iPad Air 2 - page 2

The iPad lineup has seen a ton of changes since Apple introduced its first tablet in 2010. Not only have the form factors evolved ever so slightly, but the internal components have pushed the product line from a cool reading/gaming device into a powerhouse machine that can replace your laptop.

To see just how much iPad has progressed, EverythingApplePro created a speed test using every iPad ever made. It’s no surprise that the iPad Pro comes out on top, but the original iPad off a shocker by beating some of its successors.

Check it out:

Apple slapped the Pro tag on the gigantic new iPad Pro, which should mean it packs the best display ever, but it turns out that the company’s smallest tablet display is actually the most impressive.

DisplayMate Technologies put the iPad Pro, iPad mini 4, and iPad Air 2 through their extensive lab testing measurements. All three iPad displays were rated ‘unrivaled’ by the firm, but the iPad mini 4 came away triumphant in nearly all of the tests.

A video has gone viral online showing a man complaining after ordering a cheap iPad Air 2 online for $100 — only to discover that it is actually an overpriced piece of tin, complete with a printed iPad home screen on the front, and Apple sticker on the reverse.

What is it that they say about offers which appear too good to be true? You can check out the video below.

The iPad Pro is the Apple tablet of my dreams.

I’ve been lusting after Apple’s crazy-big iPad since the first whispers of the device echoed around the rumor mill a few years ago. When Apple finally unveiled the Pro at the September keynote, I was beyond stoked to fork over more than $1,000 for an iPad big enough to host Thanksgiving dinner on.

The display is breathtaking. The graphics are mind-blowing. The Apple Pencil is magical. Even the freaking speakers are better. But after weeks of debating whether the Pro is really worth it, I’ve realized its diminutive little brother, the iPad Mini 4, is really the perfect tablet for me.

Here’s why the mini 4 might be the best iPad for you, too:

If you’ve been weighing the pros and cons of splurging on a new iPad, T-Mobile now has one more pro to add to your list. Through its Jump on Demand program, customers can get a 16GB iPad Air 2 or iPad mini 4 for $0 down. The iPad Air 2 will cost $26 per month after that and the iPad mini 4 will cost $22 per month. Additionally, the program allows you to upgrade your tablet up to three times per year.

We’ve gotten our first look at the guts of the latest Apple hardware thanks to an iPad Mini 4 teardown that’s appeared online, and the new tablet from the Cupertino company is looking really familiar. But we don’t mean that in a bad way.

Repair-advise site iFixit has sacrificed one of the devices in the name of science and education, and its findings reveal that at its heart, the iPad Mini 4 is a smaller version of the upper-tier iPad Air 2. Here’s what the carnage revealed.

Imagine working on a sketch with a reference photo right next to it, or writing a paper while copying citations from an iBook. Or, heck, running YouTube in Safari while writing a post about Split View on the iPad (hypothetically).

iOS 9 brings this multitasking joy to your iPad, provided you have the latest and greatest iPad Air 2, since it’s the only device that can currently manage the power needed to run such a double screen.

So the next time you need to FaceTime with your boss in San Francisco but still take Notes on your iPad, you can easily make it happen.

Here’s how.

Apple’s iPad Air 2 represents the peak of sleek and powerful tablets, basically the only way to improve it would be to remove the price tag. Well, consider it improved: With just your email address, you’ll be entered to win a free iPad Air 2, and you even get to choose the color. Take a moment to let the words ‘free’ and ‘iPad’ sink in, but don’t take too long — the chance to enter is only up for a limited time at Cult of Mac Deals.

When iOS 9 rolls out to the public this fall, it’ll be iPad users that appreciate it most, thanks to the many improvements Apple has made to multitasking. One of the biggest is Split View, a feature that’s exclusive to the iPad Air 2, which lets you run two apps side-by-side — just like you would on your Mac.

Split View lets you read articles in Safari while composing an email in Mail, enjoy a novel in iBooks while taking notes in the Notes app, and talk to friends via iMessage while organizing your schedule in Calendar.

But is Split View as game-changing as it looks at first glance? You bet it is.

With the advent of Apple’s motion coprocessor chip (the M8 in recent iOS devices), any apps that you download and grant permission to can use this data to enhance their offerings.

This lets apps like RunKeeper, Carrot Fitness and others both gather fitness data from your iPhone as well as send it to the Health app.

This could raise privacy concerns for some, so being able to decide which apps we allow to access our fitness-tracking data — or whether the iPhone tracks these activities at all — can be a helpful.

Here’s our recipe for getting finer-grained control over your fitness-tracking data.

I’m still on the fence over whether society should allow monopod poles selfie sticks to exists, but this latest invention is pushing me over to the “hell no” side of the argument.

Assume, for a moment, you’ve always been an Android guy but yesterday’s spintastic Apple Watch presentation sent you over the edge.

Now you’re a freshly minted Apple fanboy with money to burn, and you want to go from zero to full-on Apple hero. How much is it going to set you back if you’re ready to go all in with the latest, greatest gear Cupertino has to offer?

Tonight, history is made as Modern Family becomes the first major TV show to ever air an episode shot almost entirely using Apple products — ranging from the iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2 to MacBook FaceTime cameras.

But while Apple products are famously easy to use, the episode itself contained numerous challenges: taking more than three months to complete, and a variety of nifty filmmaking tricks. To find out more details, BuzzFeed News reached out to the show’s executive producer and co-creator, Steve Levitan, to get some added insight about the challenges of making this unusual show.

The behind-the-scenes video is available to watch online, or download via iTunes.

Ever wanted to run Windows 98 on your iPad Air? Uh, chances are, probably not, and even if you did, it hasn’t been possible. At least not until now. Behold, Windows 98 running on an iPad Air 2!

