Apple iPad Air review: Sun and heir

Well-known premium screen

Apple introduced the Retina display back in 2012 on the third-generation iPad and hasn't increased the resolution since. The competition has meanwhile caught up, with Samsung-made droids inching forward with tablet displays of 2560 x 1600 probing 300 ppi.

However, you're likely to look at the iPad Air's screen from an arm's length where things look as crisp as possible, even compared side by side with a Galaxy Note 10.1 2014. Looking at the screen from really up close doesn't reveal the pixels and things tend to be nicely sharp and readable - even small fonts on web pages.

The 9.7" display

The pixel arrangement is the same as before (read iPad 3 and 4) - you get a standard red, green and blue pixel side by side.

Looking at the numbers the iPad Air stacks pretty well against the competition. The ASUS Transformer Pad TF701T, which we recently reviewed, seems like the only tablet that beats the iPad Air hands down, while the Sony Xperia Tablet Z has a slight edge. Otherwise we'd easily deem the iPad Air's 9.7" screen one of the best on the market.

Display test	50% brightness			100% brightness
Display test	Black, cd/m²	White, cd/m²	Contrast ratio	Black, cd/m²	White, cd/m²	Contrast ratio
Apple iPad Air	0.19	181	968	0.53	508	964
ASUS Transformer Pad TF701T	0.40	450	1125	0.71	755	1119
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014	0.27	221	831	0.53	440	821
Google Nexus 10	0.26	223	859	0.50	443	878
Sony Xperia Tablet Z	-	-	-	0.53	531	996
Sony Xperia Tablet S	0.35	334	947	0.67	526	783
Samsung Galaxy Note 3	0	149	∞	0	379	∞
Apple iPad mini	0.25	208	838	0.51	458	812
Apple iPad 3	0.21	167	809	0.6	477	779
Apple iPad 4	0.21	163	797	0.63	476	762
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7	0	200	∞	0	328	∞
Asus Google Nexus 7	0.25	244	954	0.36	327	908
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1	0.27	223	832	0.49	406	821
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1	0.31	257	826	0.55	502	915
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus	0.17	196	1141	0.34	424	1236

Battery life

The iPad Air has to make do with a smaller battery than the 11560mAh behemoth found in the iPad 4 but Apple still claims 10 hours of web browsing. The new battery is a 32.4Wh unit compared to the 42.5Wh of the predecessor.

The Apple iPad Air did more than enough to live up to Apple's claims and then some. The slate managed a 10:20 hour run in our browsing test and 12:49 hours of video playback. It didn't quite beat ASUS' Transformer Pad TF701T we recently reviewed.

Web browsing

ASUS Transformer Pad w/ Dock
13:48
Acer Liquid E2
12:39
LG G2
11:22
Sony Xperia ZR
11:20
Apple iPad Air
10:10
Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos
10:10
BlackBerry Q5
10:04
HTC One
9:58
Apple iPhone 5s
9:58
Apple iPhone 5
9:56
Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
9:47
Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)
9:12
Apple iPad mini
9:05
Apple iPhone 5c
9:05
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
9:04
ASUS Nexus 7 (2013)
9:03
ASUS Transformer Pad TF701T
9:02
Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom
8:51
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100
8:48
BlackBerry Q10
8:42
Nokia Lumia 810
8:20
Asus Padfone 2
8:20
Moto X
8:17
Huawei Ascend Mate
8:17
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3
8:17
HTC One mini
8:12
Nokia Lumia 610
8:01
HTC One X+
7:56
Sony Xperia E dual
7:42
Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition
7:39
Samsung Galaxy S III mini
7:38
Nokia Lumia 720
7:37
Samsung Galaxy S4 Active
7:35
Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
7:24
Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue
7:23
Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX
7:23
HTC Radar
7:17
Nokia Lumia 520
7:15
Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE
7:13
LG Optimus GJ
7:11
Gigabyte GSmart Maya M1 v2
7:10
Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos
7:09
Samsung Galaxy Express
7:09
Nokia Lumia 625
7:07
Motorola RAZR i
7:06
Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)
6:58
Apple iPhone 4S
6:56
Samsung I8262 Galaxy Core
6:54
HTC One V
6:49
LG Optimus G Pro
6:40
Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus
6:40
Sony Xperia L
6:40
HTC Droid DNA
6:40
Samsung Galaxy Premier
6:40
Motorola Atrix HD
6:40
BlackBerry Curve 9380
6:40
Sony Xperia Z
6:37
Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2
6:35
HTC Desire 600 dual sim
6:34
HTC Desire 500
6:31
Huawei Ascend P6
6:30
BlackBerry Z10
6:27
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)
6:27
HTC Butterfly
6:24
Sony Xperia SP
6:18
Samsung i937 Focus S
6:15
Nokia Lumia 510
6:13
Sony Xperia ZL
6:04
HTC Windows Phone 8X
6:01
Sony Xperia Z1
5:59
Sony Xperia ion LTE
5:56
Samsung Galaxy Fame
5:55
Samsung Rugby Smart I847
5:53
Pantech Burst
5:51
Nokia Lumia 1020
5:50
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G
5:45
HTC Desire V
5:44
HTC Evo 4G LTE
5:41
Nokia Lumia 920
5:40
Samsung Wave 3 S8600
5:34
Oppo Find 5
5:33
Sony Xperia T
5:33
Samsung Captivate Glide
5:33
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam
5:28
Samsung Galaxy Note LTE
5:24
Sony Xperia Z Ultra
5:23
Samsung Galaxy S Duos
5:23
HTC Sensation XL
5:20
Meizu MX 4-core
5:19
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III
5:17
Sony Xperia acro S
5:16
HTC Rezound
5:16
HTC Desire X
5:16
LG Optimus G
5:15
HTC Rhyme
5:08
Samsung I9103 Galaxy R
5:07
HTC One X (AT&T)
5:03
Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro
4:50
LG Optimus Vu
4:49
HTC Vivid
4:46
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos
4:45
Meizu MX
4:35
Google Nexus 4
4:34
Nokia N9
4:33
Acer CloudMobile S500
4:32
Nokia Lumia 820
4:24
Samsung Galaxy S II
4:24
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V
4:20
HTC One X
4:18
Nokia 808 PureView
4:14
LG Optimus 3D Max P720
4:10
Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T
4:10
Nokia Lumia 800
4:07
HTC Titan II (LTE)
4:05
HTC One S
4:03
BlackBerry Bold 9790
4:02
LG Nitro HD
4:00
LG Optimus 4X HD
3:59
Sony Xperia P
3:59
Nokia Lumia 710
3:51
Nokia Lumia 620
3:50
Samsung Galaxy Pocket
3:47
Samsung Galaxy Note
3:35
Huawei Ascend P1
3:23
Samsung Galaxy Nexus
3:01

