Detailed review and testing of the Apple iPad mini with Retina display. Detailed review and testing of Apple iPad Air Battery capacity of ipad air 2

It happens that iPad owners 2 are facing the problem of rapid battery drain. There can be many reasons, as well as solutions, but we will consider the most radical solution to this problem - its replacement.

A new battery can be purchased on similar sites. You can also try ordering it from service centers who carry out repairs Apple technology, but in this case the delivery time can be very long.

Attention: All actions that you carry out according to this manual may, if used carelessly, damage your iPad 2. If you are not confident in your abilities, please contact a service.

In order to disassemble iPad tablet you will need:
— Hair dryer, to soften the plastic and weaken the effect of the glue.
— A plastic tool for separating the front panel (available at phone parts stores).
— Plastic mediators, for the convenience of separating the panel (you can use everything that is at hand and has similar qualities).
— Special small-sized screwdrivers (can be ordered online, or use sets for mobile phones).

Let's get started:
At the initial stage, you will need to separate the front panel of the device; to do this, use a hairdryer to heat the area to the right (the home button at the bottom) of the home button for convenient separation. Be careful when directing the hot air stream, the button may be damaged if it gets too hot.

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After separating the front panel, you need to unscrew the 4 screws securing the device screen. For this you will need a small Phillips screwdriver, preferably with a magnetic tip. Also, it is better to think in advance where you will put the screws so as not to lose them.

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Then we will need to unscrew a few more fasteners, we do everything as in the photo.

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To remove the battery, it is better to heat the iPad from the back with a hairdryer, and you can proceed to disconnect.

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After installing a new battery, reassemble the tablet in the reverse order. To tighten the screws more easily, we recommend that you slightly twist them against the thread to get into it.

If you have any difficulties or additional questions, please comment, let's try to figure it out together.

If you are the happy owner of an iPad, then sooner or later you will definitely be faced with the question of how to properly use and charge the battery on your tablet.

Let's try to figure out together how to prolong the work of your device's heart.

Battery usage rules

iPad battery - how to properly use and charge your iPad

In order to extend the battery life, you don’t need a lot of knowledge, you just need to follow a few simple rules:

  1. Do not use or store iPad at temperatures below 0 or above +35 degrees. The optimal temperature for operating and storing the device is from 0 to 30 degrees.
  2. Do not leave your iPad without a charge for a long period of time (1-2 weeks), otherwise it may not turn on.
  3. Be sure to use your tablet, don't let it lie idle for a long time with a full charge, this way the battery capacity can be preserved.
  4. Discharge and charge your iPad completely, at least once a month.
  5. Charge your device properly.

These are the five basic rules that you should consider when using your tablet.

How to charge an iPad

The tablet can be charged using an adapter that connects to a 220 W outlet (usually included with the device) or from a computer via a USB cable.

Charge iPad via adapter. In this case, everything is simple, connect the iPad to the adapter, then plug it into a power outlet, wait full charge devices. This usually takes about 6 hours.


How to charge an iPad - charging an iPad using a 220W adapter

How to charge iPad from a computer. Everything is just as simple, but there is one “but”, you can charge the iPad via USB 2.0 only in standby mode (i.e., off) since USB port does not have enough power. Charging using this method can take up to 12 hours, and your computer must be turned on.


How to charge iPad - charging iPad from computer

How to charge ipad correctly

According to experts Li-ion batteries, it is better to charge the battery until it is completely discharged. The remaining charge can be like 10% , so 40% , but try not to allow a smaller discharge. Confirmation of my words can be a message on the iPad at a time when the charge remains less than 20%.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that there is a rumor that overcharging the battery has an extremely negative effect on its condition, but this is not entirely true. All well-known manufacturers have long been integrating a special circuit into the battery, which allows it to be protected from overcharging.

Also earlier, in metal hydride batteries, the effect was observed "memory" incomplete charging, but in current generation batteries this effect is very insignificant.

iPad battery capacity

  • On iPad 3 contains two batteries connected to each other with a common capacity 24.8 Wh., which is approximately 6,613 mAh. The operating time of a tablet with such a battery is approximately 10 o'clock.
  • On iPad 4 this capacity has been increased by almost 2 times and thus equal 42 Wh, which corresponds to 11,666 mAh. Despite the large battery capacity, its operating time is about 10 o'clock, and all due to the fact that the insides of the device consume much more energy.

How to save iPad battery power and extend its life?

Let's take a point-by-point look at how you can save battery power when using a tablet.

Display. This is the most voracious element that consumes the device’s charge the most. By using brightness settings you can reduce this consumption. The brighter the display, the greater the charge consumption; the dimmer, the less. Thus, your task is to adjust this parameter to suit your eye. To do this you need to go to “Settings” - “Brightness”. A slider will appear in front of you; by moving it, you can change the value of this parameter.


Stay tuned for firmware updates. Try to update the firmware as it comes out new version, since the company is constantly working to improve certain functions that in one way or another can affect charge consumption.

