Apple dropped a new 9.7” iPad last night — no iPad Air 3, or new iPad Pros, just ‘iPad.’
The new iPad is Apple’s most affordable iPad yet, coming in at S$498 for the 32GB Wi-Fi model to S$848 for the 128GB Wi-Fi and cellular model.
At the same time, Apple has finally dropped the 2014 iPad Air 2 from its store, but you can still get it refurbished. And it turns out there may be a couple of reasons why you’d want the older iPad Air 2 over the newer iPad.
The older iPad Air 2 has the better screen, is thinner and lighter
The main reason you might want the older iPad Air 2 is that it has the better screen. The new iPad’s screen doesn’t have the Air 2’s anti-reflective coating and is not laminated to the cover glass, which means it’ll look very much like the first iPad Air, with a gap between the display and glass.
The new iPad is also slightly thicker and heavier than the iPad Air 2, at 7.5mm to 6.1mm and 469g (Wi-Fi)/478g (Wi-Fi + Cellular) to 437g (Wi-Fi)/444g (Wi-Fi + Cellular).
To be fair, the new iPad has the faster A9 processor from 2015’s iPhone 6S, compared to the Air 2’s A8X chip. Plus, you can order an iPad now, while you can only grab refurb iPad Air 2s when they become available. And even when compared with a refurb iPad Air 2, a new iPad is still more affordable.
A new iPad 32GB Wi-Fi is S$498, for example, while I see a refurb iPad Air 2 16GB Wi-Fi going for S$468 — an awful deal. However, there is a refurb iPad Air 2 64GB Wi-Fi on Apple SG’s site now for S$558, which means you pay an extra S$60 for double the storage and a better screen, with a slower processor.
A lot of people use their iPads just to surf the web and watch videos. If that’s you, paying S$60 for more storage and a better display might be the better deal, considering you’re not going to tax that processor much anyway.
Let’s be clear, though, we’re talking about getting the better deal here over two affordable iPads, and not about paying more for the latest and greatest. If you want the iPad with the best specs, then just wait for Apple’s new iPad Pros to be launched sometime this year … maybe as early as next month.
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