Comparison of ipad and air. What's the difference between iPad and iPad Pro? Battery and battery life

Thinnest and lightest full-format tablet

Global iPad Air sales kicked off on November 1. Apple's new generation of full-size tablets was unveiled on October 22 (we told you about this event), and this announcement turned out to be sensational in a sense: no one imagined that Apple would rename its tablet, adding the word Air to the name (previously used only in the line of ultra-thin laptops ). The manufacturer explained this by the significantly reduced mass and thickness of the device. And today we have the opportunity to check how revolutionary the changes turned out to be, not only in form, but also in essence (we thank the online store for providing it for testing).

Since all general information about the new product have already been given in the report from the presentation of Apple, we will not repeat. Let's just note that the previous major iPad design update was two and a half years ago, when the iPad 2 was released. The iPad of the third and fourth generations had no major design differences from the iPad 2. Therefore, the current update is doubly important. Here is a list of iPad Air specifications.

• Apple A7 SoC 1.4 GHz 64 bits (2 cores, Cyclone architecture based on ARMv8)
• GPU PowerVR G6430
• Apple M7 motion coprocessor including accelerometer, gyroscope and compass
• RAM 1 GB
• Flash memory from 16 to 128 GB
• No memory card support
• Operating system iOS 7.0
• Touch display IPS, 9.7 ″, 2048 × 1536 (264 ppi), capacitive, multitouch
• Cameras: front (1.2 Mp, 720p video over FaceTime) and rear (5 Mp, 1080p video)
• Wi-Fi 802.11b / g / n (2.4 and 5 GHz; MIMO support)
• Cellular (optional): UMTS / HSPA / HSPA + / DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM / EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), LTE Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26
• Bluetooth 4.0
• 3.5mm stereo headset jack, Lightning dock
• Li-polymer battery 32.4 Wh
• A-GPS (version with cellular module)
• Dimensions 240 × 170 × 7.5 mm
• Weight 480 g (our measurement of the version with the honeycomb module)

It is necessary to make a separate explanation about the LTE bands. As we know, the Russian LTE bands were not supported by hardware in the iPad of previous generations. Now hardware support has appeared: in the specifications above you can find Bands 7 and 20 used by Russian operators. However, this does not mean that the iPad Air will work in LTE from the very first day of purchase. The fact is that Apple has not yet certified Russian LTE networks for its devices. As soon as this happens, devices with hardware support for the corresponding bands will most likely receive a software update, installing which, it will be possible to connect to the LTE network. However, there is still some possibility that Apple does not certify Russian LTE networks - for example, due to their insufficient coverage. Therefore, if you are interested in the ability to use LTE, and not 3G, then buying an iPad Air is a risk, and, perhaps, you should look at other tablets that definitely have support for Russian LTE networks and already work. A little later, it was confirmed that the iPad Air works without problems in Russian LTE networks, so there are no risks in this part.

Let's compare the iPad Air against the competition, as well as the fourth generation iPad.

* according to manufacturer's information
** for the version with 32 GB flash memory and 3G / 4G-module, if available

As you can see, in many respects, the iPad Air is inferior to top-end Android devices. However, since Apple devices exist in their own closed software ecosystem, make any conclusions from what Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 three gigabytes random access memory, but the iPad Air has only one, you can't. But weight and thickness are undeniable and objective indicators, and they are definitely on the side of Apple. Basically, we can already say that iPad Air is the thinnest and lightest full-format tablet. But let's see how this affects the feel of use.

Packaging and equipment

The packaging of the iPad Air is almost identical to the packaging of the previous generation tablet.

As for the package bundle, everything here is also similar to the iPad 4: leaflets, charger (12 W, 2.4 A, 5.2 V), Lightning cable, stickers and key to eject the SIM cradle.

Design

But if the package bundle has not changed, then the tablet itself looks significantly different. Most importantly, it has become thinner, lighter and more compact. These are not just numbers on scales and a ruler - these are sensations that you cannot miss if you have used an iPad before.

Firstly, the tablet has become more elongated: this happened due to a strong reduction in the side frames (to the right and left of the screen). In the photo below, this is clearly visible in comparison with the previous generation iPad.

And here's another eloquent photo: the iPad Air rests on its predecessor.

The photograph of this couple from a different angle is no less indicative.

