Living With an Apple iPad Air 2

For the past several weeks, I've been using an iPad Air 2 to read newspapers, magazines, and books on my commute, and to run a variety of applications at home or in the office. While not a huge upgrade from the previous iPad Air, it nevertheless adds a few very useful features. Overall, it solidifies the iPad's position as the premier tablet in the market.

The iPad Air is Apple's full-size tablet, and the 9.7-inch screen seems quite good to me for things like reading books, newspapers, and magazines. The smaller iPad mini and 7-inch Android tablets are certainly easier to carry, but since I already use a large phone, they don't really seem to add that much to the equation. Meanwhile, the larger 12-inch tablets I've tried such as the Samsung Galaxy NotePro or the Microsoft Surface (when used as a tablet) seem considerably heavier and more awkward on my commute. So for me, the 9- to 10-inch tablet seems just about right.

Within that category, the iPad Air 2 stands out for how light it is. At just 15.36 ounces and measuring 9.4 by 6.6 by 0.24 inches (HWD), it is incredibly thin (6.1 mm) and light.

The big advantages of the iPad Air 2 over the previous generation are a faster processor, thinner profile, and the addition of Touch ID.

The new A8X processor, which Apple says has 3 billion transistors and offers a 40 percent faster CPU and a 2.5 times faster GPU than the earlier iPad Air, does feel faster. Overall, the iPad Air 2 feels very quick and responsive. The speed is great, but I doubt most users will actually notice a significant change from the previous generation iPad Air, which also felt quite fast. Still, compared with an older iPad with Retina display that I had used before, the difference was noticeable. The 3-year-old iPad was much slower to redraw pages and switch between applications. Graphics in particular seemed to work much faster on the new unit. (Also, compared with the older iPads, the iPad Air line is a bit easier to carry, since there is a smaller bezel surrounding the same size display.)

Touch ID is pretty much the same as it was on the iPhone 5s or the iPhone 6—your fingerprint on the home button at the bottom of the screen can unlock the device, enter passwords for some sites, or complete online purchases. I still know people who just can't get Apple devices to read their fingerprints correctly, but I personally haven't had any issues. While I've had reasonable success with fingerprint readers on other devices (such as the recent Samsung Galaxy S5 and Note phones), Apple's solution seems the most reliable. It now supports Apple Pay for payment inside apps.

The screen is still a 9.7-inch, 2,048-by-1,536-resolution IPS display, though Apple says the LCD glass and touch-screen layer are now optically bonded, and there is a new anti-reflection coating to reduce glare. I did notice a difference here—it does look a bit less reflective. Though I still think the Samsung Galaxy Tab S has the best tablet screen I've seen, the iPad Air 2 comes very close.

The rear camera has been upgraded to 8 megapixels (from the previous 5-megapixel one), so pictures are better, though in practice, I rarely use my tablet as a camera—that's what phones are for these days. Still, I know people who do, and they will appreciate it. (It doesn't seem to be quite as good as the new iPhone, but much better than most tablets.)

What really sets the iPad apart from the other tablets on the market is the diversity and quality of the applications. At the same time I've been carrying the iPad Air 2, I've also been traveling with a Google Nexus 9, which is another terrific tablet (and I'll review that in my next post). But while I can argue that Android has caught up to the iPhone in the quality of its phone applications, I find more applications that are designed for the tablet form factor (instead of the phone) for the iPad. Even where tablet applications exist for both platforms, I find the iPad ones are just stronger.

The iPad Air 2 runs iOS 8, though you can also upgrade earlier iPads to that version. As I mentioned when trying out the iPhone 6 Plus, there's a lot to like about the new software, including better notifications, better connections with other Apple devices, Apple Pay, and more integration with the cloud. Compared with Android, I still find iOS a bit simpler and more intuitive; on the other hand, it lacks some features you'll find on many Android devices, such as the ability to run two applications side by side and multi-user support.

Of course, you'll pay for the great design and the applications. The iPad Air 2 isn't cheap at $499 for a 16GB Wi-Fi version and $599 for the 64GB one, plus $130 more if you want wireless broadband. For $100 less you can get the older iPad Air.

For that money, you get the best full-size tablet on the market with a great screen, fast processor, and terrific applications in a very thin and light design. I don't see this as a category where you need to upgrade every year, but if you have an older iPad, it's time to take a new look.

For more, see PCMag's full review of the iPad Air 2 and the video below.