iPad Air with Smart Cover, how heavy

gfplux

I have an ipad2 that is nearly two years old. I bought at the same time the apple iPad plastic Smart Cover which does a great job for me and I attribute it to having made the unit secure in my hand meaning NO ACCIDENTS in two years. (Now that is tempting fate!)
I can not imagine an iPad without this great cover.
I am now thinking of handing my old iPad and cover down and buying an IPad Air because the air will be quicker and lighter than my present unit. I will also buy a Smart Cover but wonder wether there are new smart covers that have also reduced in weight. If they have not does anyone know the official combined weight of ipad2 wifi 16gb with plastic Smart Cover against the combined weight of the air wifi 16gb with a plastic Smart Cover.
I am not asking to debate the merits of different tablets.
Thank you

InsideInsurance

Air is 469 g and iPad 2 is 601 g

Smart Cover for Air is 102g and for iPad 2 is either 102g or 139g depending on if you trust the Apple Chat or Apple Communities (both for plastic)

On that basis then you are at the minimum going to get the weight difference between the two ipads and potentially a little more if they have trimmed the weight of the cover too

harrys_dad

So for the sake of a small increase in speed and saving 132g of weight (4-5ozs!!!) you are going to upgrade what is already a very expensive tablet to another even more expensive tablet. No wonder Apple is worth billions.

InsideInsurance

harrys_dad wrote: »

So for the sake of a small increase in speed and saving 132g of weight (4-5ozs!!!) you are going to upgrade what is already a very expensive tablet to another even more expensive tablet. No wonder Apple is worth billions.

Increase in speed, move to 64 bit architecture, saving weight and move to a HD screen.

TBH, the change in screen would be the only real driver for me but then thats why I havent upgraded my iPad3 as it already has the retina screen.

ewan_c

I was in my local apple store just yesterday comparing my iPad3 to the Air. When I went from the original iPad to the iPad3, the staff in the stores were using it with the smart cover so it gave me a chance to compare. However when I asked yesterday I was told that most use the Mini so I didn't get a hands-on with a cover as it were. Now still undecided like the OP.

InsideInsurance

From the 2 I can see some benefits, my iPad 3 is working perfectly still so have no drive to upgrade it to the Air but then I dont use it for gaming which is probably the only place where processing power may be a consideration at the moment

gfplux

Thanks all.
Inside, those weights are very useful. I now understand that the air has a new Smart Cover (3 not 4 folds and the metal magnets at the top are covered) this might mean the new Smart Cover is heavier than the old. This starts to effect the lighter weight air, however at two years old my 2 without the retiner screen appears to be getting slower and slower. It also crashes a couple of times a day. With such a new product no one really knows how long they last or how expensive to repair.

Harry's Dad, yes, yes, yes and yes.

Just for information I had an iPhone 4 but the iPad had converted me to larger screens so when the iphone5 came out with not much extra screen I switched to a Samsumg Galaxy Note2 and I can only say I love it, love it.
It's perfectly possible to live both in the world of IOS and Android.

InsideInsurance

gfplux wrote: »

my 2 without the retiner screen appears to be getting slower and slower. It also crashes a couple of times a day. With such a new product no one really knows how long they last or how expensive to repair.

Is it getting slower or are you updating OS and Apps which are getting more and more designed for the more powerful new models?

I've not noticed a "natural" slowdown on either iOS or OSX however certainly if you upgrade things they can get slower as it starts having wizzier graphics, more powerful tools etc build into the apps/software.

As to how expensive to repair? Very, all tablets are, and particularly the high end/ ultra thin etc. Space is at a massive premium and so they are often glued together and most parts are soldered. Even if parts arent exceptionally expensive half of the time something else is damaged in the repair process and also has to be replaced at the repairers expense which naturally pushes the price up. The GPS arial in the iPads is particularly prone to being caught up in the glue and so often damaged when removing the screen. Samsung tablets are just as bad too