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Should I buy an Air 1 with iOS8?
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I really need to upgrade my doddery old iPad2 for something a bit faster, but I've been holding off because of the iPad Air2 issues that are being reported on here...so I've been thinking about buying an Air1. They get good reviews, but come with iOS8, and I've also seen people reporting problems with this.
I can get a 32gb Air1 new, for £359.00 or 16gb for £319 - compared to £399 for the 16gb Air2. Secondhand Air 1's seem to go for around £250 - £300.
I'm struggling a bit on the iPad2 - recent updates have made recording into GarageBand via AB a glitchy and buggy affair, and despite my best intentions to avoid spending money I'm either going to have to buy something better or stop using it for recording. I really want to avoid a repetition of my recent iMac purchase though, I don't want to buy another lemon.
So....what would you do if you were in my situation - plump for a new or secondhand Air1, get an Air2 or wait and see what they turn out next? Do any iOS8 issues affect the better stability of the Air1, or would it make it as buggy as an Air2?
Comments
I am so glad I opted for the Air 1 after seeing the problems with the Air2. I personally do not miss ios 7. at all and kept my old iPad with the older operating system just in case. I have not used it once since purchasing the air1! The speed and ability to due so much more on the Air is great to have especially for music making . I feel I should have made this move sooner but at that time a lot of apps had not been working on the new platform. This is no longer the case and in fact I really enjoy all the apps I could not even have run on the older one. I could only run about 4 tracks maybe5 of Gadget with the older iPad where the Air 1 has not limited me so far. I think 15 or 20 is the limit now. Not sure though.
If you can, you might want to go to an Apple Store or some other retailer and see if you can try out an iPad Air 1 and an iPad Air 2.
I have an iPad Air 1 and it works great so far with iOS 8. I haven't used it live since iOS 8 but I never have any crashes that are not my fault. Just like anything, know the limits of the hardware/software, test it to the limits to see what it can handle.
@Tritonman - yeah I feel I'm missing out when I read some of the threads on here, especially regarding Gadget and Auria. I could put up with it when GarageBand was working ok but now that's playing up I'm finding making music on the iPad a bit of a struggle.
@Paulinko - yeah will do, only problem is the nearest store is a two hour round trip so it's good to get proper feedback first. The stores tend to be full of kids playing games on the iPads though so usually you can't get near them!
@gmslaytongmslayton - thanks, good to hear you're not having any issues. If iOS8 isn't a problem then I think the iPad1 would be my best option.
@monzo I consider myself lucky to have had my needs/wants timeline fall into the Air1. Updated to 8 despite misgivings, but have had no problems to speak of. I would not trade for a 2 now and am very happy with it. Have to also say that while I am (again) close to the limit, I am very pleased I bought a 128gb.
I want to sell my iPad Air 128GB 4G with crappy iOS 8. So if someone in Germany needs one for a good price before i put it into market.....
@JohnnyGoodyear - 128gb - what a beast! They only go up to 32gb on the store - that's the same as my iPad2 though so I could probably cope with it.
Ah..... someone's not happy with the Air1/iOS8 combo then! What are the issues you're having? Shame you're not in Wales, I'd probably have it.
On the Best Buy site they have 128GB Air1 listed with iOS7. On another thread here I asked a similar question about the ideal upgrade and the responses seem to lead me in this direction. I'll stop at the local Best Buy today and see if this combination is still available.
IOS is to unstable for me in general. I tryed it.... tryed it again.... and again.... i really love the touch screen and some of the apps just amazing but i get more and more frustration while trying to work with it or combine these things. It's still a nice midi controller but i would prefer to spend some more money in some audio units.
But i'm still good with my iPhone 5 (also iOS 8) which is not perfect but it works for the few things i want to do.
I'm faced with the same dilemma now as well. I have an iPad 3 64gb that I got the day it was released but I've been running into all sorts of problems with it, most notably what I'm doing music related stuff with more than just a few apps at the same time.
I feel uncomfortable with the idea of getting an iPad Air 1 17 months after it was first released but that's somewhat mitigated by the fact that you can get them really cheaply now. The reduction of tablet demand in general has also cheapened them even further.
I paid about $750 for that iPad 3 on the day it was released a little over three years ago. I can get an iPad Air 1 64gb for around half of that now. And that price goes down even further when you factor in money that can be made from selling my iPad 3 64gb.
So the days of spending loads of money on tablets seems to have been short-lived, especially if you purchase last year's model. I suppose if I get two years out of it and then do the same thing two years from now that wouldn't be that hard on the pocketbook. Others on this forum have already mentioned elsewhere that they do something like this.
Or there is waiting until the fall for something that may or may not be worth the wait and costing upwards of $700 if purchased around the time of release.
I think I'm doing a pretty good job of talking myself in this!
We don't have their stores in the UK unfortunately. It did make me check Amazon though, and they seem to be about thirty quid cheaper than everywhere else - £289 for 16gb and £329 for 32gb, which is actually cheaper than some I've seen advertised secondhand.
I bought a refurb ipad 64gb air 1. from the app store it had i0s 7 on it, I upgraded to 8 and it's been pretty smooth. The price of a refurb is pretty darn good since they dropped the price. And it's a refurb.
I agree with you. When I used the iPad on stage I used music studio and Magellan both used separate with out audiobus.
I bought mainstage 3 and it seems really good. I'm excited about audiomux and being able to turn my iPad into an amazing loop machine.
I'm thinking Mainstage into loopy with the launchpad app to act as an ableton clip launcher and I'm all set.
I have even there problems because a lot apps still have these dropouts especially in combination with Audiobus. That makes it also nearly unsable as audio source.