Here we can already appreciate not only the reduced edges around the screen, but also the thickness of the iPad Air. True, if in the previous three generations of iPad the edges narrowed almost to the state of "cutting bread with a tablet", then the iPad Air does not have such a narrowing, so a cursory glance at the edges seems that there is almost no difference or it is not even in favor of the new product. But actually it is not.

In general, the iPad Air borrows the design from the iPad mini: it feels like they took the same body and simply increased the length and width. They even have almost identical thickness: iPad mini is three-tenths of a millimeter thinner. But the second iPad mini (announced October 22 along with the iPad Air) is exactly the same thickness as the iPad Air. But if the thickness of the iPad mini is not surprising, then in the case of the full-size iPad it really makes an impression.

As for the placement of connectors and buttons, everything here is identical to the iPad mini - even the buttons are the same (metal, not plastic, like the iPad 4) and pressed with the same easy effort... In addition to the Home button on the front side, there are two volume buttons and a lever that by default locks the screen orientation change, located on the right side. On tablets with a cellular module, on the same edge, we see a slot for a Nano-SIM format SIM card.

The left side is completely free of buttons and connectors. On the bottom edge is the Lightning connector and on the sides of it - speakers.

On the top, we see the Power button, a 3.5 mm jack for connecting a stereo headset, and a microphone hole. On tablets with a honeycomb module, most of the upper edge is covered with a plastic insert (moreover, on light tablets it is white, not dark, as is the case with iPad 4). Honestly she spoils appearance devices. But, apparently, it is impossible to provide reliable 3G / LTE reception in an all-metal case.

In general, the design of the iPad Air is, of course, its main advantage, distinguishing the device from all competitors. When you hold this almost weightless (compared to previous iPads) and thin glass-metal tablet, you experience almost the same feeling as the first iPad when it first appeared. Perhaps this feeling will gradually dull, but at first you cannot get enough of it: how great is it to read magazines, surf the Internet, play on such a tablet ...

At the same time, I'm glad that Apple was able to achieve such outstanding performance, using non-plastic, like Samsung in Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition, but metal (except for the plastic insert on tablets with a cellular module). Summing up, we can say that at the moment, the iPad Air simply has no design competition among full-size tablets.

Screen and software

Like the iPad 3 and iPad 4, the iPad Air features a Retina display with a 2048x1536 resolution. If a year and a half ago this figure was unsurpassed, and a year ago the only tablet with a higher resolution was Google Nexus 10, which never made it to Russia, now tablets with a resolution of 2560 × 1600 no longer look such a curiosity. In addition, since the launch of the iPad 4, many tablets with great screens have been in our test lab. How does the iPad Air screen look against their background?

Here is a detailed examination of the Retina screen, carried out earlier by the editor of the "Monitors" and "Projectors and TV" sections, Alexei Kudryavtsev.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the reflection of objects, there is a very effective antiglare filter, which in terms of reducing the brightness of reflection is approximately equal to the filter of the Google Nexus 7 screen from 2013 (hereinafter we compare it with it).

For clarity, we present photographs in which a white surface is reflected in the off screens of both tablets:

Visually, the reflection has about the same brightness, and only statistics from the graphics editor show that the Nexus 7's screen is slightly darker (average brightness 52.73) than the iPad Air (average brightness 59.3).

The reflection in the screen is tripled, which implies the presence of an air gap between the matrix surface and the outer glass. From the point of view of image perception, this is a minus, but a screen with a split outer glass (also known as a touch panel) is easier and cheaper to repair. On the outer surface of the screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (effective, but still worse than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are much easier to remove, and appear at a slower rate than in the case of ordinary glass.