Video playback

Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)
16:35
ASUS Transformer Pad w/ Dock
15:29
Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX
14:17
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
13:32
Nokia Lumia 1020
13:12
Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
13:12
Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos
12:52
Apple iPad mini
12:51
Samsung Galaxy Premier
12:51
Apple iPad Air
12:49
Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE
12:32
Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
12:30
BlackBerry Q5
12:28
Huawei Ascend Mate
12:18
LG G2
11:51
Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)
11:29
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100
11:27
BlackBerry Q10
11:15
Apple iPhone 5s
10:31
Apple iPhone 5
10:12
ASUS Transformer Pad TF701T
10:07
HTC One
10:02
Moto X
10:01
Samsung Galaxy Express
10:00
Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus
10:00
Nokia 808 PureView
9:53
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam
9:42
Samsung Rugby Smart I847
9:34
Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom
9:30
HTC One S
9:28
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)
9:27
Apple iPhone 4S
9:24
HTC Evo 4G LTE
9:07
Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition
9:02
Sony Xperia Z Ultra
8:45
BlackBerry Z10
8:44
LG Optimus G Pro
8:40
Nokia N9
8:40
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3
8:34
HTC Butterfly
8:28
Samsung Galaxy Note
8:25
LG Optimus GJ
8:15
Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos
8:11
HTC One X+
8:11
Motorola RAZR i
8:11
Samsung Galaxy S II
8:00
Samsung i937 Focus S
7:55
Samsung Wave 3 S8600
7:52
HTC Desire 500
7:50
Samsung Galaxy S III mini
7:46
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V
7:45
Apple iPhone 5c
7:41
Asus Padfone 2
7:38
Huawei Ascend P1
7:38
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G
7:33
Acer Liquid E2
7:30
Samsung I8262 Galaxy Core
7:30
Sony Xperia ZR
7:30
HTC Droid DNA
7:30
Samsung Galaxy Note LTE
7:30
Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2
7:30
Sony Xperia SP
7:27
HTC One mini
7:23
Nokia Lumia 610
7:23
LG Optimus G
7:16
Samsung Galaxy S4 Active
7:03
ASUS Nexus 7 (2013)
7:03
Huawei Ascend P6
6:55
HTC Desire 600 dual sim
6:49
Nokia Lumia 720
6:43
Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue
6:40
Meizu MX 4-core
6:33
Nokia Lumia 620
6:32
Nokia Lumia 625
6:29
HTC Windows Phone 8X
6:27
Sony Xperia E dual
6:27
Nokia Lumia 810
6:27
HTC Desire V
6:26
HTC One X (AT&T)
6:26
Nokia Lumia 820
6:25
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos
6:25
Gigabyte GSmart Maya M1 v2
6:24
Nokia Lumia 510
6:23
LG Optimus Vu
6:23
Samsung I9103 Galaxy R
6:21
Nokia Lumia 920
6:19
Sony Xperia Z1
6:12
HTC Sensation XL
6:12
Samsung Galaxy Pocket
6:06
Samsung Captivate Glide
6:04
Sony Xperia ion LTE
6:03
Samsung Galaxy Nexus
6:02
Sony Xperia T
6:01
Motorola Atrix HD
6:01
HTC Vivid
6:00
HTC Radar
5:54
Nokia Lumia 800
5:52
Nokia Lumia 520
5:50
HTC Titan II
5:50
BlackBerry Bold 9790
5:47
HTC One X
5:45
Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro
5:44
Sony Xperia Z
5:39
Sony Xperia acro S
5:38
HTC Desire X
5:38
Pantech Burst
5:38
Sony Xperia ZL
5:28
Meizu MX
5:27
HTC Rhyme
5:23
HTC One V
5:20
Acer CloudMobile S500
5:18
Oppo Find 5
5:18
Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T
5:18
BlackBerry Curve 9380
5:09
HTC Rezound
5:03
Samsung Galaxy Fame
5:02
Google Nexus 4
4:55
Sony Xperia L
4:44
Samsung Galaxy S Duos
4:30
Sony Xperia P
4:30
LG Nitro HD
4:17
LG Optimus 4X HD
4:14
LG Optimus 3D Max P720
3:28
Nokia Lumia 710
3:27

Next Page » 4. User interface

3. Display, battery life

Reviews Apple iPad Air reviewPage 3