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The all new 2013 iPad Air, without doubt, the most significant upgrade to the lineup
since its launch in 2010. In this article, I will provide you with my full and comprehensive
iPad Air Review.
The main differentiators that really set this iPad apart from its predecessors and competitors,
is just how much weight apple have managed to shave off this thing. Now down to under
1 pound and just 7.5mm thick, the device can now be comfortably held in one hand for long
periods of time and that totally improves the user experience. In fact, its footprint
has been reduced so much so that it suddenly becomes a more attractive option than an iPad
Mini for those people who wanted a smaller profile tablet.
It's design aesthetics are superb of course but we expect nothing less from Apple. On
a related note, this is also where my first criticism emerges, Apple products are fragile
and I am paranoid about dropping this thing. Without a case, you're asking for trouble,
so find a sturdy one. The Retina Display is gorgeous but just like 3D movies in the cinema,
after a while the impact wears off and you become quickly accustomed to it. It's good
but it's hardly worth upgrading just for a retina display. Incidentally, the display
is still a little too reflective although far better than the iPad 1 and 2.
iOS 7 comes with a range of useful apps such as contacts, calendar, notes, Facetime, photos,
reminders and all the usuals, we've come to know and sometimes use. For me, Siri has become
more of a bit of fun than a genuinely useful voice assistant. She's or it, has got a lot
of personality and you can talk quite casually
to to it.
Unlike Android, customisation options are limited but the settings menu allows you to
control most everything on the device. What I find frustrating about modern mobile operating
systems are the notifications and location settings information that almost every app
requires you to enable and receive. This is becoming a tiresome and somewhat invasive
aspect of modern computing.
Performance from the A7 chip is excellent, switching between apps is fast and seamless.
As I've mentioned before, watching movies is great and the sound is crisp and wonderful
files onto the device. iCloud really is a time saver for those invested in Apple's eco-system
however.
iTunes is also a major selling point of any Apple product and the app store contains countless
games and productivity apps, many of them free and a great deal of fun, albeit with
many intrusive ads to deal with.
Reading books is ok on the iPad, far better than before because the device is so much
easier to hold for longer periods, but don't ask me to stare at a backlit display for more
than an hour before my eyes begin to strain.
Of course surfing the internet is fast, intuitive and the iPad just becomes a window to the
web, you barely notice it's even there.
The rear facing 5MP camera is full 1080P and offers, video stabilization, face detection,
tap to focus and backside illumination, as well a s 3x video zoom. The FaceTime HD is
just 1.2MP 720P but is still an excellent shooter in its own right. Photographs look
excellent, great contrast, color saturation, they're detailed and HDR mode gives an extra
degree of quality to your photos. All in all, it's a terrific still image shooter and can
take images rapidly too.
One of my frustrations with getting movies off the device is that iTunes doesn't detect
videos in the iPad's movie folder. Instead, videos you shoot are still saved for some
reason under camera roll so iPhoto becomes my primary way of taking videos off the device,
which just seems odd to me. Incidentally, battery life is excellent and I just can't
understand how they keep making these tablets so thin and powerful and manage to cool them
so effectively.
In conclusion, the best just got better, no, the device isn't perfect and iOS 7, although
graphically improved, is not for everyone given its customisation limitations but there
just isn't a better tablet on the market and you won't be disappointed. I still don't think
a tablet is for me personally, as I don't like having to tap on the screen while I'm
viewing it, it just doesn't provide the same experience I get on a laptop so tablets in
general are not my thing. The final score for the iPad Air, is 9 of out 10.
Please comment below and leave your thoughts on my iPad Air Review and tell us what you
think of this new tablet computer from Apple.