The iPad Air Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 29, 2013 9:00 PM ESTWiFi
The iPad Air moves to a 2-stream dual-band 802.11n solution, a sort of compromise between where the iPad was with its previous single-stream implementation and some of the newer devices shipping with 802.11ac. Moving to two spatial streams obviously helps improve performance tremendously. Peak performance on 5GHz 802.11n, assuming an equally capable AP, went as high as 180Mbps in my tests. I was able to average 168Mbps during our standard UDP WiFi test on 5GHz.
Cellular
Apple continues to use Qualcomm’s MDM9615 modem in the iPad Air, the big difference this round is there’s only a single SKU (A1475) for the cellular model covering a total of 34 countries across the Americas and EMEA. The LTE iPad Air supports a total of 14 LTE bands (1,2,3,4,5,7,8,13,17,18,19,20,25 and 26). In his usual awesome fashion, Brian speculated that the increased number of supported LTE bands was partially a function of moving to Qualcomm’s WTR1605L transceiver.
| iPad Cellular Speeds | ||||||
| Property | iPhone 3G/3GS/iPad 1 3G | iPhone 4 / iPad 2 (GSM/UMTS) | iPhone 4 / iPad 2 (CDMA) | iPad 3 | iPad 4/iPad Mini | iPad Air/iPad Mini w/Retina |
| Baseband | Infineon X-Gold 608 | Infineon X-Gold 618 | Qualcomm MDM6600 | Qualcomm MDM9600 | Qualcomm MDM9615 w/RTR8600 |
Qualcomm MDM9615 w/WTR1605L |
| Max 3GPP Release Feature | Release 5 | Release 6 | Release 7 | Release 9 | Release 9 | Release 9 |
| HSDPA Category | Cat.8 - 7.2 Mbps | Cat.8 - 7.2 Mbps | N/A | Cat. 24 - 42 Mbps | Cat. 24 - 42 Mbps | Cat. 24 - 42 Mbps |
| HSUPA Category | None - 384 Kbps WCDMA only | Cat.6 - 5.76 Mbps | N/A | Cat.6 - 5.76 Mbps | Cat.6 - 5.76 Mbps | Cat.6 - 5.76 Mbps |
| EVDO | N/A | N/A | 1x/EVDO Rev.A | 1x/EVDO Rev.A | 1x/EVDO Rev.A | 1x/EVDO Rev.A |
| LTE | N/A | N/A | N/A | 100/50 UE Cat. 3 | 100/50 UE Cat. 3 | 100/50 UE Cat. 3 |
From a spec and performance standpoint, the LTE modem in the iPad Air is no different than what was in the 4th generation iPad. Consistent cellular connectivity options remains one of the staples of the iPad lineup. Although WiFi tablets still tend to be the more popular, it’s hard to argue with the productivity benefit to having LTE on a tablet. Being able to just reach for the iPad Air and know it’ll have connectivity regardless of where I am, without having to search for and log in to a WiFi network, is tremendously convenient.
Just as before, there’s no contract commitment necessary to buy an LTE iPad Air. You can manage your account directly on the device itself. Furthermore, at least in the US, the LTE iPad Air isn’t locked to any one network operator. You specify what provider you’d like to go with at the time of purchase, but afterwards you’re able to swap in any other activated nano SIM from a supported network operator. You could feasibly start out with a Sprint iPad Air and later switch to a Verizon, T-Mobile or AT&T SIM and continue using the device. The flexibility offered by a single SKU with support for a ton of bands is pretty awesome.
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Fx1 - Wednesday, October 30, 2013 - link
The only issue i have with this review is that you took 10 whole pages to basically review the same ipad that has been around for years which is just slightly faster and slimmer than last years. Its a locked down boring tablet for kiddy users.Streamlined - Wednesday, October 30, 2013 - link
That's funny because I'm a financial analyst and the most popular tablet among professionals who use their tablet for WORK in Fortune 500 level companies is the ipad.darkcrayon - Thursday, October 31, 2013 - link
Right, the tablet with the most compelling apps and arguably the most powerful hardware is surely boring and for kiddy users. By your laughable standard, pretty much any computer in any category is the same as the last several.gattacaDNA - Wednesday, October 30, 2013 - link
As far as I know, Apple has not begun printing US currency. So everyone is entitled to spend their $ on whatever tablet or other device strokes their fancy / fantasies. All this lambasting and "mine's bigger than yours" is a childish waste of time. Nearly every review in every medium has some sort of bias. Hell you demonstrate bias every day when you choose who to eat a meal with - get over it. Buy what devices you want and the market and stock prices will decide what futures are delivered - all are viable until proven otherwise. Peace.gnx - Wednesday, October 30, 2013 - link
1 lbs is the threshold for easy to hold in hand. I felt so after using a iPad and a Galaxy Tab 10.1 and then Galaxy Tab 8.9 and iPad2.In terms of form factor, personally, I though Samsung already had the best product in 2011 with the Galaxy Tab 8.9: screen real estate comparable to an iPad/iPad2 (the same height in portrait, just a bit more compact in width) but lighter and thinner (under 1 lbs). So I was dismayed to see Samsung not follow up with a successor to the Galaxy Tab 8.9, while Apple went for heavier and thicker with iPad3 & iPad4. Smaller tablets like the Galaxy Tab 7.7, Nexus 7 and iPad Mini (7.9)/Galaxy Note 8.0 all sacrificed screen space too much, for someone like me who reads a lot of documents on them.
Personally, cause I'm frustrated with the lack of widgets on iOS, I am partial to Android. But if Google or Samsung or Asus don't come up with a 8.9 or 10.1 under 1lbs, the iPad Air may be my only choice for an upgrade .....
Death666Angel - Wednesday, October 30, 2013 - link
Amazon HDX 8.9" not for you? :) The software does have issues, but it checks all the right boxes. Might work for you. Either the last one for price and good-enough performance of this years with higher prices (still lower than iPad) and higher performance, better specs to go with it.gnx - Thursday, October 31, 2013 - link
I also love the form factor of the Kindle HDX 8.9 - superb dimensions and weight in my opinion. But I have to sadly admit I am also tied to several google apps, namely, gmail, google voice, google calendar and a few others, and though both iOS and Android provide support, forked Amazon Fire OS doesn't ... this is more Google's call than Amazon's fault, but admittedly, it limits my choice to an iPad or Nexus/Samsung/Asus etc ...solipsism - Thursday, October 31, 2013 - link
Comparable? The Galaxy 8.9 is closer to the display are of the iPad MINI than to the iPad (Air).Death666Angel - Thursday, October 31, 2013 - link
If my math isn't wrong and the screen size calculator I used is correct (on draperin.com), then the HDX 8.9" has 231cm² display surface, the iPad Mini 172cm² and the iPad Air 243cm², which seems to invalidate your statement.thunng8 - Thursday, October 31, 2013 - link
Your math is wrong. Not sure if you accounted for different aspects ratiosBy my calculations (LxW=Area (cm^2):
iPad mini=16x12=192
Fire HDX=19.15x12=230
iPad Air=19.7x14.8=292