep them with the platform they are use to.
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree. Someone in the mobile forum was asking "what tablet", and my question was "What phone".

Stay in the same ecosystem, then you can easily share apps/media between the devices seamlessly. No searching for "equivalent" apps and using workarounds to deal with mismatches. Pointless hassle even for tech literate folks.

As far as the original question. I wouldn't get anything but an A7 powered device at this time (iPad Air, Retina Mini). Saving a $100 is a one time thing, living with the slower/heavier device is every day of ownership.

Edit: oops, only read the first page. See you already have an Air. Enjoy...
 
Well, staying in the same ecosystem is nice. But not everyone has the extra $200-300.

Tablets and phones have very different use cases. If people can use a pc running Windows and a iPhone (which is vast majority of iPhone users) then they can also use a tablet running Android. In the end Android isn't some non-user friendly monster, its just going to be browser+email+video 99% of the time.
 
Well we both have Air's now and we are both loving them.

I think the people saying it felt cheap haven't actually held one, the lightness makes it feel better if anything.

I can hold this on the couch for hours without getting tired, i use it to catch up on walking dead when she has the living room TV. :p

Also it was totally worth it not leaving the Apple ecosystem since i hit one button and have access to everything from Apple
 
Anybody gone from a 4 to an Air? I've had my 4 since release day and I want to know how much snappier the Air feels over the 4 (NOT the 3). Just basic Safari browsing, opening/closing apps etc.
 
I tried the 4 with 6 and air with 7 and the change is miniscual. However to speculate I would assume (historical trend), a 4 with ios 7 would be less snappier then an air with ios 7.
 
I had an ipad 4 and now I have the nexus 7 2013. both are the same thing. the ipad air is just a pretty face nothing more.
 
AndreRio said:
I had an ipad 4 and now I have the nexus 7 2013. both are the same thing. the ipad air is just a pretty face nothing more.
Click to expand...

Disagree. Just bought the wife a Nexus7. It's no iPad. My iPad is so much more responsive to touch, the OS is so much smoother and the iPad just exudes quality over the Nexus. No comparison IMO. That said, SHE likes the Android OS better than IOS. I think she's nuts.
 
I just got a 16GB nexus 7 2013 version as well. Not sure why I even bought it. Never use tablets except every once a while. My macbook is light enough where I just use it in place of tablets, although it's no touchscreen.
 
AndreRio said:
I had an ipad 4 and now I have the nexus 7 2013. both are the same thing. the ipad air is just a pretty face nothing more.
Click to expand...

Yeeah except i dont feel like repurchasing my entire itunes DRM musiclibrabry and dvd/show librabry to switch to a diff ecosystem.

Not to mention ever android based product I have ever use has massive crash/bug issues and is incredibly anti user intuitive, aka shit just works without having to have a tech degree to maintain it.

plyer3 said:
I just got a 16GB nexus 7 2013 version as well. Not sure why I even bought it. Never use tablets except every once a while. My macbook is light enough where I just use it in place of tablets, although it's no touchscreen.
Click to expand...

Yeah tablets aren't for everyone since some people have no use for them in their environment. I however cannot lug around my Alienware M18x very easy just to watch some Netflix or a new movie so it has it's use on portability. If I had a much smaller laptop maybe i would find no use for the ipad series, but as with every Apple product I have owned it has been a great experience, and the applecare+ is great so i dont have to worry about dropping it or things going wrong. I just take it in and get it fixed or a brand new one.

Call me an Apple fanboi if you must, but I can;t stand android products, to slow glitchy and not very user friendly. So much work involved in simple tasks not to mention all the crashing of apps and programs. Which has only happened once between our Ipads and our iphones. There is a reason those tablets are $99, you get what you pay more in other words. You want cheap tablets and phones you will get cheap performance and compatibility. Also I like how the Appple app store isn't riddled with useless un screened apps that have viruses around every corner or drain your battery constantly.

Sorry for the mis-spelings and grammar I am on low sleep and addicted to the hardforums., sending this on my ipad air while i try to fall asleep hehe :p
 
My wife and I have an ipad4 and an ipad Air. To be honest I don't see much speed difference between the two, both are running ios7. The difference is pretty much the size and weight, and that difference is pretty big IMO. Both work extremely well in whatever we are doing on them.

My wife also recently bought a Kindle Fire HDX 7". I have to say we are both shocked at how well it performs. It is easily as fast as the Air, with as nice of a screen and sound. My wife doesn't mind but I HATE that you can't access the Google Play Store on it.

I really would like to buy either the retina ipad Mini, or preferably the LG G Pad 8.3 since I really think an 8"ish tablet might just be the perfect size all around, but there is no way the wife will allow another tablet purchase this year and she is probably right about that I have to admit.
 
I not trying to make anyone mad but I really think that the nexus is a truly winner.
 
*duck for cover :)

@leh I think most don`t recognize the difference right away, but once you get closer to iOS 8 the difference is very very apparent. Crashing, freezing apps etc. But at least this time around, iOS allows users to stay put at 6 or even 7 and have access to your old apps. My iOS 5 experience was that if a new iOS version is released, some apps are updated, and you can`t reinstall the older version of the app or you don`t have access to any apps in the store worthwhile.
 
Never had a single crash or freeze or bug that wasn;t related to some third party crap app on my iphones or my ipad airs.

Can;t say the same for my droid and droid 2 global that i used to use before i jumped ship to Apple.

Constant crashing,slow,buggy just generally lagging really frustrating equipment to use, cant say the same for the apple...like most people say, it just works. AND FAST.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top