Mar 14, 2016 05:14 PM
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Lame as Apple's "Power of lightness is" tagline is it does seem apt. The iPad Air is much lighter than the iPad 4, in fact it’s lighter than most other tablets in its class at 469g. It has shed almost 200g, or 29%, of the weight that the iPad 4 carried. That's a massive generational leap.Unsuprisingly the weight is the first thing you’ll notice when picking it up. It really makes a big difference when using the iPad Air for long periods of time.
The iPad Air is perfectly balanced which means you can hold it to read or watch a movie for hours simply by cupping a corner in your palm. Attempt the same with an iPad 4 and you’ll quickly succumb to shaky arm fatigure.The look and design are taken straight from the iPad mini 2’s drawer. A tough aluminium shell encases the entire back and sides of the iPad Air, unless you opt for a 4G model which has a small plastic panel at the top to house the antennas. The edges where the screen meets the aluminium are diamond cut, providing a sleek, shiny surface.
While the iPad 4 also has an aluminium shell, the iPad Air’s is grippier and the sides rounder – both useful for keeping a comfortable hold of it.
The plastic buttons on the previous iPads were slightly at odds with the otherwise high-quality design aesthetic. Thankfully, Apple has replaced them with the metal equivalents found on the iPad mini 2. It’s a small touch, but the metal buttons add to the premium feel of the Air.The screen bezels have also slimmed down significantly, which makes the iPad Air 16mm narrower than before. Slim bezels are sometimes a mixed blessing. Yes, they make the tablet more compact, but an accidental thumb on a corner of the screen can hit a link or cause the screen to be inoperable. We’ve experienced it plenty of times on other tablets and phones, but the iPad Air’s screen is designed to ignore an errant thumb and we haven't experienced a single issue with it.The iPad Air is one of the most comfortable and premium 10-inch tablets we’ve ever used, but a great screen is just as important for a good user experience.
On paper the iPad Air’s Retina screen is the same as the one on the iPad 4. It has a 2, 048 x 1, 536 IPS panel offering 264 PPI(pixels per inch) with scratch-proof and oleophobic protective glass that's resistant, though not impervious, to greasy fingerprints.
If there was one thing the iPad Air could take from the previous versions without getting too much stick it’s the screen, but Apple has made some subtle improvements to it nonetheless.
Look at the screen straight on and the colours on the iPad 4 and iPad Air match almost exactly. Tilt the screen, however, and you’ll notice that the Air maintains its excellent colour accuracy at impressive angles. Text is also more legible from acute angles.
The screen on the iPad 4 is good, but we did find that it have a slight pinkish tinge to white backgrounds, particularly noticeable when browsing the net. The iPad Air has clearly been given a dose of Vanish and manages to provide cleaner whites. Turn the brightness up to eleven and the screen is noticeably brighter, too.
The 4:3 aspect ratio on the iPad Air is one we prefer on a tablet this size. It makes it easier to browse the internet, but you do get bigger black bars when watching a film than you would on a 16:9 or 16:10 tablet like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5. It's one of those trade-offs you just have to live with, but we can't think of a good reason for Apple to change this aspect.
It’s the best screen on a 10-inch tablet, only the Nexus 10 even comes close, but if there’s one thing we’d like Apple to improve it is the reflectiveness. Use it outdoors on a sunny day and you’ll find yourself looking for the best angle to minimise the mirror effect. The brightness means you can still see what’s happening on-screen but an anti-reflective coating would improve matters.
