From Apple's tech specs, the only differences I can see between the Retina Mini and the Air is the weight and size of the screen (the resolution is the same). So the extra $100 is for bigger heavier pixels?
iPad Air
61–70 of 286 posts
Re: iPad Air
#62Can someone explain to me the obsession with "thinner"? This model is 2mm thinner and it's touted as taking "years of work". Lighter, I understand. Thin is a good goal, but 2mm is pretty pointless when you're just going to put a 5-10mm thick cover/case on it anyway.
Totally agree with this. In the keynote they played one of their new ads like they normally do, with the usual monologue from Jony Ive and he said something like "It's difficult to make something smaller AND more powerful at the same time" Well... stop trying to make it smaller then. Would prefer bigger improvements in battery life or performance or some new feature over a 2mm gain of um... space...
Re: iPad Air
#63So their new commercial for the iPad focuses on the fact that so many people use it for productivity, so why can't Apple create a decent, first-party pressure sensitive stylus, so we don't have to deal with expensive, clunky, third-party solutions.
Obviously because Apple does not want you to use a stylus with it. Or perhaps, they don't want to be the ones to tell you that you could use a stylus with it if you wanted. They want to perpetuate the idea that it's self contained; a stylus would contradict that.
Re: iPad Air
#64Interesting, not sure if its enough to make be upgrade but still. Weirdly when the 'ipad air' moniker leaked I figured they were going to a do an iOS version of the Macbook Air to capture the 'appliance laptop' market that the Chromebook and Surface 2 are gunning for. The graphics and cpu boosts are nice (and nice that they are accompanied by a run time boost) but what about the camera? What about the sensors? Lookin…
The 'appliance laptop' market is too similar to the failed netbook market for Apple to approach or care about, I think. If Apple were to come out with an new or hybrid category I don't think it would resemble an 'appliance laptop'.
Afterall, the MacBook Air wasn't a competitor to the netbooks - it was a competitor to the ultrabooks being touted by Intel et al. The iPad was the sleeper competitor to the netbook and killed that market (with help from Windows and Intel desperate to not have the PC platform not go that far down market).
If Apple comes out with something to address the 'appliance laptop' market I expect it to be an official Apple design and manufactured keyboard for the iPad line* and not an entirely new product.
I've not seen it mentioned anywhere yet, but the "iPad Air" and "iPad Mini" monikers leave room for the simply "iPad" moniker to eventually refer to something entirely re-imagined or ultra-premium. At the least it leaves room for a larger "iPad".
* What is the state of the art in usability in the 3rd party iPad keyboard market these days?
Re: iPad Air
#65With all due respect, I really hope HN doesn't end up turning into an Apple fanatic site as was the case on certain tech blogs a few years ago. Also 2mm thinner warrants the "Air" title? I seriously think Apple are parodying themselves sometimes... Disclaimer: I am not any sort of "fanboy", I own an iPad and an android phone because they seem to be most suitable for me in those areas, I just feel as though HN is gett…
Just reading through the (largely critical) comments in this thread, I don't think there's much of a chance of that happening.
Re: iPad Air
#66From Apple's tech specs, the only differences I can see between the Retina Mini and the Air is the weight and size of the screen (the resolution is the same). So the extra $100 is for bigger heavier pixels?
Basically, yes. I personally will be buying the Air because I like my older iPad's size vs my iPhone. The mini is a great product, but it's just a little too small for me to fit the bedroom/travel entertainment category that I'm looking for. Plus, playing board and light-3d games on the 10" screen is really a joy.
Re: iPad Air
#67Does anyone know what the airplane game they're showing here is? http://images.apple.com/ipad-air/features/images/performance... I'd like to get it.
It's Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy by Namco. Here's the App Store link: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/sky-gamblers-air-supremacy/i...
Re: iPad Air
#68With all due respect, I really hope HN doesn't end up turning into an Apple fanatic site as was the case on certain tech blogs a few years ago. Also 2mm thinner warrants the "Air" title? I seriously think Apple are parodying themselves sometimes... Disclaimer: I am not any sort of "fanboy", I own an iPad and an android phone because they seem to be most suitable for me in those areas, I just feel as though HN is gett…
It would be interesting to see a HN poll on this. It seems to me that HN is mostly pro-Google/Android, anti-Apple, anti-MSFT, anti-FB and anti-Twitter.
Re: iPad Air
#69With all due respect, I really hope HN doesn't end up turning into an Apple fanatic site as was the case on certain tech blogs a few years ago. Also 2mm thinner warrants the "Air" title? I seriously think Apple are parodying themselves sometimes... Disclaimer: I am not any sort of "fanboy", I own an iPad and an android phone because they seem to be most suitable for me in those areas, I just feel as though HN is gett…
They needed to change the name, and have been trying to get away from the numbering scheme. Remember how they tried to call the iPad 3 the "New iPad" but it failed to catch on?
Well, where do you go from there really..
Re: iPad Air
#70Interesting that it's also getting the new M7 motion co-processor. It's good to see the market for always-on motion sensor computing increasing.
I really need to get more creative with my personal apps now that someone can be carrying an iPhone 5S and iPad Air, both that can be iBeacons and accurately track motion. Ugh, there has to be something there!