Turn off the 3G adapter. Turn off this adapter when you don’t need it at all or there is an alternative to wi-fi. It (3G) consumes too many resources.


Turn off the Wi-Fi adapter. This will allow you to save some of the charge. To turn off Wi-Fi, go to “Settings” - “Wi-Fi” and change the switch position to "Off" (“Off”)


Turn on Airplane Mode. If you are out of range 3G or Wi-Fi signals , then use the function "Air mode"– this will allow you to increase your battery usage savings. Go to "Settings", in the left menu, the very first item in the list will be "Airplane mode", change the switch to "On" (“On”).


Turn off "Notifications". Over time, the iPad becomes overgrown with applications, some of which constantly send notifications to your screen. By turning them off, you can extend the time iPad operation. Let's go to “Settings” - “Notifications” and turn off everything we don't need.


Disable Location Services. Pay attention to those programs that are constantly interested in your location. Disable some of them that do not need this function at all. Let's go to “Settings” - “Location services”.

Turn off Bluetooth. “Settings” - “General” - “Bluetooth” - “Off”.

Turn on auto-lock mode. Be sure to enable this mode. Set the values ​​to the minimum interval of “2 minutes.” “Settings” – “General” – “Auto-Lock” – “Auto-Lock”. This way we will force the iPad to turn itself off when we stop using it.

Turn off unnecessary sounds. For example, the sounds of the keyboard, turning the device on and off. Let's go to “Settings” - “General” - “Sounds” - “Sounds” and turn off everything unnecessary.

Remove automatic check mail and delete mailboxes that you are not using. “Settings” – “Mail, Contacts, Calendars” – “Fetch New Data”, here we change the position "Push" on "Off" (“Off”) and set the boot option "Manual".

If you have questions, comments or additions, leave them in the comments.

A quick question. How many hours does your iPad charge?

We work directly with manufacturing plants and offer only high-quality products,
certified. Thanks to this, we can offer you unique, for our
industries, warranty conditions:

  • After 1 year, the battery retains 70% of its declared capacity. If not, we will replace it with a new one.
  • Swelled, does not charge, does not turn on, discharges quickly

All batteries presented on the site are covered by a one-year warranty.
capacity retention, at least 70%. Delivery at our expense.

  1. What does this even mean?

    If over the course of a year the battery has become a third worse at holding a charge, we will replace it free of charge
    to a new one.

  2. How do you determine capacity?

    We test capacity using a Cadex battery analyzer (Canada).

  3. What if the battery stops holding a charge or charging?

    Contact us in any way convenient for you.
    We will pick it up free of charge with a suitable transport company.
    And, after a free test that confirms the problem, we will send you a new one.

    If the battery is in good condition, you only pay shipping costs.

  4. What if the battery doesn't work?

    If the battery does not fit, please notify us within 14 days of receiving your order, and
    we will change it to a suitable one. In this case, you only pay transportation costs.

  5. What if the problem wasn't the battery?

    It happens that the problem was not in the battery or you no longer want to use the data
    device. Please let us know within 14 days of receiving your order and we will refund you
    battery cost. In this case, you only pay transportation costs.

    Keep the battery in good condition.

The thinnest and lightest full-format tablet

Global sales started on November 1 iPad Air. The new generation of full-length Apple tablets was presented on October 22 (we told you about this event), and this announcement turned out to be sensational in some sense: no one expected that Apple would rename its tablet by adding the word Air to the name (previously used only in the line of ultra-thin laptops ). The manufacturer explained this by the significantly reduced weight and thickness of the device. And today we have the opportunity to check how revolutionary the changes turned out to be, not only in form, but also in essence (we thank the online store for providing it for testing).

Because everything general information the new product has already been reported in a report from Apple presentations, we will not repeat ourselves. We just note that the previous major update to the iPad design was already two and a half years ago, when the iPad 2 came out. The third and fourth generation iPads had no major design differences from the iPad 2. Therefore, the current update is doubly important. Here is a list of iPad Air specifications.

  • Apple A7 SoC 1.4 GHz 64 bit (2 cores, Cyclone architecture based on ARMv8)
  • GPU PowerVR G6430
  • Apple M7 motion coprocessor including accelerometer, gyroscope and compass
  • RAM 1 GB
  • Flash memory from 16 to 128 GB
  • No memory card support
  • Operating system iOS 7.0
  • Touch display IPS, 9.7″, 2048×1536 (264 ppi), capacitive, multi-touch
  • Cameras: front (1.2 MP, 720p video via FaceTime) and rear (5 MP, 1080p video shooting)
  • Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n (2.4 and 5 GHz; MIMO support)
  • Cellular (optional): UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), LTE Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26
  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • 3.5mm stereo headset jack, Lightning dock connector
  • Lithium polymer battery 32.4 Wh
  • A-GPS (version with cellular module)
  • Dimensions 240×170×7.5 mm
  • Weight 480 g (our measurement of the version with cellular module)