When manual control brightness, its maximum value was about 425 cd / m², and the minimum - 7 cd / m². The maximum value is quite high, and given the good anti-glare properties, the image on the screen should be clearly visible in bright daylight. In complete darkness, the brightness can be lowered to a comfortable level. Automatic brightness control works according to the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front camera peephole). In this case, the brightness can only increase automatically - with a decrease in the level of external illumination, we did not wait for a corresponding decrease in the screen brightness. However, if you put the tablet into sleep mode and turn it on again, the brightness will be set in accordance with the ambient light level. The minimum and average levels in Auto mode depend on the position of the brightness adjustment slider. So when the slider is set to the maximum, the automatic adjustment does not work - the brightness remains maximum regardless of external conditions. If the slider is located approximately in the middle, then in bright light (corresponds to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight), the maximum brightness is 425 cd / m2, in an office illuminated with artificial light - 145 cd / m2 (normal), in the dark - 38 cd / m² (acceptable). If the slider is at the minimum, then under the above conditions the values \u200b\u200bare as follows: 425, 14, 7 cd / m². Thus, this function works adequately only at some middle positions of brightness control. At the extreme, the brightness is either always maximum, or decreases too quickly when the ambient light decreases. At any brightness level, there is virtually no backlight modulation, so there is no screen flickering either.

IN this tablet uses an IPS matrix. The micrographs show the typical IPS sub-pixel structure:

The screen has good viewing angles without inverting tints and without significant color shift, even with large gaze deviations from the perpendicular to the screen. For comparison, here are some photos showing the same images on the screens of the Nexus 7 and iPad Air, with the brightness of both screens set to about 208 cd / m², perpendicular to the screens:

And a white box:

Now at an angle of about 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:

It can be seen that the colors did not "float" in both tablets. White box:

The brightness at an angle for both tablets decreased approximately the same (about four times, based on the difference in exposure), but the color tone changed slightly.

The black field, when deviated along the diagonal, is lightened weakly and acquires a red-violet tint or remains almost neutral-gray. The photo from the Nexus 7 for comparison shows this (the brightness is the same for both tablets!):

And along the other diagonal:

You can see that the iPad Air has a different black field color tone depending on the diagonal, but its brightness is in any case slightly lower than the brightness of the black Nexus 7 at the same angle.

With a perpendicular view, the uniformity of the black field is good, since in fact, only along the lower edge there are dim areas with increased brightness of the black field (bright points are broken pixels on the camera matrix):

The black uniformity of the Google Nexus 7 is worse, but it has better black depth in the center of the screen. Indeed, the contrast ratio (approximately in the center of the screen) of the iPad Air is not a record - about 850: 1. The response time for the transition black-white-black is 21 ms (11 ms on + 10 ms off). The transition between gray tones of 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes 34 ms in total. The 32-point gamma curve did not reveal any blockage in highlights or shadows, and the indicator of the approximating power function it turned out to be 2.24, which is insignificantly higher than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve barely deviates from the power dependence:

The color gamut is close to sRGB:

Apparently, the matrix filters mix the components to each other to a moderate extent. The spectra confirm this:

As a result, the colors of images - drawings, photographs and films - oriented to the sRGB space (and there are the overwhelming majority of them) have natural saturation. The gray scale balance is good, as the color temperature is close to the standard 6500 K, and the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (delta E) is less than 10, which is considered an acceptable indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, the variation in color temperature and delta E is small, which also has a positive effect on the visual perception of color balance. (The dark areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since the color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring the color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

The iPad Air has a wide range of brightness control, and the anti-glare filter is very effective, which allows you to comfortably use the tablet both on a clear day outside and in complete darkness. There is an automatic brightness adjustment, and it works more or less adequately, but only to increase, which will force the user to either set the brightness manually, or force the brightness to go down, putting the tablet into sleep mode and turning it back on. Apparently, this implementation facilitates the transition from previous iPad versions - habits can be preserved. The iPad Air's advantages include an effective oleophobic coating, close-to-sRGB coverage, good color balance and excellent black stability to perpendicular viewing, and good black field uniformity. In general, the screen quality is very high.

In part software the iPad Air has nothing fundamentally new, except for the fact that it is sold with iOS 7 preinstalled, while the previous model leaves the factories with iOS 6. But it can also be upgraded to iOS 7. Note also that iPad Air users have free Apple apps - Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and GarageBand.

Performance

Like the iPhone 5s, the iPad Air runs on Apple's new A7 SoC. Curiously, Apple did not give the original name for the tablet SoC. In iPad 3 and 4, the SoC name also had an X prefix: Apple A5X and Apple A6X. Now it's just Apple A7.

The main feature of the new SoC is the 64-bit "desktop class" architecture (as it was said at the iPhone 5s presentation).

