Now that Apple has officially introduced the fifth-generation iPad, previously called the iPad 5 by tech watchers, and now given the new name iPad Air by Apple, the new tablet will soon come into the marketplace crowded by competitors running Android.
One of the most recently introduced of those is the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition. Samsung, of course, is one of Apple's top competitors, and the new Galaxy Note 10. has a competitive display and processor. Let's take a look at both to see how the new iPad Air stacks up.
Display
The iPad Air still has the 9.7-inch display that previous iPads featured, with an IPS LED touchscreen, which now has a beefed-up resolution of 2048 x 1536p. That's a huge increase in screen resolution from the last iPad, but it only comes to 264 pixels per inch, which is not great, compared to some recent Android tablets hitting the market.
The Galaxy Note 10.1, even with its slightly larger display gets about 300ppi, as it features a ridiculous 2560 x 1600p super HD display.
Power and Battery
The iPad Air uses Apple's new 64-bit A7 chip, which we first saw introduced in the iPhone 5s, and is now making it into all of Apple's mobile devices. Apple doesn't give a specific clock speed for this new chip, but it's sure to be a leading processor for the next generation of tablets, especially running apps created for the 64-bit architecture. The new iPad Air also comes with the iPhone 5s's M7 coprocessor that runs motion-related hardware, like the accelerometer, without engaging the main processor.
Meanwhile, the Kindle Fire HDX comes with one of the fastest 32-bit ARM chips for Android mobile devices on the market: the quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 with Adreno 330 graphics, clocked at 2.3Ghz. Like with the Galaxy Note 3, Samsung has thrown in 3GB of RAM with its 10.1-inch tablet.
At the speed of these two top processors, you probably won't notice a difference. That is, until apps catch up to the 64-bit architecture. Apple is leading the charge into mobile 64-bit computing - a move even Samsung is on board with - but this Galaxy Note 10.1 doesn't have it.
Apple's iPad Air retains the approximately 10 hour battery life of its predecessor, and the Galaxy Note 10.1's massive 8,220 mAh battery should get at least that amount of mixed use.
Size
Size is very important for tablets. Apple knows this, and has made the iPad Air up to 28 percent lighter than the previous iPad, and 20 percent thinner. The iPad Air, which is a full-sized tablet, weighs one pound - making it the lightest full-sized tablet in the world, according to Apple. It's thinner too, at 0.29-inches, and even with its 10-inch (diagonal) screen, the iPad Air is just 9.4-inches tall by 6.6-inches wide.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition is going to feel bigger, compared to the iPad Air, as it weighs 1.18 lbs and has larger dimensions of 9.57 x 6.75 inches. It's a pretty slim 10-inch tablet, at 0.31 inches, but still, it's larger than the iPad Air.
Camera and Storage
The iPad Air comes with a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, which is capable of shooting 1080p HD video. The front has a 1.2-megapixel camera that shoots 720p HD video for FaceTime.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 has a better camera than Apple's latest tablet, with an 8-megapixel camera on the back, capable of shooting 1080p HD video at 60 frames per second and a 2-megapixel front-facing shooter that can record 1080p.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 comes in either 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB storage models, and offers microSD expansion for up to 64GB more for a relatively cheap price.
The iPad Air, if you have the money, can come with up to 128GB of internal storage, but no microSD support. You'll definitely store more for less on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, but keep in mind Apple's iCloud can take some of that media storage burden off of the iPad Air's shoulders.
Other Features
What does Apple have to offer as far as bonus features? First off, the iPad Air comes with iOS 7 and the Apple brand, which comes with an ecosystem of devices and systems that work with the iPad Air, including Mac OS X Mavericks, Apple TV, and the iPhone 5s, to name just a few. Apple is also making its software suites iLife and iWork free with any new hardware purchase. Other than that, with the absence of TouchID, there's no revolutionary new feature for the iPad Air at the moment.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 piggy-backs off of the new features for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. That means it has a more functional S Pen that can bring up a multitasking screen during any activity - cutting and pasting information intelligently and taking notes in a more effective way. Running Samsung's most recent Android 4.3, the Galaxy Note 10.1 also pairs with the Galaxy Gear, but come on.
Release Date and Price
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition had a release date in the U.S. and elsewhere on Oct. 10. For the 16GB WiFi-only version (an LTE variant of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is not currently available) the tablet costs $549.99.
That's rather expensive for a WiFi-only tablet and the iPad Air 16GB WiFi-only variant beats it, at $499.
For the LTE version, the Air's price goes up to $629 for the base model, and can push close to a grand if you want the 128GB LTE variant. All iPad Air variants are going on sale on Nov. 1.