A separate explanation needs to be made regarding LTE bands. As we know, previous generations of iPads did not support Russian LTE bands in hardware. Now hardware support has appeared: in the characteristics above you can find Bands 7 and 20 used Russian operators. However, this does not mean that the iPad Air will work in LTE from the very first day of purchase. The fact is that Apple has not yet certified Russian LTE networks for its devices. Once this happens, devices with hardware support for the corresponding bands will most likely receive software update, once installed, you can connect to the LTE network. However, there remains some possibility that Apple does not certify Russian LTE networks - for example, due to their insufficient coverage. Therefore, if it is important for you to be able to use LTE, and not 3G, then buying an iPad Air is a risk, and perhaps you should take a closer look at other tablets that definitely have support for Russian LTE networks and are already working. A little later there was confirmation that iPad Air works without problems in Russian LTE networks, so there are no risks in this part.

Let's compare the iPad Air to its competitors, as well as the fourth-generation iPad.

fourth generation iPad Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) Asus Transformer Pad Infinity (2013)
ScreenIPS, 9.7″, 2048×1536 (264 ppi)PLS, 10.1″, 2560×1600 (299 ppi)IPS, 10.1″, 2560×1600 (299 ppi)
SoC (processor)Apple A7 1.4 GHz 64 bit (2 cores, Cyclone architecture, based on ARMv8) + M7 coprocessorApple A6X @1.4 GHz (2 cores of Apple's own architecture based on ARMv7s)Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 @2.3 GHz (4 Krait 400 cores) / Samsung Exynos 5 Octa (4 ARM Cortex-A15 cores @1.9 GHz and 4 ARM Cortex-A7 cores @1.3 GHz)NVIDIA Tegra 4 @1.8 GHz (4 cores + 1, ARM Cortex-A15)
GPUPowerVR G6430PowerVR SGX 554MP4 @300 MHzAdreno 330 / Mali-T628 MP6NVIDIA GeForce
Flash memoryfrom 16 to 128 GBfrom 16 to 128 GBfrom 16 to 64 GB32 GB + 5 GB cloud storage Asus Webstorage
ConnectorsLightning dock connector, 3.5mm headphone jackMicro-USB (with OTG support), 3.5mm headphone jackdock connector, Micro-USB, Micro-HDMI, 3.5 mm headphone jack
Memory card supportNoNomicroSD (up to 64 GB)microSD
RAM1 GB1 GB3 GB2 GB
Camerasfront (1.2 MP, 720p video via FaceTime) and rear (5 MP, 1080p video shooting)front (2 MP, 1080p video transmission) and rear (8 MP, 1080p video recording)front (1.2 MP, support for video communication 720p) and rear (5 MP, video recording 1080p)
InternetWi-Fi (optional - 3G, as well as 4G LTE)Wi-Fi (optional - 3G, as well as 4G LTE without support for Russian networks)Wi-Fi + 3G (optional LTE)WiFi
Battery capacity (mAh)8820 11560 8220 unknown
operating systemApple iOS 7.0Apple iOS 6.1Google Android 4.3Google Android 4.2.x
Dimensions (mm)*240×170×7.5241×186×9.4243×171×7.9263×181×8.9
Weight (g)480 652 544 585*
Average price** (Ya.Market)T-10548614T-8485661T-10498474T-10549018

*according to manufacturer information
** for the version with 32 GB of flash memory and 3G/4G module, if available

As we see, for many iPad specifications Air is inferior to top Android devices. However, since Apple devices exist in their own closed software ecosystem, it is impossible to draw any conclusions from the fact that Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 three gigabytes RAM, and the iPad Air only has one, it’s impossible. But weight and thickness are undoubted and objective indicators, and they are certainly on Apple’s side. In principle, we can already say that the iPad Air is the thinnest and lightest full-size tablet. But let's see how this affects the user experience.

Packaging and equipment

The packaging of the iPad Air is practically no different from the packaging of the previous generation tablet.

As for the configuration, everything here is also similar to the iPad 4: leaflets, charger(12 W, 2.4 A, 5.2 V), lightning cable, stickers and a key for removing the SIM card cradle.

Design

But if the equipment has not changed, then the tablet itself looks significantly different. The most important thing: it has become thinner, lighter and more compact. These are not just numbers on scales and rulers - these are sensations that are impossible not to notice if you have used an iPad before.

Firstly, the tablet has become more elongated: this was due to a significant reduction in the side frames (to the right and left of the screen). In the photo below you can clearly see this in comparison with the previous generation iPad.

And here's another telling photo: the iPad Air rests on top of its predecessor.

No less revealing is a photograph of this couple from a different angle.

Here we can already appreciate not only the reduced edges around the screen, but also the thickness of the iPad Air. True, if the previous three iPad generations the edges narrowed almost to the point of “cutting bread with a tablet”, the iPad Air does not have such a narrowing, so a quick glance at the edges seems that there is almost no difference or it is not even in favor of the new product. But in reality this is not the case.