It is also worth paying attention to the presence of the Apple M7 motion coprocessor. The idea is this: the gyroscope, compass and accelerometer now transmit data to the M7 coprocessor, which collects and processes this data. Including it allows applications to more efficiently use the information of these modules, and also saves the SoC energy (which ultimately saves battery life).

We wrote about other characteristics of the Apple A7 in the article about the iPhone 5s. Everything said there is also true for the iPad Air.

Well, let's see what results the new iPad Air demonstrates in benchmarks.

Let's start with browser benchmarks: SunSpider 1.0, Octane Benchmark, and Kraken Benchmark. In all cases, we used the Safari browser from iOS 7 on Apple devices, and Google Chrome on Android.

It is clearly seen that iPad Air is the undisputed leader. And, of course, the gap with the fourth generation iPad is especially impressive.

Now let's see how the iPad Air performs in Geekbench 3, a multi-platform benchmark that measures CPU and RAM performance.

As you can see, the results are generally similar to the previous test. iPad Air surpasses (albeit at the margin of error) even the eight-core Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. Well, in single-processor mode, it is a third faster than the main Android competitor and almost twice as fast as its predecessor, which indicates a significantly more efficient architecture of Apple A7.

Now let's see the GPU performance. There are two multi-platform benchmarks available here: GFXBench (formerly GLBenchmark 2.7) and 3DMark. Let's start with the results from GFXBench.

As you can see, in Offscreen modes (it displays the scene in Full HD resolution regardless of the tablet screen resolution), the new iPad Air is quite a bit, but still bypasses Android competitors. But in Onscreen mode, which reflects the real "life" performance of games on specific deviceThe iPad Air is pushing ahead strongly: the super-resolution Android tablets play against them.

Once again, the iPad Air shows the best results, overtaking its predecessors and competitors from the Android camp.

As we can see, Apple, despite the tougher competition, still manages to maintain its leadership in performance. Add to this the fact that all best games first of all, they still go to iOS, as well as the fact that it is for iOS that they are optimized in the best way (because there are a limited number of configurations), and we get the obvious conclusion: iPad Air is the best game tablet today. Of course, in favor of the same Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition, we can say that it has a higher resolution. But can you feel the difference looking at the screen - big question... But the decrease in performance due to this resolution in top games can be felt.

Autonomous work

We did not have the tablet for testing for a long time, and detailed tests autonomous work failed to do. But, nevertheless, we were able to test the novelty in the most difficult mode, simulating a 3D game. This is Epic Citadel (Guided Tour). With screen brightness set to 100 cd / m², the tablet lasted just over six hours. The same result was shown by the iPad of the previous generation. Thus, Apple's claims that the battery life of the iPad Air has not deteriorated compared to the previous generation of Apple tablets can be considered true.

Comparison with other current tablet models is no less interesting. As you can see from the table with the results, both the new Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 and the tablets based on NVIDIA Tegra 4 and Intel Atom Z2560 outright lost to the iPad Air. However, here it is worth considering that the screen resolution of Samsung and Toshiba devices is higher than that of the iPad. But the fact remains: in high-load scenarios, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition will work less than the iPad Air.

Camera

iPad Air is equipped with two cameras - a front one with a resolution of 1.2 megapixels and a rear one with a resolution of 5 megapixels, similar to the cameras of the iPad 4. This is not very high, especially by modern standards, but on a full-format tablet, the camera should still be taken as an addition. Although many (for example, Japanese tourists) do not think so. Anyway, good camera - this is a plus, but its quality is not determined by megapixels alone. Therefore, we decided to fully test the iPad Air camera using our smartphone camera test method. Shooting of the stand and comments on the pictures from the street were made by Anton Soloviev.

The iPad Air's camera is pretty good. In general, it copes with shooting when good lighting, but perhaps nothing outstanding, except for an excellent macro. The camera manages not only to choose the focus well on a close object, but also to give the picture an artistic touch, blurring the background quite well. Macro shooting in the camera is really implemented very well, it is felt that this was the focus. On the one hand, this is very reasonable, since a camera in a tablet is often useful for capturing documents; on the other hand - to each his own.

The camera behaves slightly better in different lighting conditions than the iPhone 5s camera. Unfortunately, the iPad Air does not come with a flash, which greatly reduces the scope of its camera. Also, the camera's capabilities are limited by a small resolution - only 5 megapixels, which does not allow it to be classified as documentary.

