Gadgetory

it's hard to review an iPad just like it's hard to review any new tablet these days with notebook computer slimming down and smartphones puffing up it's tougher and tougher to justify the use case for the so called third screen a category Apple itself popularized four years ago with the original iPad but while tablet sales may be flagging there's still a market for them and there are still tablets worth getting excited about in a lot of ways this is one of them I'm Michael Fisher with PocketNow and this is our video review of the iPad air 2 the iPad air 2 is beautiful because of course hit it no matter what your thoughts on Apple itself it's tough to deny that the company makes gorgeous hardware at 6.1 millimeters in depth it's one of the thinnest tablets you can find and it's aluminum frame with elegant chamfered edges gives it a rigidity and a sense of style that few competitors can match despite the cool metal touch it's also lightweight which makes it easy to hold one-handed even if you have to do it for a while Apple made a big deal about the display and touch ID on this model and much of that is justified the 9.7 inch laminated screen on the new ipad is bonded directly to the touch sensor and anti glare cover glass giving the sense that the graphics are floating right on top of the display the IPS panel doesn't have the pixel density of some of its competition and it doesn't have the bottomless blacks of AMOLED screens but it's still excellent the bezels flanking it have been slimmed down but they're still wide enough for you to anchor a thumb comfortably without touching the screen by accident on the bottom most of those bezels sits apple's touch ID fingerprint scanner right in the middle of the home button it works well for unlocking the screen and with third-party apps which support touch ID and for those who've gotten used to scanning their thumb on the iPhone it's sure to be a welcome addition here just make sure you scan more than one thumb because it's pretty awkward in table situations in those cases we're glad pin entry is still an option the only real complaint we have about the hardware is the omission of the side switch which controlled either system volume or screen rotation on iPhones and earlier iPad yes it's true that this setting is only a swipe away in iOS 8 but it was much simpler when it was just a handy mechanical toggle speaking of iOS 8 it's much the same here as it is on the iPhone 6 and 6 plus and we also have a full iOS 8 review at pocket now so here we'll just talk about the broad ups and down to get this out of the way upfront yes you're still confined to Apple's 4 by 5 grid of icons for a homescreen and yes it feels very limiting if you're used to a Windows or Android tablet fortunately you don't need to spend much time there because there's stuff hidden behind almost every edge swipe down from the top for the cleaned up Notification Center which gives you reminders appointments and third-party widgets in addition to alerts swipe up from the bottom for a control panel with sliders for brightness and volume toggles for other system settings and shortcuts to the camera and the timer for some reason sadly one of our favorite features from the iPhone 6 reach ability isn't here which is a shame because it would be useful even on this big screen and even though you never use this thing one-handed making up for that spotlight search has made the cut you can swipe down anywhere on the springboard and start typing to search almost everything on the device for that search term it can also be used for a quick web searches or to jump directly into a given app if you can't find it in all your folders and once you've gotten used to having it it's really hard to go without it on a non iOS tablet other stock applications like calendar contacts and photos use the big canvas of the display beautifully in iOS 8 and of course it's all backed up by a third-party ecosystem that's second to none you're more likely to use the iPads cameras for things like FaceTime video calling and document scanning but occasionally you'll probably feel compelled to take a few photos with the iPad air 2 and when you do you'll find a straightforward and easy to use viewfinder with everything from slow mode time lapse to HDR and the results will look like this some great some not so great and on the average ultimately ok but no matter how good the photos turn out or how much mainstream acceptance this trend finds remember that just still look like this remember that here's some video from the iSight camera and we'll turn down the music to let you judge its quality for yourself once you're through taking photos and video you get to experience the performance of Apple's new a8x processor with 2 gigs of ram juggling apps back and forth is as easy as a double-click on the home button and responsiveness is as fluid as it gets gestures that used to seem silly are actually nice to have back after spending some time away from iOS the big screen is a huge pool for gaming of course an apple's revised hardware makes short work of both elementary titles like implode and more demanding apps like f-18 carrier landing on the radio side Wi-Fi reception seemed right on par with the Nexus 9 we didn't have a cellular unit to test so we'll leave that for another time the bottom firing speakerphone is very loud here in New England it's getting a little chilly as we move into the winter time but even the constant drone of our space heater isn't able to drown out the iPad air 2 for your information we turned it off for this test get them star-lord supplement we've arrived at the last-known coordinates of the Ticonderoga I'm picking up debris old friends SL casings several bodies keeps coming finally there's battery life and here Apple keeps its word you really can roll out of bed in the morning use this thing all day and come on home and expect there to be some charge left well we'd like to see a charge faster and it would have been great to see Apple sacrifice a little thinness for a bit more endurance honestly this thing lasts plenty long as it is and after experiencing its super sleek profile for two weeks it's going to be an adjustment going to anything thicker ipads are typically not the most surprising tablets and this edition is no exception it's consistency that apple's going for here and it largely achieves that this is an iterative improvement but it's an iteration on a tablet that was already near if not at the top of the pile as far as quality goes if you want to save some money you won't be missing too much by opting for last year's ipad air over this one and there's even something to be said for trying the super-sized smartphone route as well but if it's a true tablet you're looking for the iPad air 2 is the safe choice for a solid experience pocket now has other tablets smartphones and wearables on the review desk this month from the Nexus 9 to the Droid turbo to the LG G watch are so if you don't want to miss any of that follow us on social media and subscribe here on YouTube also check out our full written review of the iPad air 2 available at pocketnow.com November 6th until next time this has been michael fisher with pocket now captain to phones on twitter reminding you that bendgate is over you can stop with the lame jokes in the comments we'll see you next time you