The new iPad Air has generated a huge amount of excitement, and boasts many exciting and unique new features – particularly the introduction of a thinner and lighter design that so many have been waiting for. So, what do the first iPad Air reviewers have to say? Apple just lifted the embargo on reviews, and a group of prominent journalists was given early access to the device – and overwhelmingly, almost all agree that the iPad Air is the new tablet to beat.
Of particular note are the almost unanimous consensus regarding the iPad Airs design and battery life. Looks like we have a winner on our hands! Here’s what the first round of reviews had to say!
Jim Dalrymple, The Loop
It’s very hard to describe how good the iPad Air feels in your hand without actually picking one up. It’s kind of like the first time you saw a Retina display for the first time—shock.
This smaller size is great. If you have decent sized hands you can type with two thumbs on the iPad in portrait, something I wasn’t really able to do with the last generation iPad without a lot of stretching. Clearly a full-size iPad is not something you will be thumb typing with all the time1, but it does give you an idea of how much smaller the iPad Air is.
The iPad Air also comes with Apple’s A7 chip […] The A7 is a 64-bit chip that is packed with power. There aren’t any apps or any situation that I have tried or can think of that would slow down this iPad.
I got things done. That’s what software and hardware are supposed to do for you. That’s what the iPad Air and iWork did for me.
Walt Mossberg, AllThingsD
I found the iPad Air to be much more comfortable to hold for long periods than the last two, heavier models. And I found it to be noticeably faster than prior iPads. Apple claims it offers up to twice the speed of past models. It attributes that to a new processor, of its own design, called the A7, which also will be in the new Mini. This processor, like most PC processors, is what’s called a 64-bit chip, which means it can handle data in bigger chunks.
The battery performance of the iPad Air simply blew me away. In my tough tablet battery test, where I disable automatic screen dimming and other power-saving features, and combine video playback from the device’s memory with leaving Wi-Fi on and email working at normal settings, the iPad has almost always met its claims and beat competitors by a wide margin.
But this new iPad Air just kept going, clocking a battery life of 12 hours and 13 minutes, which exceeded Apple’s claim by more than 20 percent. The company says its A7 chip, combined with the fact it controls its own operating system, gives the new iPad the ability to tailor under-the-hood processes so unneeded drains on the battery can be minimized.
Bottom line: If you can afford it, the new iPad Air is the tablet I recommend, hands down.
John Gruber, Daring Fireball
The bottom line, though, is that for anyone who sees an iPad as a supplemental device, the iPad Air is a very compelling alternative to the iPad Mini. It’s so much lighter than the iPad 3/4, both as something to carry when traveling and to hold while using, that it significantly diminishes the iPad Mini’s primary distinguishing feature. For anyone who has spent the last year thinking, Well, I would like something lighter, sure, but I’m not crazy about the idea of such a small display, because I want to use my iPad for things where a bigger display is better, like watching movies, reading magazines and comic books, and touch-typing in landscape orientation — the iPad Air is the device for you.
Brad Molen, Engadget
Surprise: the iPad Air is the best iPad we’ve reviewed. In addition, though, it’s also the most comfortable 10-inch tablet we’ve ever tested. Not every manufacturer can produce a thin and light device without also making it feel cheap or flimsy, but Apple nailed it. Factor in a sizable boost in performance and battery life, and the Air is even more compelling. The last two iPads served up relatively few improvements, but the Air provides people with more of a reason to upgrade or even buy a tablet for the first time.
Ben Bajarin, TechPinions
The iPad has proven to be more than just a simple consumption device. A lot of that has to do with the breadth and depth of apps particularly in the creative arts for the iPad. While it is true that existing iPad owners benefit from all the software advancements I mention above, the new design of the iPad Air and the power of the A7 make it more usable than ever. And for most, this may be the only personal computer they really need.
Darrell Etherington, TechCrunch
The iPad Air is a huge improvement over the iPad 4th-gen, or the iPad 2, pictured in the gallery. Its form factor is the best currently available for a 10-inch tablet, and it provides a great blend of portability and usability that leans towards the media device end of the spectrum.
When Apple introduced the iPad mini, I feel in love and felt that I’d never be swayed back to the other side. The iPad Air makes the argument anew that there’s still room for big tablets in people’s lives, and it might just help usher in an era of computing where households own more than one kind of iPad, and PCs are harder and harder to find.
Anand Shimpi, AnandTech
A significant re-imagining of the original 9.7-inch iPad, the Air breathes new life into the platform. Much like the rMBP, the iPad Air borrows a lot of the learnings from its more popular ultraportable counterpart. I don’t know that it will curb enthusiasm over the iPad mini, particularly now that the new mini shares the same hardware platform (including display), but it levels the playing field between the two models.
Trying to summarize what makes the iPad Air special quickly turns into a list of the things Apple likes to have with any evolution of an existing product: it’s smaller, lighter and faster with absolutely no tradeoffs made in the process. The iPad Air feels like a true successor to the iPad 2. If we look at a table charting the progression of physical specs that argument seems even more credible:
Graham Barlow, Huffington Post
The new form factor just feels right and it’s light enough that you can kick back on the sofa and use it with ease, and it will be perfect for taking on trips. With the release of iOS 7 and the iPad Air it’s quite possible that the perfect storm of hardware and software have coincided to really deliver on the promise the iPad always offered.