The camera can be positioned as an art camera with good macro and document shooting capabilities.

Video

The rear camera can shoot 1080p video at 29.97 fps.

The camera manages to video quite well, with slight ripples, but without significant delays and lagging of different parts of the frame from each other.

findings

Well, Apple has released a great tablet again, showing all competitors (including the most aggressive ones who have already decided that they are the new leaders) who can best combine design, functionality and great user experience. It is possible to enumerate for a long time the disadvantages of the Apple platform and, conversely, the advantages of the Android platform, but if we abstract from the "religious wars" and just pick up the iPad Air, it becomes clear that this is really an excellent product. And if among your needs there are no those that cannot be realized without, say, connecting an external drive, the most convenient access to google services and pen, it might be worth opting for the iPad.

If you just want to surf the Internet, read books and magazines, watch YouTube videos, play games, check mail, and you are ready to buy or rent movies from the iTunes Store, then the Apple iPad Air is the clear favorite among the purchase candidates. Of course, in this case, we are not considering budget options, since we are talking about top-end devices.

But even those users who have any specific preferences that are incompatible with Apple's restrictions should also thank the company created by Steve Jobs and now headed by Tim Cook: thanks to the iPad Air, Android tablets will soon also lose weight and lose weight. , in the meantime, their sellers will have to lose weight: prices for many top models should fall. Otherwise, they are unlikely to be able to compete with the iPad Air.

But who we think is the most formidable competitor of the iPad Air is the new iPad mini, which, at a price of $ 100 lower, has all the same features and qualities (including a screen resolution of 2048 × 1536 and Apple A7 SoC), but at the same time it is more compact , which can be regarded as a plus by many users (although this is a moot point: after all, the pleasure of reading, watching videos and surfing the web on a 9.7 ″ screen is much higher than on a 7.9 ″ screen). However, the iPad mini and comparing it with the iPad Air is a topic for a new article, which will be released immediately after the appearance of the updated iPad mini in the world. Stay tuned!

In conclusion of the article, we bring to your attention our video review of the Apple iPad Air tablet:

Apple today unveiled a couple of new iPad tablets. Of course, the crown of the company's efforts in this direction was the iPad Air 2, which, according to its representatives, became the thinnest tablet in the world - 6.1 mm. But these are not all the characteristics that set the iPad Air 2 apart from its predecessor. The record thickness influenced several design features. So, the iPad Air 2 has lost the legendary mute button, and the speaker at the bottom now has one row of holes. In addition, the device has become lighter - 437 (Wi-Fi) and 444 g (LTE) versus 469 and 478 g for the iPad Air, respectively. Finally, a new color has been added to the iPad Air palette - gold, long familiar to iPhone owners. By the way, it was this version that became a demo version at today's presentation.

Having dealt with the aesthetic side of the novelty, let's move on to its “inner world”. The iPad Air 2 display remains the same (although Apple had to merge the two layers to achieve required thickness). The new tablet has a new processor. Here the A8X is used, which is significantly superior to both the predecessor A7 and the standard A8 processor installed in the iPhone 6. In fact, the Cupertino-based company has returned to its good tradition of differentiating between the hardware of the iPhone and iPad. We will find out the amount of RAM from future tests, since Apple traditionally does not pay attention to this at its events. But he draws attention to the camera - now the iPad uses an 8-megapixel iSight camera module with the ability to record slow-mo video (the iPad Air did not have such an opportunity). Also, the iPad Air 2 has a faster Wi-Fi connection - 802.11ac, which is 2.8 times faster than the iPad Air - up to 866 Mbps.

Finally, the iPad Air 2 has a price tag. After its release, the iPad Air will receive a price-cut and its price will drop to 19,490 rubles (basic configuration). The new iPad Air 2 is estimated at 24 490 rubles (16 GB of ROM, Wi-Fi). There will be other differences, but they will be noticeable during direct use of the tablet.

© Arthur Luchkin.

When buying an iPad, it often comes down to two things: choosing the amount of memory and choosing the screen size. Until recently, Apple clearly divided all the lines by size, but then appeared iPad Pro 9.7 and messed up all the cards for buyers. In this article, I will try to walk through the main features of the two 9.7 inch iPad versions that are currently on sale.

