iPad 2 vs iPad Air 2; yes or no?


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I currently have an iPad 2 and thinking about the Air 2. Will the upgrade be noticeable? In what ways? Also in daily usage and not just games...

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It will be noticeable in every way possible.

 

We use iPad 2's at work they are old and rubbish, slow and ugly and heavy (it feels weird saying this when the technology itself is amazing but it's true), we have one iPad Air 1 and the difference is massive.

 

It has 2 gb memory, much faster processor, retina display/laminated/anti reflective coating, better camera, thinner, lighter, better design, touch id.. there is literally no comparison.

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Going from the iPad 4 to an Air felt like quite a change.  The difference in weight is extraordinary.  Passing my Air on to my sister and will be ordering a 64GB Air 2 as soon as I can.


Is it confirmed that iPad Air 2 has 2 GB RAM?

 

It hasn't been confirmed by Apple, but the breakdowns that have been shown for the Air2 are showing 2GB Elpida RAM chips.  We probably won't see anything official until they are in peoples hands.

 

http://www.macrumors.com/2014/10/13/ipad-air-2-a8x-2-gb-ram/

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It really depends what you're doing on your iPad I'd say. Yeah, the new one is better in many ways, but do you really need that?
I mean, as of now, I was just thinking to buy an iPad 2 second hand, because they are dirt cheap, for school stuff - reading books and browsing web - it can still do that fairly well, I dont need a 500$ device for that and do not have to carry my heavy laptop with me if I dont actually need all that horsepower it provides.

 

iPad 2 is still capable device, for simple tasks. Of course if you're going for gaming and such, the newer will probably satisfy you better
 

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If you have an Air, then the difference will be negligible IMO. Same goes for the rMini (sorry, Mini 2) to the Mini 3.

 

If you have an older device, then the upgrade will be worth it. Personally I'm sticking with my second gen mini.

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If you have an Air, then the difference will be negligible IMO. Same goes for the rMini (sorry, Mini 2) to the Mini 3.

 

If you have an older device, then the upgrade will be worth it. Personally I'm sticking with my second gen mini.

I'm in the same boat. Touch ID would be nice to have, but other than that there's no incentive for me to upgrade from the Mini 2 to the Mini 3 or the Air 2. 

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The screen difference between the iPad2 and the Air/Air2 is worth it by itself.  Especially if you are reading on the device for any length of time.

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Yes. The display is beautiful compared to the iPad 2, it will be faster in every way possible, it is said (but not confirmed) to have double the RAM (if this is the case it will mean less apps need to reload when you go back to them), it's a lot easier to hold due to the vastly reduced weight, you could add a case without it being as bulky, improved cameras, TouchID to unlock iPad and also to pay using any website that incorporates Apple Pay rather than having to enter your card details, supports MIMO and WiFi AC so WiFi will be much faster.

 

That's before you even touch on how much better it will be for gaming, watching videos, etc.

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And my Air2 64GB has now been ordered.  Apparently shipping within the next 2-4 business days.

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It really depends what you're doing on your iPad I'd say. Yeah, the new one is better in many ways, but do you really need that?

I mean, as of now, I was just thinking to buy an iPad 2 second hand, because they are dirt cheap, for school stuff - reading books and browsing web - it can still do that fairly well, I dont need a 500$ device for that and do not have to carry my heavy laptop with me if I dont actually need all that horsepower it provides.

 

iPad 2 is still capable device, for simple tasks. Of course if you're going for gaming and such, the newer will probably satisfy you better

 

Same here - just not for school reasons.  I'm looking at either a factory-refurb iPad 2 or buying one from a family member that is upgrading to tag-team with my Yosemite drive and for unique-to-iOS gaming (specifically Total Domination: Reborn, which is still iOS-only).  For everything else, I have my Technical Preview-running HP dv9000 notebook.

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Same here - just not for school reasons.  I'm looking at either a factory-refurb iPad 2 or buying one from a family member that is upgrading to tag-team with my Yosemite drive and for unique-to-iOS gaming (specifically Total Domination: Reborn, which is still iOS-only).  For everything else, I have my Technical Preview-running HP dv9000 notebook.

 

Personally, I'd forget about the iPad 2 and go for at least a 4th gen. The iPad 2 is very old hardware now, and likely won't get any further software updates.

 

There is ?40 difference between a refurbished iPad 2 and refurbished iPad 4th gen, and that's ?40 well spent in my books. IMO the best deals out there right now are the refurb iPad Mini 2 - I paid ?579 for my 64GB 4G one a year ago (before cashback and what have you) and now you can pick one up for ?359 refurbed.

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From an iPad 2? Most definitely.

I'm upgrading from my iPad 3 WiFi to iPad Air 2 WiFi+Cellular. Too many times I've wanted cell on my iPad, and looking forward to having that.

I don't need an upgrade to the Air 2, as I have the 1st gen. Air, but I do want an iPad or tablet with WiFi + Cellular. I think I'll keep the Air, and complement that with a Nexus 9 WiFi + Cellular. It'd be really nice to go out and have a tablet when I'm on-call. I'm going to float that to my director and see if I can get it sponsored through work.  :shifty:

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I don't need an upgrade to the Air 2, as I have the 1st gen. Air, but I do want an iPad or tablet with WiFi + Cellular. I think I'll keep the Air, and complement that with a Nexus 9 WiFi + Cellular. It'd be really nice to go out and have a tablet when I'm on-call. I'm going to float that to my director and see if I can get it sponsored through work.  :shifty:

 

I couldn't get my work to pay for the new iPad Air 2 because they are wanting to get us Surface Pro tablets next year (which I'm fine with, but those do not have LTE). I often have to travel for clients and they don't bat an eye when I charge them for the $25+ for data access at some hotels. I'd like them to pay for my LTE on my iPad for a month, but trying to work out the details with my boss. The problem that I think I'll face with this is that when its a line item charge at a hotel I was staying at specifically for a trip I took for them, then it seems reasonable to call this an expense for the trip I took for them. At the same time, if my record of this expense is my personal cell bill, it may come across that I'm having my client pay my bills for me. Even though the cost is about the same and the total cost of any one trip is easily $2,000+, I can see some of my clients having a problem with this.

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I currently have an iPad 2 and thinking about the Air 2. Will the upgrade be noticeable? In what ways? Also in daily usage and not just games...

Gigantic upgrade, you'll notice everything like speed, thinness, lightness. It's a monumental upgrade from the iPad 2 to the Air 2. Beck, I upgraded from the Air to the Air 2 and find everything noticeably improved.

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