In general, the iPad Air borrows its design from the iPad mini: it feels like they took the same body and simply increased the length and width. They even have almost identical thickness: the iPad mini is three tenths of a millimeter thinner. But second iPad mini (announced on October 22 along with the iPad Air) is already exactly the same thickness as the iPad Air. But if the thickness of the iPad mini does not surprise anyone, in the case of the full-size iPad it really makes an impression.

As for the placement of connectors and buttons, everything here is identical to the iPad mini - even the buttons are the same (metal, not plastic, like the iPad 4) and pressed with the same light force. In addition to the Home button on the front side, there are two volume buttons and a lever that, by default, blocks changing the screen orientation, located on the right side. On tablets with a cellular module, on the same side we see a slot for a Nano-SIM format SIM card.

The left side is completely free of buttons and connectors. On the bottom edge there is a Lightning connector and on the sides of it there are speakers.

On the top edge we see the Power button, a 3.5 mm jack for connecting a stereo headset, and a microphone hole. On tablets with a cellular module, most of the top edge is covered with a plastic insert (moreover, on light-colored tablets it is white, not dark, as is the case with the iPad 4). Honestly, she's spoiling appearance devices. But, apparently, it is impossible to ensure reliable 3G/LTE reception in an all-metal case.

In general, the design of the iPad Air is, of course, its main advantage, distinguishing the device from all its competitors. When you hold this almost weightless (compared to previous iPads) and thin glass-metal board, you experience almost the same sensations as you did from the first iPad when it first appeared. Perhaps this feeling will gradually dull, but at first you can’t get enough of it: how great it is to read magazines, surf the Internet, play on such a tablet...

At the same time, I am glad that Apple was able to achieve such outstanding results by using non-plastic materials, like Samsung in Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition, but metal (except for the plastic insert on tablets with a cellular module). To summarize, we can say that at the moment the iPad Air simply has no competitors in design among full-size tablets.

Screen and software

Like the iPad 3 and iPad 4, the iPad Air features a Retina display with a resolution of 2048 x 1536. If a year and a half ago this figure was unsurpassed, and a year ago the only tablet with a higher resolution was the Google Nexus 10, which never reached Russia, now tablets with a resolution of 2560x1600 no longer look like such a curiosity. In addition, since the release of the iPad 4, our test laboratory has seen many tablets with excellent screens. How does the iPad Air screen look against their background?

Here is a detailed examination Retina screen, conducted earlier by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections, Alexey Kudryavtsev.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, there is a very effective anti-glare filter, approximately equal in reducing the brightness of the reflection to the screen filter of the Google Nexus 7 2013 (we will compare it with it below).

For clarity, here are photographs in which a white surface is reflected in the switched off screens of both tablets:

Visually, the reflection has approximately the same brightness, and only statistics from graphic editor shows that the Nexus 7's screen is slightly darker (52.73 average brightness) than the iPad Air's (59.3 average brightness).

The reflection in the screen triples, which suggests the presence of an air gap between the surface of the matrix and the outer glass. From the point of view of image perception, this is a minus, but the screen with separate outer glass (also known as touchpad) is easier and cheaper to repair. The outer surface of the screen has a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (effective, but still worse than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily and appear at a slower rate than with regular glass.

With manual brightness control, its maximum value was about 425 cd/m², and the minimum was 7 cd/m². The maximum value is quite high, and, given the good anti-glare properties, in bright daylight The image on the screen should be clearly visible. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front camera eye). In this case, the brightness can only automatically increase - when the level of external illumination decreases, we did not wait for a corresponding decrease in screen brightness. However, if you put the tablet into sleep mode and turn it on again, the brightness will be set in accordance with the external light level. The minimum and average levels in Auto mode depend on the position of the brightness adjustment slider. So, when the slider is set to maximum, automatic adjustment does not work - the brightness remains maximum regardless of external conditions. If the slider is located approximately in the middle, then in bright light (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight), the maximum brightness is 425 cd/m², in an office illuminated by artificial light - 145 cd/m² (normal), in the dark - 38 cd/m² (acceptable). If the slider is at a minimum, then under the above conditions the values ​​are as follows: 425, 14, 7 cd/m². Thus, this function It works adequately only at some average brightness adjustment positions. At the extremes, the brightness is either always maximum, or decreases too quickly when ambient light decreases. At any brightness level, there is virtually no backlight modulation, so there is no screen flickering.

This tablet uses an IPS matrix. The microphotographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:

The screen has good viewing angles without inverting shades and without significant color shifts, even with large viewing deviations from perpendicular to the screen. For comparison, here are photos in which the same images are displayed on the Nexus 7 and iPad Air screens, with the brightness of both screens set to approximately 208 cd/m², perpendicular to the screens:

And a white field:

Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:

It can be seen that the colors did not “float” on both tablets. White field:

The brightness at an angle for both tablets decreased approximately equally (about four times, based on the difference in shutter speed), but the color tone did not change much.