I will not dwell on details - these gadgets are in many ways similar. I will dwell on the key features. In the article, I structure my knowledge and at the end draw conclusions that will be useful when choosing a tablet.

General

physical characteristics

These are two tablets that are identical in weight and size.

2 gigabytes of memory

Unfortunately, Apple did not ship 4 gigabytes to the small iPad Pro as it did to the large iPad Pro. This is bad, because in my understanding, the “Pro” prefix has already established itself as “4 gigabytes”, so 2 gigabytes in model 9.7 seems to be a degradation.

Fun fact: Samsung supplies iPad Pro 9.7 memory modules

Differences

Display

IPad Pro has an extended color display with True Tone support. The essence of the technology is that the screen can adjust to the environment and display colors depending on the environment.

Well, the difference in the True Tone function on and off is shown by this picture:

Processors

The iPad Pro has an A9X processor with an M9 coprocessor. The iPad Air 2 has an A8X processor. The A9X is about 1.7x faster than the A8X.

A8X is a 64-bit processor with a maximum frequency of 1.5 GHz.

A9X is a 64-bit processor with a maximum frequency of 2.16 GHz.

And here's an important point: the iPad Pro 9.7 processor is slightly slower than the iPad Pro 12.9 (2.26 GHz).

Smart Connector

The iPad Pro 9.7 has a Smart Connector, but the iPad Air 2 doesn't. Smart Connector now lets you connect a dedicated keyboard to iPad Pro. The lack of such an opportunity is not the greatest loss. You can still connect any Bluetooth keyboard, including the original Apple keyboard.

The iPad Pro also supports Apple Stylus. Also not God knows what an advantage, given the variety of stylus on the market. Professional digital artists may disagree with me.

Built-in stereo speakers

The iPad Pro 9.7 has 4 of them (two on each side), while the iPad Air 2 has only 2.

Cameras

The iPad Pro's 12 megapixels versus the iPad Air 2's 8 megapixels (and oddly enough, the iPad Pro 12.9). With regard to cameras, an interesting situation: starting with the iPad 3, it seems all the time that every next version of the camera already takes pictures well (and this quality is enough for a tablet). This is true, but after seeing the best quality, it is very difficult to perceive the previous model, the quality of the photos of which starts to fade. Below are the list of new features in the iPad Pro 9.7 camera.

New in photography:

• Live Photos
• flash True Tone
• focus Pixels technology
• automatic HDR when taking a picture

New in video recording:

• HD video recording in 4K (3840x2160).
• 1080p slow motion video support
• Cinematic video stabilization
• Tracking autofocus

New in the front FaceTime camera:

• 5 megapixel camera instead of 1.2
• retina Flash (never had flash ahead on iPad before)
• automatic HDR adjustment

Built-in Apple Sim

An innovation that appeared in the iPad Pro 9.7. There is an important note on Apple's website.

Some carriers may sell the 9.7-inch iPad Pro with a locked embedded Apple SIM. Check with your carrier for details. Apple SIM and Integrated Apple SIM are not available in China.

What is Apple Sim? This is a convenient SIM card that allows you to connect to the operator's local cellular network in dozens of countries, choose a tariff plan and use the network. Now in iPad Pro 9.7, this card is built into models with Cellular support, but it is also possible to insert your own nano-SIM through the usual slot. That is, in fact, the iPad Pro 9.7 works with two SIM cards.

In principle, all the main modules in the iPad Pro 9.7 and iPad Air 2 are similar, but the iPad Pro supports 4G LTE Advanced. A technology that can transfer data over LTE 50% faster. But with the current level of development of LTE in Russia, this is not the most important difference.

Capacity

It's so funny that the iPad Air 2 and iPad Pro 9.7 do not overlap in capacity.

• iPad Air 2 is available in 16 and 64 gigabytes
• iPad Pro 9.7 - 32, 128 and 256 gigabytes

Price

iPad Air 2 16 GB Wi-Fi - 35,990 rubles

iPad Air 2 16 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular - 45,990 rubles

iPad Air 2 64 GB Wi-Fi - 43,990 rubles

iPad Air 2 64 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular - 53,990 rubles

Prices for iPad Pro 9.7 in the photo:

Findings:

Well, now I will clearly and reasonably answer the main question of the day: Which of these two iPads to choose?