Over the weekend, Apple debuted its latest ad for the iPad Air 2, named “Change.” As with all of the ads in Apple’s “Your Verse” campaign for the first generation iPad Air, the upbeat “Change” demonstrates the flexibility of the iPad Air 2, as it’s used by motorbike enthusiasts, teachers and artists to carry out a variety of tasks.

The ad also showcases the thinness of Apple’s slimmest ever tablet, by featuring a clever letter-boxing effect that gradually closes in over the course of the ad — eventually revealing itself to be the thickness of the iPad Air 2. In this way, the ad is reminiscent of Apple’s pencil ads for the iPad Air, in which the extreme slimness of the tablet is likened to a an everyday household object.

Check out the ad after the jump.

Whether you’re shopping for your sweetie or trying to find something for your mum, picking presents for the important women in your life can prove daunting. Cult of Mac is here to help with this list of the top 10 gifts we’ll be buying for the fairer sex this year.

From clothes to quirky tech, we’ve got you covered.

This week: Huge news in the fight for an open Internet; YouTube’s music service confuses us; Apple Pay is, like, the payment method of the future, man; big Black Friday deals on Apple’s newest gadgets; the go-to apps we keep on our home screens, and sooooo much more.

Hem and haw your way through each week’s best Apple stories! Stream or download new and past episodes of The CultCast now on your Mac or iDevice by subscribing on iTunes, or hit play below and let the chuckles begin.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Squarespace 7 is live, and it’s their biggest update in years. Now building a beautiful website is faster and easier than ever. Get started with a free trial at Squarespace.com and use code “CultCast” at checkout for 10% off any order.

Show notes ahead!

If you’re looking to get a new iPad for as little cash as possible, here’s an intriguing offer: Starting tomorrow, Sprint is letting customers lease an iPad Air 2 or iPad mini 3 for as little as $17 per month.

It’s an unusual offer, and one that Sprint describes as an “industry first.” The lease itself lasts 24 months and, enticingly, doesn’t require any upfront costs.

So what are the prices for an iPad lease from Sprint?

This week: the war on Apple Pay has begun. We’ll tell you why some of the biggest retailers are moving to block it, and all about the ridiculously dumb app they want you to use instead. Plus, our 72-hour review of the iPad Air 2; the FTC sues AT&T for throttling your data; Christian Bale is your next Steve Jobs; and we pitch our favorite tech and apps then vote on which is best—it’s an all-new Faves ’N Raves.

Snicker your way through each week’s best Apple stories! Stream or download new and past episodes of The CultCast now on your Mac or iDevice by subscribing on iTunes, or hit play below and let the chuckles begin.

Our thanks to Sworl for supporting this episode. With the free Sworl iOS app, you can print, frame and deliver beautifully wrapped photos, quickly and easily, all from your iPhone in less than 3 minutes. Learn more at GetSworl.com, and save 20% off your first order with code “CultCast” at checkout.

To paraphrase Pontius Pilate, I can find no fault with the iPad mini 3. Having said that, I can wash my hands of a proper review and allow Apple’s new half-pint tablet to be crucified in the budget-conscious court of public opinion.

Nice as it is, the iPad mini 3 truly is a gigantic ripoff when compared to its predecessor. It’s got the same specs, the same basic form factor, the same functionality and battery life.

If we were to write a review, it would read something like this: “Touch ID is a swell addition. Please read our review of the iPad mini 2 for more info. That is all.”

Pity Jony Ive. The poor bastard just can’t catch a break.

Ive and his design team at Apple have just released a pair of exquisite iPads — the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 — and yet are getting grief because the iPads offer nothing “new.”

“New” being things like face-tracking cameras, heart-rate monitors or — god forbid — a stylus. These are the kinds of things that get called “innovation.”

Instead, the new iPads look a lot like last year’s models, and those from every year before. This makes many tech reviewers yawn.

“Largely unnecessary,” says The New York Times’ lukewarm review. “More of the same,” writes Business Insider. “You might think I’d be pretty excited about them — but I’m not,” says Walt Mossberg at Re/Code.

Indeed, instead of adding new hardware features, Ive’s team has even removed them. The mute/lock button is gone on the iPad Air 2. Who removes features?

Well, Jony Ive does.

If there’s one thing Apple knows how to make, it’s money. Even so, the iPad Air 2 is one of the best value tablets Apple has ever made.

Even though it costs Apple roughly the same amount to make an iPad Air 2 as it did to make a first-gen iPad Air, Apple’s margins have actually gone down slightly on the superslim, A8X-powered tablet.

If you’re looking for a good keyboard for your iPad Air 2, Logitech has just announced three new beauties, including a pair of sleek keyboard cases.

This week: the iPad Air 2 reviews are in, and not everyone’s feeling the love; Cult of Mac spends a day with Apple Pay; Yosemite and iOS 8.1 Continuity features delight; a potential cure for the painful #6PlusPinch; some welcome changes rumored for Beats Music; and we wrap with our favorite movie trilogies of all time on an all-new Get To Know Your Cultist.

Titter your way through each week’s best Apple stories! Stream or download new and past episodes of The CultCast now on your Mac or iDevice by subscribing on iTunes, or hit play below and let the chuckles begin.

Our thanks to lynda.com for sponsoring this episode! Learn virtually any application at your own pace from expert-taught video tutorials at lynda.com.

Show notes ahead, mateys.

The Apple SIM in the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 is based on an awesome idea—who doesn’t want to switch carriers with a tap of the screen? But the actual utility of the Apple SIM is pretty muddled, as evidenced by AT&T locking the SIM to its network.