The New iPads: Apple Goes All In

Apple.com

Apple just held their annual iPad event last October 22 (23 in the Philippines) and a lot of products have been announced. One of the most interesting ones though are the new iPads. The 4th generation iPad was just a minor incremental update from the 3rd generation because all it added was the A6X processor and the Lightning connector. The iPad mini was a new product in a category that was started by Amazon due to their Kindle Fire tablets and became a success. The main problem was it had a lower resolution screen than its competition at the time (the Kindle Fire HD had a 1280x800 resolution display while the 1st iPad mini only had a 1024x768 resolution display). In their event though, they remvoed those flaws with a bang.

iPad Air

The 9.7-inch iPad started this whole "modern tablet" revolution where you can touch the internet in your hands. After the iPad 2 came out, this tablet never really had a nice thing going for it in terms of design. Sure the 3rd gen iPad added the Retina display, but the weight and thickness had to be sacrificed for that. This year, Apple made the biggest design change since then.

I was surprised at first as to why they named it the iPad Air. Essentially, Apple implemented the iPad mini design to the full-sized iPad. The result is a tablet that's 7.5 mm thin and weighs only 1 pound. You may love them or hate them, but you cannot deny the fact that when it comes to hardware design, Apple's at the top. Despite the tablet losing weight, it gained a lot of power. It has the new A7 chip with 64-bit architecture introduced with the iPhone 5s. Although critics say that 64-bit doesn't really give any improvements until you have at least 4GB RAM, Apple claims that performance is twice as fast as the previous generation. It also has the M7 motion coprocessor which checks the motion sensors in the device without draining much power since it doesn't have to call on the A7 processor. It's also the first iOS device to support MIMO (Multiple In, Multiple Out) technology. This means that there are two antennas inside that give twice the data transfer rate than the previous generation. The iPad Air also has expanded LTE support which means you can use the iPad to its fullest potential in more places. With everything new that was mentioned, the iPad Air still manages to maintain the same 10-hour battery life.

iPad mini with Retina Display

Ever since the mini came out, it became the iPad that everyone wanted. The smaller 7.9-inch screen made it easier to hold in one hand, and yet it still offered the full iPad experience. My gripe with it though was that it had a low resolution screen and it had the A5 processor which is already 2 years old.

Now, they have the iPad mini that everyone wants. It now has the 2048x1536 resolution Retina display. Since the screen is smaller, the pixel density is 326 ppi (higher than the 7-inch Kindle Fire HDX and the new Nexus 7). It also has the same A7 chip found in the iPad Air. Like the 3rd gen iPad though, the tablet is a bit thicker (at 7.5 mm) and a bit heavier (at 0.73 lbs). It isn't really much compared to the huge benefits of a high-resolution display. Despite the display, it still has the same great 10-hour battery that the iPad is known to have.

My Thoughts

Honestly, I'm really confused as to what iPad to get. They both have the same processors. They both have Retina displays. The only difference now is the size and the price. I wasn't really surprised that the iPad mini with Retina display starts at $399 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model. Given all that they put in (A7 chip, Retina display, etc.), the $70 price hike is justifiable. Still, I'm in a bind now as to what I'll get. I love it that the iPad Air is 1 pound, but I love the portability of the mini. I'll figure that out soon. The reason why Apple's putting all the premium on the hardware is because they think that the free software (iWork and iLife are now free) and the robust ecosystem will make you think that the premium is worth it. Let's hope Apple's correct with that.