Wondering what iPad to buy? We have the answer(s)

by Charles Moore on October 18, 2014 at 11:59 pm

Apple has given us an embarrassment of choice in iPads with the upgrade and changes to the lineup announced on Thursday. There are now five distinct iPad families available: two full-sized iPad Air models and three iPad minis, leaving many to wonder exactly what iPad to by.

The briefly resuscitated fourth-generation iPad—known recently as simply “iPad with Retina Display” (which isn’t that informative, since all of the other iPads save for the still available original iPad mini have Retina displays)—is dead again, but few will mourn its ultimate passing because its market slot and price point in the iPad spectrum has been filled by last year’s formidable first generation iPad Air, whose 64 bit A7 system-on-chip is still one of the most powerful in the product category, and which represents a much better value.

There has also been a substantial realignment in the iPad mini category, with significant price cuts for the still available older two models. There are some serious bargains to be had.

That said, the new iPad Air 2 is now distinctively top dog, and the one to get if your wallet can stand it, since Apple has evidently decided the best strategy is to restrict updates on version 3 of the recently slow-selling iPad mini to just a few of the items on the iPad Air 2′s upgrade feature inventory. You can get a gold colored case that would be my slam-dunk choice, and the mini 3 comes with Touch ID, but it sticks with the A7 SoC (see comments above), and you don’t get the higher resolution rear-facing iSight camera that’s in the Air 2 and has been in iPhones since more than a year ago. That one puzzled me a bit, because the iPad mini makes a more logical photo shooting device then the full-sized iPad Air, and an eight megapixel camera can’t be that much more expensive then the five megapixel unit that’s being carried over, especially since neither is exactly cutting edge anymore. Some Android tablets have 12 megapixel or even higher resolution cameras.

The iPad Air 2 uniquely gets 802.11 ac faster Wi-Fi, and the difference in physical dimensions between the Air and the mini has diminished again. All of this makes the new iPad Air 2 decidedly the most attractive iPad available for anyone who doesn’t require the mini’s more compact dimensions for practical reasons. You get Apple’s latest 64-bit A8X SoC, the eight megapixel camera, and an antiglare display made using cutting edge fully-laminated panel technology.

However, the iPad Air 2 will set you back between $499 and $829 depending on configuration. In practical,terms, that should be $599 to $829, because buying a 16 GB iPad Air 2 is definitely not a wise purchase, what with operating system and application files experiencing creeping bloat. I was disappointed that Apple didn’t make 32 GB storage memory the base standard, but they instead dropped that option entirely for the iPad Air 2, with the first step-up being a long one to 64 GB, albeit at the former 32 GB config’s price point. You can still get 32 GB on some of the lesser models.

Speaking of which, let’s take a look at what’s available starting at the other end of the range. Apple has kept the 2011 era technology original iPad mini around as its iPad price-leader at $249, but when I said above that there are bargains to be had, this definitely isn’t one of them.

For your $249, you get a puny A5 SoC and 512 MB of system RAM. The only available storage memory configuration is a paltry 16 GB; the display panel is 1,024 x 768 resolution, and there is no motion coprocessor. If you are set on getting a low upfront price iPad, I strongly recommend going for theiPad mini 2, formerly known as the iPad mini with Retina Display. You get the eponymous high-resolution screen, and an A7 64 bit processor with M7 motion coprocessor. A 32 MB flash drive step-up option (also recommended) is available. The mini 2 now sells for $299. It’s hard to imagine that almost anyone could not manage to scrape together another 50 bucks for such a large increase in value and performance, and in my estimation this model is the sleeper bargain of the lot. If one can live happily without Touch ID and a 64 GB or greater storage capacity, which I can, and without a gold case, which I could, albeit less-happily, then you can get basically state of iPad mini art specs at a 25% discount off what you would have paid for same hardware earlier in the week.

Or, to turn that around, the latest iPad mini 3 is a questionable value for the money by comparison. And while the original iPad Air is also now offered at the same price point as the mini 3, that’s just a 20% discount from its earlier-in-the-week price for a machine (16 GB WiFi) with significantly fewer or less powerful features. It’s a rip-roaring bargain compared with the 4th-gen iPad at that price point, but the Air 2 has way more value-added relatively than the mini 3 does compared with its predecessor model.

So, my picks for bargain standouts among the new array of iPads available are the new iPad Air 2 (make mine gold!), and the holdover iPad mini 2, bumped to 32 GB and 64 GB respectively.