The most important thing I know is that in most cases the user will choose based on the price and personal financial capabilities. But if there is such an opportunity, then it is better to buy, all other things being equal, the freshest model. There are many reasons for this: longer relevance and support, best performance, it is easier to sell used, if the need arises.

Buying a 16GB iPad Air 2 is the dumbest thing to do. Yes, this will be the cheapest option, but take my word for it, in 2016 it will be a bad decision. And there is a good chance that sooner or later you will regret it.

The most important competitive advantages of the iPad Pro, in my opinion:

a) the processor is really more powerful

b) the cameras are an order of magnitude steeper (and it's surprising that the front one has now become very good)

c) and 4 speakers

I have ranked these benefits in order of importance. That said, the really important factor in choosing the iPad Pro is the processor. This difference may appear in 3-4 years, when the iPad Air 2 on the next iOS 12 will think noticeably slower than more recent tablets. This is not a fact, but Apple has taught us exactly this development of events.

Cameras? Well, yes, it's cool that your tablet will take pictures better than friends' phones, but in practice, take pictures like this large tablet few people will ... And for text recognition, an old 8-megapixel camera is enough.

But 4 speakers are a strong advantage for moviegoers, although, all other things being equal, I prefer to watch movies either on a laptop or on a TV set because of the larger screen.

Based on all of the above, I see no reason to buy an iPad Air 2 other than a lower price. But in theory, this should be the case with the development of technology ... If the iPad Pro 9.7 had 4 gigabytes of RAM, I would strongly recommend it, but the same 2 gigabytes spoil the picture and sow a grain of doubt ...

If I were limited in finances, but got it into my head that I needed a new iPad, I would take the iPad Pro 9.7 with 32 gigabytes, and not the iPad Air 2 with 64 gigabytes. If I were even more limited, I would prefer to take a used one. the iPad Air 2 has 64 gigabytes than the new one by 16.

This is the current situation ... What do you think?

The brand new iPad Air is already on sale, although it's not easy to buy. New models are dismantled like hot cakes. And users who recently purchased an iPad 4 are biting their elbows, well, or preparing to replenish their iPad Air collection.

And for good reason. After all, he's really good. Everything they say about him is really true. It is lighter, thinner and more efficient than its predecessor. If you've used an iPad 4 or iPad 3 before, you will feel the difference.

Let's compare iPad Air and iPad 4:

• by size and weight,
• by performance,
• let's compare cameras,
• compare batteries.

Size and weight.

The size and weight of the iPad Air has been reduced, which is impressive right off the bat. Especially if you take it in hand together with its predecessor, the difference is colossal - iPad 4 seems just bulky. This can be compared to the feeling of first meeting iPad mini.

Compare the iPad with a SIM card. Differences:

Performance.

Until recently, the iPad 4 was Apple's highest performing tablet. Now this place is taken by the iPad Air.

iPad Air is powered by the new A7 processor. 64-bit A7 architecture doubles the speed of the processor and graphics. Apps and games launch faster, and the tablet responds faster to commands.

Also, iPad Air is equipped with an M7 coprocessor, which measures the movements of the tablet using gyroscope, accelerometer and compass data.

After playing a few games on iPad Air, you will understand what this is about.

In this video, you will see the difference in how Pages and Keynote apps load on iPad 4 and iPad Air:

This video shows the difference when downloading Garage Band and iPhoto:

Camera

The iSight camera remains the same, but the A7 processor, working directly with the camera, makes frames better.

The FaceTime camera has an improved light sensor and larger pixel size.

Battery

The 32.4 Wh battery (versus 42.5 Wh) provides the same 10-hour battery life for video, music and Wi-Fi internet browsing.

Total

the iPad Air, as the comparison showed, is an aesthetic, surprisingly lightweight and powerful tablet. It has everything to want it. Even in spite of the fact that it has not received new functionality, except for the updated design and performance.

And if you're still in doubt about whether to replace your iPad 4 with the new iPad Air, the answer is worth it! Have tons of fun. And convenience, of course. Its only competitor is the iPad mini with Retina display. But that's another question.

A new budget iPad tablet with Apple Pencil support costs 25,000 rubles (basic configuration) - almost half (47,000 rubles) compared to the cheapest 10.5-inch iPad Pro (excluding Apple Pencil) and more than half the price of the 12.9-inch version (59,000 rubles).