When deviated diagonally, the black field is lightened weakly and acquires a red-violet tint or remains almost neutral gray. A photo from the Nexus 7 shows this for comparison (the brightness of both tablets is the same!):

And along the other diagonal:

It can be seen that the iPad Air has a different color tone of the black field depending on the diagonal, but its brightness in any case is slightly lower than the brightness of the black Nexus 7 at the same angle.

When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is good, since in fact only along the bottom edge there are dim areas with increased brightness of the black field (bright points are dead pixels on the camera matrix):

The Google Nexus 7's black uniformity is worse, but it has better black depth in the center of the screen. Indeed, the contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) of the iPad Air is not a record - about 850:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 21 ms (11 ms on + 10 ms off). The transition between halftones of gray 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 34 ms. The gamma curve constructed from 32 points did not reveal a blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows, and the index of the approximating power function turned out to be 2.24, which is not significantly higher than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve barely deviates from the power-law dependence:

Color gamut is close to sRGB:

Apparently, the matrix filters mix the components with each other to a moderate extent. The spectra confirm this:

As a result, the colors of images - drawings, photographs and films - oriented to the sRGB space (and the vast majority of them) have natural saturation. The balance of shades on the gray scale is good, since the color temperature is close to the standard 6500 K, and the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (delta E) is less than 10, which is considered an acceptable indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, the variation in color temperature and delta E is small, which also has a positive effect on the visual perception of color balance. (Dark areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since there the color balance does not have of great importance, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)


The range of brightness adjustment for the iPad Air screen is quite wide, and the anti-glare filter is very effective, which allows you to comfortably use the tablet both on a clear day outside and in complete darkness. There is automatic brightness adjustment, and it works more or less adequately, but only up, which will force the user to either set the brightness manually, or force the brightness to decrease, putting the tablet into sleep mode and turning it back on. Apparently, this implementation facilitates the transition from previous iPad versions- Habits can be maintained. To the advantages iPad screen Air features an effective oleophobic coating, close to sRGB coverage, good color balance and excellent black stability to the deviation of the gaze from perpendicular to the screen surface, as well as good black field uniformity. In general, the screen quality is very high.

In terms of software, the iPad Air has nothing fundamentally new except for the fact that it is sold with iOS 7 pre-installed, while the previous model left the factories with iOS 6. But it can also be updated to iOS 7. We also note that iPad users Air available free popular Apple apps- Pages, Numbers, Keynote and GarageBand.

Performance

Like the iPhone 5s, the iPad Air runs on Apple's new A7 SoC. It is curious that Apple did not create an original name for the tablet SoC. In iPad 3 and 4, the SoC name also had an X prefix: Apple A5X and Apple A6X. Now it’s just Apple A7.

The main feature of the new SoC is the 64-bit “desktop-class” architecture (as was said at the presentation of the iPhone 5s).

It is also worth paying attention to the presence of the Apple M7 motion coprocessor. The idea is this: the gyroscope, compass and accelerometer now transmit data to the M7 coprocessor, which collects and processes this data. Among other things, it allows applications to use the information of these modules more efficiently, and also saves SoC energy (which ultimately saves battery life).

We wrote about other characteristics of the Apple A7 in the article about the iPhone 5s. Everything said there is true for the iPad Air.

Well, let's see what the results are new iPad Air demonstrates in benchmarks.

Let's start with browser tests: SunSpider 1.0, Octane Benchmark and Kraken Benchmark. In all cases, on Apple devices we used Safari browser from iOS 7, and on Android - Google Chrome.

It is clearly seen that the iPad Air is the undisputed leader. And, of course, the gap from the fourth generation iPad is especially impressive.

Now let's see how the iPad Air performs in Geekbench 3, a multi-platform benchmark that measures CPU and RAM performance.

As you can see, the results are generally similar to the previous test. The iPad Air outperforms (albeit within the margin of error) even the eight-core Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. Well, in single-processor mode it is a third faster than its main Android competitor and almost twice as fast as its predecessor, which indicates a significantly more efficient architecture of the Apple A7.

Now let's look at the GPU performance. There are two multi-platform benchmarks available here: GFXBench (formerly GLBenchmark 2.7) and 3DMark. Let's start with the GFXBench results.

