iPad Air review

Apple lays down the gauntlet for 2014's tablets with a stunning effort

Add to that the fact Apple is lobbing in a lot of useful free software, as well as bringing a more refined experience with iOS 7, and you can see that it's put a lot of effort into making the iPad Air the tablet that shows it's not losing its relevancy in the market.

The keynote for the launch of the iPad Air talked a lot about Apple's dominance in terms of tablet usage, but it's no secret that a number of users are starting to warm to the idea of an Android model as their main device - the Sony Xperia Tablet Z is one of the best around at the moment, and offers expandable storage as well as a waterproof casing to trump Apple in that respect.

But Apple has countered by bringing out the same 128GB model as before, which, while pricey, gives more than ample storage for anything you want to do on the go, be it storing all the HD apps you want as well as your entire music collection and most movies too.

It's worth noting that the 16GB option is nigh-on useless as a purchase if you're thinking of pulling in all the free apps Apple is slinging your way - this was an issue when the Retina display landed on the iPad 3, and has only got worse as more HD apps from developers have been slipped onto the App Store.

However, it's still good to see options being offered when it comes to storage, as some Android devices (albeit mostly phones) are starting to eschew expandability and not really upping the internal space.

So you can see that Apple has covered its bases in nearly every area when it comes to the iPad Air - but how does it actually perform in the hand when subjected to rigorous daily use?

Design

The iPad Air is an odd device when you pick it up for the first time. When you hear all the numbers being bandied about you'd rightly assume that you'd feel something that was almost ghost-like in the hand, a tablet that could almost get blown away.

And we're utterly not disputing that - the iPad Air is the most balanced tablet on the market, with great precision going into the engineering throughout. However, if you've touched an iPad mini or just haven't held an older iPad for a while (and with some people we tested with, even those that had) you won't feel as much of a step up as you'd be expecting.

We've added that caveat to brace you should you be excited to purchase the new iPad, as it's not something that affects the general usage in any way, with one-handed holding very easy, and something that puts the Air into a new product category.

It might not sound like a big deal, but it makes your premium new tablet look a bit unkempt right from the start.

Source: http://www.techradar.com/