The Apple iPad Air 2 Review
by Joshua Ho on November 7, 2014 9:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Tablets
- Apple
- Mobile
- iOS
- ipad Air 2
CPU Performance
Now that we’ve managed to take a good look at the changes between the A8 and A8X, we can get a good idea of what those differences translate to in some real world performance. While we’ve already seen pure CPU performance, such differences can be small when viewed from real applications. To this end, we use a few browser benchmarks and similar benchmarks. I definitely want to caution against comparing SoCs across platforms though, as rendering engines have a significant effect upon the performance of the device.
There's really not too much that needs to be said here, as the extra core and minor clock speed bump make for ridiculous amounts of performance. The A8X is class-leading here despite generally having fewer cores and lower clocks than the rest of the competition. However, in comparison to A8 we don't see a massive jump in performance. This seems to suggest that even a third core will invoke diminishing returns in general, although these changes mean that it's enough for the iPad Air 2 to be one of the fastest ARM-based devices on the market. One can see an odd regression in the Basemark OS II storage test, but this is likely to be production variances in NAND quality rather than anything notable.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
226 Comments
View All Comments
tralalalalalala40 - Friday, November 7, 2014 - link
If you want to tinker and fix something that keeps breaking (some people like to do that, that's why there is a used car market), then android is for you. This is changing every day and the two are converging as google makes android (the one you use) more and more closed source to leave aosp behind :)IUU - Friday, November 7, 2014 - link
"If you want to tinker and fix something that keeps breaking.."So, are you that disappointed with your ipad?
And what will you do with a device that never breaks but can't do anything with it;even this little thing, that is, proper communication between the user and the machine is out of the question with the ipad. I remember trying to be patient when testing an ipad for a whole week(god I have such a big patience) and trying to avoid the spontaneous urge to bang my head on the wall every five minutes or so.
So, I didn't reply reasonably to you because you made a ridiculous comment, but it is true that I still try to forget the traumatic experience I had with the ipad. The only good thing about buying one is that raises the value of your Apple stocks.
tralalalalalala40 - Thursday, November 13, 2014 - link
iOS 8 on the newest devices is amazing. With full Microsoft support and further enterprise support, the device is becoming more and more of a productivity device. If you have an iPad 3 or below, I feel your pain.Galidou - Friday, November 14, 2014 - link
I don't know what kind of traumatic experience you can have with an iPad... unless you'Re a very big tech newbie. I'm with everyone here that I don't want to fix anything that's broken. I had to constantly work around bugs and problems on my Asus Transformer TF201. I bought an iPad 4 about 2 years ago, never plugged it in a computer and does everything I need from a tablet plus the screen, camera, OS responsiveness, stability and so on beats any android devices I've owned.My girlfriend has 2 ipod touch that still work wonders, she bought an android phone, and as good as it is and she likes it, there's a virus on it and as soon as it uses the home network, my upload goes crazy. Now I have to buy an antivirus or restore the thing. Never it has happened on her iPods touch.
I've had one problem with an iPod touch it was under warranty, made a request to have it repaired, received a bos in which the iPod did fit like a glove didn'T cost me a penny back and forth one week later I had a brand new iPod touch. Not much to say, best experience I've had to deal with any piece of technology I've owned.
akdj - Thursday, November 27, 2014 - link
My two year old son uses an iPad. I'm sorry u weren't able to figure it outNEDM64 - Sunday, November 9, 2014 - link
Boys trying to look like men.If you want to get deep, you won't be arguing about iOS or android, both are toys for kids, you would be instead arguing for tektronix vs Agilent for your next oscilloscope.
extide - Monday, November 10, 2014 - link
Screw Tektronics, they haven't been innovating in the last 10 years or so. All of their scopes are SO SLOW!! It's either Agilent or LeCroy :) Also Rigol is a great choice for lower budgets.blackcrayon - Friday, November 7, 2014 - link
"almost all technical people prefer Android."citation needed.
There are tons of technical people who prefer iOS, hell, look how many iOS app developers there are. The other side of the coin is, the vast majority of customers of any computing device are not technical anyway.
Jumangi - Saturday, November 8, 2014 - link
How many iOS developers there are has nothing to do with them "liking it more". They go there because of the money.akdj - Monday, November 10, 2014 - link
Makes sensePeople buy, come back and buy again ...and continue to use one of their hundreds of thousands of tablet optimized iOS apps
Ever look at the dismal 'app selection' in the Play Store for your tablet?
Maybe I should say 'lack of selection'
Sad, but yeah...I'd consider pilots, surgeons, Boeing and 95% of the Fortune 500 'customers of any computing device aren't technical anyway.'
Ridiculous
Ignorant
Try one. I enjoy both. But Android for very specific needs. iOS covers literally EVERY base