It also make me lazy to create my tracks while lying on the couch..... not good for my back! At least for me ALL the positive things become more negative about this device. So it's just not for me. The only problem are all my iPad apps.... wasted? I just hope that someday we can open the iOS apps too on the mac. I can't believe why it is so hard to give us the option to use the apps inside an emulator (like in X-code f.e.). Yes, they are touch optimized but there is no iOS app i couldn't use with my touchpad. It also could open the market for non ios users as well (if they exist 
. 
Damn i loved the teaser....
On top the whole session is crashing every few minutes. It's still hard to find out which apps works together and which combination breaks the thing. I don't have that much trouble on my iPhone 5 (or on my mac). I never wanted the iPad really and i never felt really in much love with it..... maybe a sign
Maybe i should go windows with FL-Studio 12 with lifetime updates
Sounds like there are still a few issues with iOS8. Think I'll check the refurb site and see what they've got.
Update: hmm £489 for 128gb, bit expensive for a refurb...
i bought a new air1 (my second one) some weeks ago. one is looper (+midi stuff) and the other is sound source.
i´m happy with that. it depends on what you want to do with ios devices.
I bought a new Air one on IOS 7.2.1 from here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171578806515
I just clicked on buy another one and it showed £219 but seems like the seller is away. I bought my ipad 4 and previous Air 1 from this same seller without any issues. They are grey imports, possibly American. Can't guarantee they still sport IOS 7 but who knows. I bought mine on the 15th of January.
Thanks, that's a good price. Not sure if 16gb will be enough, bigger models seem to be a bit harder to find. Amusing to see a few people selling them for more than I can buy them new...optimistic...
The one I bought was not a refurb though. I paid £259 for 16gb WiFi version.
Seen some very cheap deals for 128mb models in there...almost TOO cheap for comfort. I'm not very good at this secondhand buying lark, I'll probably chicken out and end up paying more for a shiny new one
Yep, agreed. All of the one I bought from them were new, boxed, sealed etc. battery cycle count = 0 checked on the last one I bought.
That sounds good, I'll keep an eye on that seller
I think it really depends on how you use your iPad and what you intend to do with it. The development of the iPads, iOS and apps have allowed me to find my way versus trying to figure out how to work within the structure of a complex DAW. The last two updates of iOS 8 and the Audiobus updates have given me a lot more stability versus when iOS 8 was first released. I pretty much use less than ten tracks when I get the urge to compose songs. Mostly I enjoy playing and exploring apps and their combinations to see what I can come up with. Sometimes things get fiddly but I can do a bit of opening and closing of apps in Audiobus to get things working and this is quite a bit less than before. It will be nice when apps and iOS are optimized for using the multicore processor on the iPad Air 2. Even so, I'm pretty happy with the number of apps and chains I can setup without losing sound quality or having crashes. Since iOS 8 there has been a lot more for me to work with, some of this is due to new apps and updates to existing ones. I don't regret buying the Air 2 and anticipated there would be growing pains. Other people may have more demanding setups, more tracks, play live so the current state of affairs may not be reliable or hassle free enough to meet their needs. The current news about Auria Pro's development is very promising and will definitely be a solution I'll explore when I get the urge to assemble more complex and refined compositions.
I don't miss the DAW days on the desktop as it seemed relatively sterile and dry for me as it felt almost like working with a spreadsheet/word processor with all of the menus, sub menus, grids, settings and thick manuals. Being able to use the touch interface, relatively easily connect/disconnect hardware and apps and the diverse multitude of synths, midi controllers, samplers, drum/groove machines, and effect apps has allowed me try many different things in an affordable way.
^This is very well put, especially the last paragraph. The iPad feels more like an odd little instrument to me, the desktop feels more like the office I've escaped from.
Thanks for that. I'm desperate to get my hands on Auria - even when GarageBand was working I still missed basic DAW functionality such as automation and mixing. I can live with ten tracks - I'm on about four at the moment!
I guess my dilemma for using the iPad for music making is Air1 vs Air2. On the one hand the older model seems to be working better at the moment, but on the other it's older tech so might not run future apps as well as the Air2 which would be adapted to take advantage of it's new features. If the price difference for a new model was bigger it'd be an easy choice, but it's not, so unless I take the secondhand/refurb route there's not a lot in it.
On top of this there's the iPad Pro rumours to consider. The bigger model, particularly if it has a decent stylus control, might fit into my working life as a graphics tool. So part of me is thinking I should wait for this.....but then there'll be the inevitable glitches and compatibility issues.
COME ON MONZO MAKE A DECISION
Yeah, I spend all day in there already, the iPad lets me escape. Once I get a better iPad I doubt I'll be using my desktop DAWs at all.
If you can afford it, go with Air2 @monzo
Extra CPU grunt and memory will see your iPad working better over its lifetime.
I would have bought air 2 in an instant it's just that waiting is a killer and I want to make music NOW!
@monzo It's a temporary choice whatever you buy. Everything is interim. My instinct (and experience) is get the Air1 now, especially if you can pick up a used for a good price and the next iPad (or equivalent) you buy will be an as yet unreleased generation after it has also seen the kinks and bugs sorted out. A while yet. My only caveat might be waiting until Auria Pro is released and seeing if it changes the game/works perfectly out of the box/is significantly better on a 2 running 8.3 or beyond. 2 cents etc.
My only caveat might be waiting until Auria Pro is released and seeing if it changes the game/works perfectly out of the box/is significantly better on a 2 running 8.3 or beyond. 2 cents etc.
Thanks for the replies.
If the Air2 performance is better that's pretty tempting. Not sure about Auria Pro, the current version would be fine for me.
Hmmmmmmm....
Is there that much of a difference in performance? Could I run more apps at once on the Air2, for example?
I have yet to see an improvement shown with the air two, that is an extremely debatable statement, so far the extra memory cpu thing has actually seemed to be a detriment and not a positive thing incredibly!