Apple iPad Air
(Apple A7)
Apple iPhone 5s
(Apple A7)
Apple iPad fourth generation
(Apple A6X)
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition
(Samsung Exynos 5 Octa)
Toshiba Excite Write
(NVIDIA Tegra 4)
GFXBench 2.7.2 T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Offscreen)27 fps25 fps16 fps23 fps16 fps
GFXBench 2.7.2 T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Onscreen)21 fps27 fps12 fps14 fps10 fps
GFXBench 2.7.2 T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Offscreen Fixed Timestep)25 fps23 fps16 fps21 fps15 fps
GFXBench 2.7.2 T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Onscreen Fixed Timestep)20 fps26 fps12 fps13 fps10 fps
GFXBench 2.7.2 Egypt HD (C24Z16)63 fps56 fps38 fps41 fps28 fps
GFXBench 2.7.2 Egypt HD (C24Z16 Offscreen)49 fps48 fps50 fps60 fps43 fps

As you can see, in Offscreen modes (in which the scene is displayed on the screen in Full HD resolution, regardless of the tablet screen resolution), the new iPad Air is quite a bit ahead of its Android competitors. But in Onscreen mode, which reflects the real “life” performance of games on a particular device, the iPad Air takes a big lead: the super-resolution of Android tablets plays against them.

And again, the iPad Air shows the best results, outperforming both its predecessors and competitors from the Android camp.

As we can see, Apple, despite the tougher competition, still manages to maintain leadership in productivity. Let's add to this the fact that everything best games first of all, they are still released on iOS, and also the fact that they are optimized for iOS in the best possible way(because there are a limited number of configurations) and the obvious conclusion is that the iPad Air is the best gaming tablet available today. Of course, in favor of the same Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition we can say that it has a higher resolution. But whether you will feel this difference when looking at the screen is a big question. But you can feel a decrease in performance due to this resolution in top games.

Autonomous operation

We only had the tablet for testing for a short time, and detailed tests battery life failed to do so. But, nevertheless, we were able to test the new product in the most difficult mode, simulating a 3D game. This is the Epic Citadel (Guided Tour). With the screen brightness set to 100 cd/m², the tablet worked for just over six hours. The previous generation iPad showed the same result. Thus, Apple's claims that the battery life of the iPad Air has not deteriorated compared to the previous generation of Apple tablets can be considered true.

No less interesting is the comparison with other current tablet models. As can be seen from the table with the results, and new Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, and tablets powered by NVIDIA Tegra 4 and Intel Atom Z2560 outright lost to the iPad Air. However, it is worth considering that the screen resolution is Samsung devices and Toshiba are higher than the iPad. But the fact remains: in high-load scenarios, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition will last less than the iPad Air.

Camera

The iPad Air is equipped with two cameras - a front one with a resolution of 1.2 megapixels and a rear one with a resolution of 5 megapixels, similar to the cameras on the iPad 4. This is not very high, especially by modern standards, but on a full-size tablet the camera should still be perceived as more of an addition. Although many (for example, Japanese tourists) do not think so. Anyway, good camera- this is a plus, but its quality is not determined by megapixels alone. Therefore, we decided to fully test the iPad Air camera using our smartphone camera testing methodology. Anton Soloviev photographed the stand and commented on the photos from the street.

The iPad Air's camera turned out to be quite good. In general, it copes with shooting in good lighting, but perhaps does not show anything outstanding, with the exception of excellent macro. The camera not only manages to choose the focus well on a close object, but also gives the photo an artistic touch by blurring the background well. Macro photography in the camera is really implemented very well, it feels like this is where the emphasis was placed. On the one hand, this is very reasonable, since the camera in a tablet is often useful for shooting documents; on the other hand - to each his own.

In varying lighting conditions the camera performs slightly better than iPhone camera 5s. Unfortunately, the iPad Air does not have a flash, which significantly limits the range of use of its camera. Also, the camera's capabilities are limited by its low resolution - only 5 megapixels, which does not allow it to be classified as a documentary camera.

The camera can be positioned as an artistic camera with good macro and document photography capabilities.

Video

The rear camera can shoot 1080p video at 29.97 fps.

The camera manages video quite well, with slight ripples, but without significant delays or lags between different parts of the frame from each other.

Conclusions

Well, Apple has once again released a great tablet, showing all its competitors (including the most aggressive ones who have already decided that they are the new leaders) who knows how to combine design, functionality and a great user experience better than anyone else. You can list for a long time the disadvantages of the Apple platform and, conversely, the advantages Android platforms, but if you ignore the “religious wars” and just pick up the iPad Air, it becomes clear that this is truly an excellent product. And if among your needs there are no those that cannot be realized without, say, connection external storage, the most convenient access to Google services and pen, then you might want to opt for the iPad.

If you just want to surf the Internet, read books and magazines, watch videos on YouTube, play games, check email, and you are ready to buy or rent movies at iTunes Store, then the Apple iPad Air is the clear favorite among candidates for purchase. Of course, in this case we are not considering budget options, because we're talking about specifically about top-end devices.

But even for those users who have any specific preferences that are incompatible with Apple restrictions, it’s also worth saying thanks to the company created by Steve Jobs and now headed by Tim Cook: thanks to the iPad Air, Android tablets will soon also, presumably, lose weight and become thinner, but in the meantime their sellers will have to lose weight: prices for many top models should fall. Otherwise, they are unlikely to be able to compete with the iPad Air.

