It was hard to see how Apple could improve on the first iPad Air - arguably the finest tablet ever produced.
And
then it went and did so with the iPad Air 2. You can talk all you like
about what counts as "too thin" but there's no denying that this new
tablet is a feat of engineering that again pushes the limits of what
makes a premium slate. Plus, unlike the iPhone 6 Plus it doesn't bend either!
Not only that, but the relentless desire to make the
thing thinner has resulted in a better screen too, as the layers that
make up the backlight, touchscreen digitizer and LCD screen are so close
that Apple now claims there is zero air in between them.
The result? A less reflective display that looks brighter and more colorful. And it really is.
There's
the question of where the iPad Air 2 sits in the market, as it's US$499
(£399, AU$619) for the basic version, and you can pay up to US$829
(£659, AU$1,019) for the fully specced, Wi-Fi + 4G model. But while that cost is high, it's no more than is being charged by Samsung or Sony for their comparable tablets.
Of
course on contract it's ridiculously expensive, but then again I think
most people will still want to buy the iPad Air 2 as a sofa-dwelling
device, so the 4G option isn't going to be the real reason you buy this
tablet.
I'll get onto the design in a moment - but it's
worth noting that the design alone is a good reason to pick up the new
iPad Air 2. It's super light, amazingly slim and will delight over and
over again for the first fortnight of ownership, before you slip back to
the standard tech nonchalance that creeps over us all eventually.
Did
the iPad Air need to get thinner and more powerful? Not really - I'm
already struggling to find must-have reasons for the improved A8X chip
beyond a much faster interface and the promise of better apps and games
to come - but once you actually handle the new iPad Air 2, you'll be
sold.
Design
At 6.1mm thick, the Apple iPad Air 2
is easily one of the slimmest tablets on the market. It's not actually
the thinnest, but we're at the point now where fractions of a millimetre
really don't matter.
Thinness for its own sake can be an
error - there is a point of diminishing returns where only marginal
improvements can be achieved, at the cost of structural integrity,
battery life and overall performance - but Apple hasn't reached that
point yet.
The iPad Air 2 achieves extraordinary slimness without sacrificesThe
iPad Air 2 feels like a very solid tablet that can be held easily for
hours without it getting uncomfortable. The iPad Air was hardly a big
tablet, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S matches the iPad Air 2 in weight, if not thickness.
Where
the Apple device wins though is the overall packaging. Samsung's option
is good, but clearly an assemblage of distinct parts. The plastic back,
the larger-bezelled screen and the rim are all competing parts, where
the iPad Air 2 is a complete package, smooth and easy to hold in one
hand.
I was almost loath to put it in a case - it needs
to be protected if you're going to be running it around town, as that
back and chamfered edges will scuff up eventually - but if you're going
to be a sofa-warrior with your new tablet, the Smart Cover will do just
fine and won't obscure the impressive design. You'll need a cover to protect the iPad from damageThe
sad thing here is the loss of the silencing switch, which has departed
due to size restrictions. Apple would argue that this is because the new
Control Center makes the option available throughout the OS with just a
flick of the hand, but in truth I'm really going to miss being able to
silence the tablet without even looking. The loss of the mute switch is the only notable part of the button reconfigurationThe
power button remains at the top and the volume keys have shuffled a
little upwards now free of the silence key, but otherwise the only real
design changes are the speaker grill at the bottom of the tablet (now a
single row of holes, rather than the two before) and the Touch ID on the
home key.
You'd be hard pressed to tell the difference
between the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Air without a spotter's guide, but
the iPad Air 2 has a deeper black bezel which helps enhance the picture -
plus it now comes in gold to join space gray and silver. A gold colourway joins space gray and silverThe
camera stays where it has been, both front and back, with the new 8MP
iSight snapper not jutting out as it does on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
The fact no tablet camera needs to be that high res, nor should people
be taking pics with a tablet anyway, is something to discuss in another
article.
Does the iPad Air 2's design warrant the high
price tag? Yes, more than any other tablet on the market. It brings a
premium build, quality finish, great looks and while it doesn't need
to be this thin, the structure doesn't seem to have had an effect on
the actual performance of the tablet, and does add something in the
palm.
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