If you’ve been waiting for Apple to really do something that makes it worth upgrading your iPad, then get your credit card ready, this is it.
Tim Stevens, CNET
And here it is: the iPad Air. With this, the fifth generation of the iPad line, Apple has delivered a proper exterior redesign, crafting a substantially thinner and lighter tablet that finally eliminates the chunky bezels handed down since the first generation — at least on the left and right. But, despite this significant exterior reduction, the iPad Air maintains the battery life of its predecessor and offers significantly better performance.
We coached the iPad Air through some of our favorite benchmarks, along with a fourth-gen iPad running the most recent version of iOS (7.0.3). The results were quite compelling. In Sunspider 1.0.1, the old iPad took 661ms on average to complete the tests, whereas the new Air blasted through in 402ms average. That’s a greater than 50 percent improvement in Web rendering speed. (The iPhone 5S scored 417ms.) Geekbench 2 was similarly improved, 1,797 vs. 2,382 (higher is better here), and on Geekbench 3 the gap widened, 1,429 vs. 2,688. In fact, the iPad Air’s single-core score of 1,475 is higher than the dual-core score of the fourth-generation iPad.
Stuart Miles, Pocket-lint:
Apple has done it again: the iPad Air is a tablet better than the last iPad. Simply put the iPad Air is the bestiPad the company has ever made. It’s light, it’s thin, it’s fast, it’s amazing.
For die-hard Apple fans we can see how you would be disappointed in terms of wow factor, there is no standout feature here that you will want to show your friends the moment they walk through the door in the same way you can with the iPhone 5S and Touch ID, however this is Apple creating the ultimate experience rather than focusing on specs for specs’ sake.
That’s not to say the iPad Air is lacking. It’s not. It is seamless, and you can see that through and through the moment you pick up the new tablet. You aren’t left questioning why things work, they just do, and do every time. For millions of future customers that is and will be very much welcomed.
But make no mistake: if you buy the iPad Air you’ll be very happy. Apple has created an experience that far outweighs specs on a spec sheet and that will be hard for the competition to match. That in itself makes it the best tablet on the market in terms of performance, apps, and desirability, until the iPad mini with Retina display comes along, and then the fight over which iPad to get really starts.
Lance Ulanoff, Mashable
Yes, it’s true, the iPad Air is essentially a larger iPad Mini Retina. For some, that’s a disappointment. For me, the new iPad Air is close to everything a consumer tablet should be: Light, fast, fun, beautiful and a little bit like the future.
Vincent Nguyen, Slashgear
For some, the more compact iPad mini with Retina display will be the more portable iOS tablet of preference. For others, the wider range of Android tablets, often more affordable will hold greater appeal. Yet, for its combination of connectivity, longevity, power, app selection, and relentlessly pared-back design, the iPad Air ticks the boxes that make it the tablet for the everyman.
Rich Jaroslovsky, Bloomberg
Not that long ago, the iPad so dominated the tablet market that it would have been unthinkable to buy something else. With the rise of quality tablets from Google, Amazon and others, it’s no longer the only choice. But it’s still the best choice.
Anick Jesdanun, Associated Press
In the week I’ve had with the Air, I’ve managed to stuff it partially into the pocket of my autumn jacket, whereas the old one wouldn’t fit at all. I carried it in a backpack on a five-mile run home from work and forgot it was even there after less than a mile. I curled up with it in bed to watch this week’s episode of “Revenge” instead of getting up for work.
David Pogue
You’ll find the Air a fantastic leap into the future if you’re upgrading from an original iPad, or if you’ve never owned a tablet before.
So that’s the iPad Air for you: No longer alone in the marketplace, no longer the only right choice, no breakthrough new features. But it’s smaller, lighter, and faster than ever, with a much bigger catalog of apps—and much better ones—than the competition. If you want a big tablet, this is the one that will make you happiest.
Clayton Morris, Fox News
At 1 pound, the new iPad Air is impressively light, barely heavier than the iPad mini. My toddler can waddle around the house with it a lot more easily, and I can now use it in bed without worrying that it will smack me in the forehead if I doze off while reading Frank Miller’s “The Dark Knight Returns.” Which has been known to happen with the previous generation iPad.
Damon Darlin, New York Times
If you’ve never had a tablet, though, the answer is different. A tablet, especially this iPad, is a delight to use and will bring you more hours of enjoyment than any other electronic device I know of.
He also wrote that “a way to record dreams on an iPad would be supercool”.
Matt Warman, The Telegraph
Warman says that the iPad Air is radically different. He specifically calls out the iPad Air as“the best tablet on the market.”
Its light weight and thin form mean it gets out of the way – you don’t notice it, but you notice what you’re doing on it. That, potentially, unleashes a new generation of tablet-based productivity. The fact that Apple is now giving away even more software means that perhaps the rebranding is, therefore, more than simply a marketing exercise. Air may yet be the oxygen for a new wave of uses for the iPad.
Harry McCracken, Time
Designwise, this iPad is so much svelter that it almost feels like a new class of Apple tablet, but it remains an iPad — and for now, at least, that continues to be the most important bragging right that any tablet can claim.
And there you have it – the response from respected journalists from all across the internet is overwhelmingly positive. Apple has outdone itself once again, producing a device that’s as much a pleasure to use as it is to look at! Now, if only we could make Friday come sooner so many of us can finally get our hands on the iPad Air ourselves!