But who seems to us to be the most formidable competitor to the iPad Air is the new iPad mini, which, at a price of $100 lower, has all the same capabilities and qualities (including a screen resolution of 2048 × 1536 and the Apple A7 SoC), but at the same time it is more compact , which can be regarded as a plus by many users (although this is a controversial issue: after all, the pleasure of reading, watching videos and surfing the web on a 9.7″ screen is much higher than on a 7.9″ screen). However, the iPad mini and its comparison with the iPad Air is a topic for a new article, which will be published immediately after the updated iPad mini goes on sale worldwide. Stay tuned!

At the end of the article, we bring to your attention our video review of the Apple iPad Air tablet:


16 GB (+3G)32 GB (+3G)64 GB (+3G)128 GB (+3G)
Average price according to Yandex.Market
T-10548616
(T-10548613)
T-10548618
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T-10548620
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T-10548752
(T-10548750)
iPad Air 16 GB (+3G) offers according to Yandex.Market
L-10548616-5L-10548613-5
iPad Air 32 GB (+3G) offers according to Yandex.Market
L-10548618-5L-10548614-5
iPad Air 64 GB (+3G) offers according to Yandex.Market
L-10548620-5L-10548615-5
Offers iPad Air 128 GB (+3G) according to Yandex.Market
L-10548752-5L-10548750-5

Information about the make, model, and alternative names of the specific device, if available.

Design

Information about the dimensions and weight of the device, presented in different units of measurement. Materials used, colors offered, certificates.

Width

Width information - refers to the horizontal side of the device in its standard orientation during use.

241.2 mm (millimeters)
24.12 cm (centimeters)
0.79 ft (feet)
9.5 in (inches)
Height

Height information - refers to the vertical side of the device in its standard orientation during use.

185.7 mm (millimeters)
18.57 cm (centimeters)
0.61 ft (feet)
7.31 in (inches)
Thickness

Information about the thickness of the device in different units measurements.

8.8 mm (millimeters)
0.88 cm (centimeters)
0.03 ft (feet)
0.35 in (inches)
Weight

Information about the weight of the device in different units of measurement.

601 g (grams)
1.32 lbs (pounds)
21.2 oz (ounces)
Volume

The approximate volume of the device, calculated based on the dimensions provided by the manufacturer. Refers to devices with the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped.

394.16 cm³ (cubic centimeters)
23.94 in³ (cubic inches)

Operating system

An operating system is a system software that manages and coordinates the operation of hardware components in a device.

SoC (System on Chip)

A system on a chip (SoC) includes all the most important hardware components of a mobile device on one chip.

SoC (System on Chip)

A system on a chip (SoC) integrates various hardware components such as a processor, GPU, memory, peripherals, interfaces, etc., as well as the software necessary for their operation.

Apple A5 APL0498
Process

Information about the technological process by which the chip is manufactured. Nanometers measure half the distance between elements in the processor.

45 nm (nanometers)
Processor (CPU)

The primary function of a mobile device's processor (CPU) is to interpret and execute instructions contained in software applications.

ARM Cortex-A9
Processor size

The size (in bits) of a processor is determined by the size (in bits) of the registers, address buses, and data buses. 64-bit processors have higher performance compared to 32-bit processors, which in turn are more powerful than 16-bit processors.

32 bit
Instruction Set Architecture

Instructions are commands with which the software sets/controls the operation of the processor. Information about the instruction set (ISA) that the processor can execute.

ARMv7
Level 1 cache (L1)

Cache memory is used by the processor to reduce access time to more frequently used data and instructions. L1 (level 1) cache is small in size and works much faster as system memory, and other levels of cache memory. If the processor does not find the requested data in L1, it continues to look for it in the L2 cache. On some processors, this search is performed simultaneously in L1 and L2.

32 kB + 32 kB (kilobytes)
Level 2 cache (L2)

L2 (level 2) cache is slower than L1, but in return it has a larger capacity that allows caching more data. It, like L1, is much faster than system memory (RAM). If the processor does not find the requested data in L2, it continues to look for it in the L3 cache (if available) or in RAM memory.

1024 kB (kilobytes)
1 MB (megabytes)
Number of processor cores

The processor core executes software instructions. There are processors with one, two or more cores. Having more cores increases performance by allowing multiple instructions to be executed in parallel.

2
CPU clock speed

The clock speed of a processor describes its speed in terms of cycles per second. It is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).

1000 MHz (megahertz)
Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)

Graphics processing unit (GPU) handles calculations for various 2D/3D graphic applications. IN mobile devices ah it is used most often by games, consumer interface, video applications, etc.

PowerVR SGX543 MP2
Number of GPU cores

Like a CPU, a GPU is made up of several working parts called cores. They handle graphics calculations for various applications.

