A
few weeks ago, Apple announced their new iPad line
which includes the current iPad mini 4 that now only comes in
128GB and the new iPad. That’s right, its now just called iPad
-- not Air, Air 3 or anything else. What’s even more surprising
is that it’s even cheaper than the iPad Air 2 and Mini 4. The price
was so good that I ended up buying one on impulse. Let’s see if the
new iPad is really worth buying or something that’s too good to be
true.
Specs:
9.7 inch Retina
Display 264ppi
A9 64bit CPU
32 or 128GB
Storage
2GB RAM
Touch ID
8 MP rear and
1.2MP front camera
WIFI and LTE
models
Twin Speakers
32GB US$329
(Php 16500)
128GB US$429
(Php 21500)
Design and
Performance:
At first glance,
the new iPad looks like the iPad Air 2 when in fact based on the spec
sheet, it's actually the same size as the Air 1. The difference is just a few
millimeters that you really need to put them side by side to tell the
difference. It is also a bit heavier than the Air 2 but again, only
by a few grams. I guess these are aspects where Apple had to cut some
corners in order to sell it at a lower price point.
Another apparent
and glaring (pun intended) aspect where they had to scale back is the screen.
It doesn’t use an anti-reflective coating and laminated display as the
older iPads. What does that mean? Well, in a nutshell the screen is
more prone to glare specially outdoors or under direct light and also you’ll
notice a very small black space or gap between the edges of the LCD screen and
the glass screen. But it’s
not as bad as it sounds. If no one points this out, it’s pretty hard to notice.
 |
| Small gap between the LCD and the glass |
Also, Apple
says that the screen is brighter than previous models so it cranks up the
brightness to compensate for the lack of anti-reflective coating (at
the expense of battery life). Again, it does seem to work as I had no
problems viewing the screen outdoors.
So those are the
negatives. On the plus side, the new iPad has a faster A9 chip which is
about 1.6X faster than the old A8, faster graphics processor and 2GB of
RAM. And I have to say that there is noticeable difference in performance
from the older iPad models.
Conclusion
Apple may have
gone a one step back, two steps forward with the new iPad. It may even feel like they are using left over components from older models. But with
the improved performance and great price point, its good enough to
overlook some of the negatives, which in reality aren’t really that big of a
deal. Apple might just have a winner on their hands. I can see students
and businesses buying tons of these. The price is so competitive that if
you have an older iPad or Android tablet this might be a great time for an
upgrade.
The Good:
Price
Performance
The Bad:
Previous generation touch ID sensor
