TEST: Apple iPad Air 128 GB 4G - CHIP

thin and very light – weighing just 473 grams – iPad Air is not to be confused with any other tablet. Particularly impressing its thickness – it’s just 8 millimeters. In addition, the designers of Apple’s much zw?zili frame surrounding the well-known 9.7-inch Retina display with a resolution of 20148 x 1536 pixels. Compared to its predecessor the iPad Air is about 1,7 cm narrower and lighter until about 179 grams, making it much less massive and more handy. In this class, there is no size exclusion tablet that could compete with the iPad Air in terms of weight. The quality of materials and workmanship is, as usual with Apple, the highest class.

more power thanks to the A7 processor

Inside the iPad Air beats the heart in the form of a new Apple A7 SoC system equipped with an auxiliary processor M7 traffic, enabling efficient control and communication with sensors movements. Although the A7 processor only has two cores clocked at a frequency of 1.4 GHz, its performance is flawless – system and applications run fast.

3D benchmarks A7 system ahead of even powerful quad-core Tegra 4 developed by a specialized graphics chips NVIDIA. iPad Air achieved in the test Extreme Ice Storm included in the current version of 3DMark for mobile devices score 10 487 points, while the best tablet with Tegra 4 – Microsoft Surface 2 – scored only 8974 points.

display of the highest quality

Panel type IPS Retina went off very well in all the tests. The maximum intensity of the backlight 397 cd / m ² may not be very large compared to some competitors, but more than sufficient. In terms of checkerboard contrast (143:1) and the maximum contrast (1116:1) iPad Air also ranks among the best. Contrast reflect the level of 5:1 is satisfactory and the viewing angles, typically for IPS panels are characterized by high stability. It is also something that can be called icing on the cake: the sRGB color space coverage reaches 103 percent., So that the colors are very natural.

Mobility flawless

In terms of design and performance of the iPad Air resembles the iPad Mini, although the screen size 9.7 “makes comparing it with the larger tablets. The operating time is long, but not as much as in the case of certain models of Android. iPad Air withstand almost eight hours watching movies or 6 hours of surfing the Web, so progress compared to the iPad 4, reaching respectively 6:08 h and 5:46 h, is unmistakable. Battery charging time is 4:24 h, like its predecessor.

Incredible ergonomics

iPad Air is equipped with the latest iOS-and 7, which introduced a new layout and color scheme of the interface. In fact, changes are not revolutionary. The iOS-e still do not find known Android widgets – we can only change the screen background, group appy in katalogiach and move icons. On the other hand, the tablet almost seamlessly can be operated by one hand. During the tests, or on the home screen or while using numerous appów not noticed any screen jumps or other signs of performance problems. Each menu can be opened with just a few gestures and adjust the system settings is simple. iOS remains so faithful to the assumption that the system for ordinary users, not for computer-hobbyists. To handle the tablet does not need specialized knowledge, and the action the vast majority of functions is not in doubt. It’s also hard not boast a huge selection of appów.

powerful components

1 GB of memory, 128 GB of flash memory modules n WLAN, LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, and an interface Lightning – here are the most important pieces of equipment a test device, costing in such a configuration about 3800 z?. The module supports LTE frequency bands 800, 1800, and 2600 MHz, allowing fast access to the Internet can also enjoy Polish mobile network subscribers. Internal memory can be expanded only by the cloud-based service iCloud – no version of the iPad Air does not have a memory card slot.

the front of the tablet is installed webcam that allows shooting at 720p, making it ideal for using services such as Skype or Facetime. The rear camera has a resolution of 5 megapixels and can record Full HD clips. Instead of a modernized camera known from the iPhone 5S so we have to settle for the same module that already installed on your iPad 4 The iPad Air lacks a successful function Touch ID, allowing, for example, easy and quick to authorize payment AppStore fingerprint.

Apple iPad Air – Summary

iPad Air persists only one competitor, and it is from the stables of the same manufacturer – iPadowi Mini Retina. Slim design, very light weight, great display, excellent mobility and exemplary ergonomics ensure that the iPad Air repeat the success of its predecessors.

Alternative: Basic iPad Air

most extensive configuration of the iPad Air is very expensive, but if you do not need up to 128 GB of memory and LTE module, it gets much cheaper. The basic version of the iPad Air with 16 GB of memory and WLAN module costs about 2100 z?. Leaving aside the question of memory and the presence of 4G module, various versions of the iPad Air did not differ from each other. They share a modern design, low weight and powerful performance.

PROS:

very thin and light
capacious internal memory
LTE module
excellent ergonomics
efficient components

Cons:

lack of SD card slot
only port Lightning

Price: about 3600 z?

The following table presents the technical data and test results.

Warranty [months]	12
class=”xl6527765″> Operating System	iOS 7
flash memory [GB]	128
class=”xl6527765″> RAM [MB]	1024
class=”xl6527765″> Card Reader	–
class=”xl6527765″> WLAN	802.11n
class=”xl6527765″> Bluetooth	so
class=”xl6527765″> Mobile communications	LTE
class=”xl6527765″> Screen [inch]	9.7
class=”xl6527765″> Touchscreen	capacitive
class=”xl6527765″> Multitouch	so
class=”xl6527765″> Screen Resolution [pixels]	2048 x 1536
class=”xl6527765″> Ratio	4:3
class=”xl6527765″> Screen Brightness [cd / m²]	397
class=”xl6527765″> Rear Camera	5 Mp
class=”xl6527765″> Battery life (internet browsing) [hrs.]	6:05
class=”xl6527765″> GPS	so
class=”xl6527765″> Gyroscope	so
class=”xl6527765″> Accelerometer	so
class=”xl6527765″> brightness sensor	yes
class=”xl6527765″> Compass	yes
class=”xl6527765″> phone function	not
class=”xl6527765″> Headphones Included	not