2
Amount of random access memory (RAM)

Random Access Memory (RAM) in use operating system and all installed applications. Data stored in RAM is lost after the device is turned off or restarted.

512 MB (megabytes)
Type of random access memory (RAM)

Information about the type of random access memory (RAM) used by the device.

LPDDR2
Number of RAM channels

Information about the number of RAM channels that are integrated into the SoC. More channels means more high speeds data transfer.

Dual channel
RAM frequency

The frequency of RAM determines its operating speed, more specifically, the speed of reading/writing data.

400 MHz (megahertz)

Built-in memory

Each mobile device has built-in (non-removable) memory with a fixed capacity.

Screen

The screen of a mobile device is characterized by its technology, resolution, pixel density, diagonal length, color depth, etc.

Type/technology

One of the main characteristics of the screen is the technology by which it is made and on which the quality of the information image directly depends.

IPS
Diagonal

For mobile devices, screen size is expressed by the length of its diagonal, measured in inches.

9.7 in (inches)
246.38 mm (millimeters)
24.64 cm (centimeters)
Width

Approximate screen width

7.76 in (inches)
197.1 mm (millimeters)
19.71 cm (centimeters)
Height

Approximate screen height

5.82 in (inches)
147.83 mm (millimeters)
14.78 cm (centimeters)
Aspect Ratio

The ratio of the dimensions of the long side of the screen to its short side

1.333:1
4:3
Permission

Screen resolution shows the number of pixels vertically and horizontally on the screen. Higher resolution means clearer image detail.

1024 x 768 pixels
Pixel Density

Information about the number of pixels per centimeter or inch of the screen. Higher density allows information to be displayed on the screen with clearer detail.

132 ppi (pixels per inch)
51 ppcm (pixels per centimeter)
Color depth

Screen color depth reflects the total number of bits used for color components in one pixel. Information about the maximum number of colors that the screen can display.

24 bit
16777216 flowers
Screen area

Approximate percentage of screen area occupied by the screen on the front of the device.

65.26% (percentage)
Other characteristics

Information about other screen features and characteristics.

Capacitive
Multi-touch
Scratch resistance
Oleophobic (lipophobic) coating
LED-backlit

Sensors

Different sensors perform different quantitative measurements and convert physical indicators into signals that a mobile device can recognize.

Rear camera

The main camera of a mobile device is usually located on its back panel and may be combined with one or more secondary cameras.

Svetlosila

F-stop (also known as aperture, aperture, or f-number) is a measure of the size of a lens's aperture, which determines the amount of light entering the sensor. The lower the f-number, the larger the aperture and the more light reaches the sensor. Typically the f-number is specified to correspond to the maximum possible aperture of the aperture.

f/2.4
Image Resolution

One of the main characteristics of cameras is resolution. It represents the number of horizontal and vertical pixels in an image. For convenience, smartphone manufacturers often list resolution in megapixels, indicating the approximate number of pixels in millions.

960 x 720 pixels
0.69 MP (megapixels)
Video resolution

Information about the maximum video resolution that the camera can record.

1280 x 720 pixels
0.92 MP (megapixels)
Video recording speed (frame rate)

Information about maximum speed recording (frames per second, fps) supported by the camera at maximum resolution. Some of the most basic video recording speeds are 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, 60 fps.

30fps (frames per second)

Front camera

Smartphones have one or more front cameras of various designs - a pop-up camera, a rotating camera, a cutout or hole in the display, an under-display camera.

Audio

Information about the type of speakers and audio technologies supported by the device.

Radio

The radio of the mobile device is a built-in FM receiver.

WiFi

Wi-Fi is a technology that provides wireless communication for transmitting data over close distances between various devices.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless data transfer between various devices of different types over short distances.

USB

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard that allows different electronic devices to exchange data.

Headphone jack

This is an audio connector, also called an audio jack. The most widely used standard in mobile devices is the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Connecting devices

Information about other important connection technologies supported by your device.

Browser

A web browser is a software application for accessing and viewing information on the Internet.

Video file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support different video file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode/decode digital video data.

Battery

Mobile device batteries differ from each other in their capacity and technology. They provide the electrical charge necessary for their functioning.

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

The SAR level refers to the amount of electromagnetic radiation absorbed by the human body while using a mobile device.

Body SAR level (EU)

The SAR level indicates maximum quantity electromagnetic radiation to which the human body is exposed when holding a mobile device at hip level. The maximum permissible SAR value for mobile devices in Europe is 2 W/kg per 10 grams of human tissue. This standard established by the CENELEC committee in compliance with the ICNIRP guidelines of 1998 and IEC standards.

0.76 W/kg (Watt per kilogram)
Body SAR level (US)

The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation to which the human body is exposed when holding a mobile device at hip level. The highest permissible SAR value in the USA is 1.6 W/kg per 1 gram of human tissue. This value is set by the FCC, and the CTIA monitors mobile devices' compliance with this standard.

0.99 W/kg (Watt per kilogram)
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