The situation in the case of models with support for cellular modules (Cellular) is similar, the difference is 22,000 rubles and 34,000 rubles for the 10.5- and 12.9-inch versions of the iPad Pro, respectively. To some, such an offer may seem beneficial, but it is worth considering other factors before choosing the cheapest device.

IPad 2018 and iPad Pro displays

The difference between the iPad and iPad Pro screen is obvious. The new iPad model received the familiar Retina display with a diagonal of 9.7 inches and a resolution of 2048 × 1536 pixels. The 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro variants offer larger screens and higher resolutions. The display resolution of the 10.5-inch version is 2224 × 1668 pixels, the 12.9-inch version is 2732 × 2048 pixels. Despite the difference in resolution and size, the pixel density in the screens of all three models is the same - 264 ppi.

Unlike the 2018 iPad, the iPad Pro lineup offers a number of additional features, such as the ProMotion module, which doubles the screen refresh rate from 60 to 120 frames per second, or which adjusts the display colors to the ambient light. In addition, the iPad Pro display boasts an extended color gamut for brighter, more vibrant images, and an anti-reflective coating.

IPad 2018 and iPad Pro performance

Powered by the 2.2GHz A10 Fusion chip, the 2018 iPad delivers significantly better performance than previous models, but still doesn't match the power of the iPad Pro, which is powered by the 2.39GHz A10X Fusion 6-core microprocessor. The difference in performance is also due to different amounts of RAM. The 2018 iPad gets 2GB of RAM, while both iPad Pro models use 4GB of RAM. This difference is clearly demonstrated in the results of the Geekbench 4 benchmark: in the single-core test, the 10.5- and 12.9-inch iPad Pro scored 3908 and 3903 points, respectively, and the iPad score was 3254 points. According to these numbers, the single-core performance of the Pro line is 20% faster than the iPad, although some don't see this as a significant improvement.

In multi-core tests, the iPad Pro is rated at 9287 points (12.9 "version) and 9304 (10.5" model). At the same time, the new iPad scored 5857 points - a good result compared to other models in the series. Overall, the iPad Pro performed about 58% better in multi-core testing.

The multi-core and single-core benchmarks suggest that the difference in performance in everyday use of the iPad won't be as noticeable, but when it comes to multitasking or applications that require as much computing power as possible, the iPad Pro continues to be the best choice.

Cameras and imaging for iPad 2018 and iPad Pro

Since the debut of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, the lineup has offered improved shooting and image processing capabilities over the iPad. With the release of the iPad 6 (2018), the situation has not changed - the tablet received the same cameras as its predecessors. The gadget is equipped with an 8-megapixel main camera without a flash, capable of shooting video in 1080p resolution. By comparison, the 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models feature a 12-megapixel camera with OIS, 4K video recording, and True Tone Quad-LED flash. The camera also boasts an extended color range for stills and Live Photos, a six-element lens, HDR support and Focus Pixels technology. In addition, iPad Pro can record slow-motion video at 1080p at 120 fps. or 720p at 240 fps. iPad can shoot video in Slo-Mo mode at 720p and 120fps.

iPad is equipped with a 1.2-megapixel front camera with the ability to record video in 720p resolution. The iPad Pro version has more impressive characteristics: a 7-megapixel front camera capable of recording video in 1080p resolution, and support for automatic HDR when taking photos.

Speakers, battery, interfaces and colors of iPad 2018 and iPad Pro

the 2018 iPad has two stereo speakers located at the bottom of the tablet. In turn, iPad Pro has 4 stereo speakers located at the top and bottom of the device, which automatically adjust the sound output.

Oddly enough, the new iPad and iPad Pro don't differ too much in battery life. The iPad uses a 32.4Wh battery, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro uses 41Wh, and the 10.5-inch model uses 30.4Wh. Despite the difference in battery size and display power consumption, Apple claims that all three models can last up to 10 hours of internet use over Wi-Fi.

Among other things, iPad Pro has a Smart Connector that provides bi-directional data / power and allows you to connect to tablet computer external accessories. In a world where Bluetooth keyboards come with their own batteries, this functionality is less useful than you might expect.

For those who care about the appearance of the device, Apple has provided several color options: "Gray", "Gray space", "Gold". The 10.5-inch version is available in Rose Gold.

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