The first teardown study on the iPad Air 2 confirms one of the few pet peeves early reviewers had about Apple's latest and greatest tablet: poorer battery life than the original iPad Air.
The first units of the iPad Air 2 have only just landed in the hands of their eager new owners, but iFixit has already torn the slate down to reveal what's inside Apple's shiniest, newest device. While last year's iPad Air touted a 32.9 Wh or 8,827 mAh battery that Apple says has 10 hours on a single charge, iFixit says the new iPad Air 2 has a smaller 27.62 Wh or 7,340 mAh battery.
"The 27.62 Wh battery in the iPad Air 2 drops a bit from the previous Air's 32.9 Wh capacity," says iFixit in a statement. "Apple claims the same 10-hour battery life as the original Air, so more efficient power use seems to be on tap here - though early reviews indicate that real-world battery life is still down a bit from the Air 2's predecessor."
The smaller battery is a result of Apple's ongoing quest for a slimmer, lighter device with lesser room for other components. At 6.1 mm, in fact, the iPad Air 2 is the thinnest tablet Apple has ever made. However, the iPhone maker claims the new iPad has the same 10-hour battery life as its predecessor. This claim hinges on the powerful A8X processor and the two separate 1GB chips of RAM from Elpida/Micron Technology placed on either side of the A8X chip.
"Usually, increased performance comes at the expense of battery life," says Apple in its marketing materials. "Notice we said 'usually'."
The iFixit finding verifies what Walt Mossberg of Re/code said in his review of the iPad Air 2. Mossberg said that after intensive use of the new device with Wi-Fi and cellular turned on, as well as battery-saving features and screen brightness turned to the fullest, the iPad Air 2 lasted 10 hours and 37 minutes. Though this exceeds Apple's 10-hour claim, Mossberg couldn't help but be disappointed when he compared it to the 12 hours and 13 minutes of battery life on the iPad Air.
Brad Molen of Engadget had an even more extensive comparison. Testing with the iPad Air 2 yielded better results than Mossberg, though Wi-Fi and cellular were also turned on. The new device lasted 11 hours and 15 minutes, far less than the 13 hours and 45 minutes of the original iPad Air. If it's any consolation, the iPad mini 3, which comes with a smaller profile but a less powerful processor, appears to have better battery life than the bigger iPad Air 2, clocking in at the same figures as the iPad Air. Molen also listed the battery life for other tablets by Apple and other manufacturers, with Microsoft's Surface 2 topping the list with 14 hours and 22 minutes.
For all the complaints on its shorter battery life, the iPad Air 2, according to early reviews, remains the single best tablet available on the market today.
