iPad Air Hands-on and Initial Review: Razor Thin and Bursting with Power

iPad Air Hands-on and Initial Review: Razor Thin and Bursting with Power

It's the iPad Air!
It’s the iPad Air!

We Go Hands-on with the iPad Air!

Our trip to Singapore turned out to be perfect timing since Apple released the new iPad Air here yesterday, November 1, 2013! We made a quick trip to some of the Apple Reseller stores to test Apple’s new baby out and boy were we floored with what we saw.

Before anything let’s quickly go over the specifications.

iPad Air Spec Sheet

  • 1.3GHz Dual-core Cyclone (ARM v8-based), Apple A7 Chip
  • Quad-core PowerVR G6430 Graphics
  • 1GB RAM DDR3
  • 16GB/32GB/64GB/128GB Internal Storage
  • 9.7-inches LED backlit IPS Display
  • Retina Display, 1563 x 2048 pixels, 264 pixels per inch
  • 5.0-megapixels primary camera with autofocus
  • 1.2-megapixels secondary camera
  • LTE, Bluetooth, WiFi, WiFi Hotspot, GPS/aGPS
  • iOS 7
  • “Legendary iPad 10 Hour Battery Life”

Razor-thin and Bursting with Power

Look at that!
Look at that!

Measuring just 7.5mm and weighing in at just 1 pound, the iPad Air is a feat of industrial engineering! Add to that the fact that they didn’t go for any cheap material and retained the familiar but sophisticated aluminum chassis and we have a winner. We couldn’t help but let out the usual “Wow” when we picked it up for the first time and played around with it.

Whatever angle you look at the iPad Air, it looks gorgeous. The subtle curved edges, improved thinner bezel, and the rigid and cool aluminum back makes it pure eye candy.

Lightning Cable
Lightning Cable
What the back looks like
What the back looks like

If ever there’s one thing that didn’t change though it’s the 9.7-inch form factor. The iPad Air, while getting a much needed cut in thickness and weight, is still quite big especially when you compare it to the iPad Mini. The iPad Air is still quite a handful and you’ll probably need to frequently have it on the typing position if you want to send out long emails and messages. It’s not for one-handed use. If you want something more portable and compact then we suggest you wait for the iPad Mini with Retina Display which is due to come out later this month.

Here’s a picture of the iPad Air beside an iPad Mini.

Noticeable size difference, lolz.
Noticeable size difference, lolz.

If there’s one thing the iPad Air is not lacking in, that’s in power. The iPad 4 was already fast but the iPad Air just takes the cake when it comes to processing prowess! Apps loaded ridiculously fast (even Infinity Blade 3), bordering on almost instant load-ups. We’ll definitely test this out some more.

No Official Release Date Yet in the PH… But…

If you can’t wait for the official release date (which we think is still before Christmas), you can actually pre-order from online shops like Kimstore. You can also check it out from Widget City. If you can wait it out though we should get a few price cuts in the coming weeks.

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