Apple iPad Air Apple iPad Air 2 64GB 9.7-Inch Retina Display Review

The iPad Air 2 is a beautiful relic. Its ultra-thin design and sharp Retina screen still impress, and it supports Apple Pencil for light art. But with only 1GB of RAM, it chokes on basic multitasking in 2024. At $270 renewed, it's a budget ticket into the iPad world for very specific, simple uses. Don't buy it as your main tablet.

Let's be real about the iPad Air 2 in 2024. It's a classic, a design icon from 2014 that still looks and feels great in the hand. At 437 grams and just over 6mm thick, it's impressively light and portable even by today's standards. The 9.7-inch Retina display is still sharp, and the aluminum unibody is a testament to Apple's build quality from that era.

So who's this for? Honestly, it's for someone with very specific, basic needs. Think web browsing, reading, watching videos, and maybe some light note-taking. Our database gives it a 52.4/100 overall score, with its strongest showing in art and design (58.9/100), which is interesting given the age. That score is largely propped up by the still-excellent screen and the support for the original Apple Pencil and keyboard connectors.

What makes it interesting is the price context. You can find renewed models like this one for around $270. That puts it in a weird spot—it's an Apple product for Android tablet money. But you're buying a piece of history, not a modern powerhouse. The intrigue is whether that classic Apple experience is worth the trade-offs in 2024.

Performance is where the age shows, and the numbers don't lie. The A8X chip and 1GB of RAM land in the 71st and 1st percentiles, respectively. Let that sink in—1st percentile for RAM. That means it has less memory than 99% of the tablets in our comparison database. In practice, this translates to a device that can handle one or two basic apps at a time, but don't expect smooth multitasking. Switching between a browser with a few tabs and a notes app will likely involve reloading pages.

The GPU is in the 70th percentile, which sounds decent until you remember the benchmark pool includes a decade of tablets. It can handle simple games and UI animations, but anything graphically intensive will struggle. The 10-hour battery claim was for a brand new unit in 2014. On a renewed model, you're looking at significantly less, which aligns with its 48th percentile battery ranking. It'll get you through a day of light use, but that's about it.

At around $270 for a renewed model, the iPad Air 2 is a budget entry into the Apple ecosystem. That's the main value proposition. You're paying for the iPad name and the polished software experience, not for cutting-edge specs.

The problem is the competition at this price. For the same money, you can get brand new Android tablets with more RAM, more storage, and modern processors. What you lose is iOS app optimization and that specific Apple build quality. So the value is entirely subjective. If your top priority is 'an iPad' on a tight budget for very basic tasks, this gets you there. If your priority is performance per dollar, look elsewhere.

The most direct competitor is other old iPads. You might find a newer base model iPad (5th or 6th gen) for a similar price, which would have a much better processor and more RAM. That's almost always a smarter buy unless you're specifically charmed by the Air 2's design.

Against modern Android tablets, like a Lenovo Idea Tab or Samsung Galaxy Tab A series, the trade-offs are stark. The Android tablets will have better specs on paper—more RAM, more storage, newer OS. But the iPad Air 2 will likely feel smoother in basic navigation thanks to Apple's software optimization, and it has access to a different class of tablet-optimized apps. The Galaxy Tab S10+ is in a different league entirely (and price bracket) with its 12.4" screen and modern chip, but it highlights how far tablet tech has come since 2014.

Students should skip this. Writing a paper while researching in Safari and checking notes will be a slideshow of app reloads thanks to the 1GB RAM. Look for a newer base model iPad or a Chromebook instead.

Anyone wanting a tablet for video calls or as a primary device should also avoid it. The front-facing camera is low resolution by today's standards, and the overall sluggishness will wear thin quickly. If you need a tablet for more than passive consumption, your $270 is better spent on a newer, if less glamorous, device. Even a used iPad from 2018 or 2019 would be a massive upgrade in daily usability.

Here's our take: Buy the iPad Air 2 only if you have a single, clear use case. It's a great dedicated video player for the kitchen. It's a perfect lightweight e-reader and web browser for the couch. It's a capable digital photo frame. If you need a device for one of those jobs and love the Apple feel, this can work.

For anyone thinking of this as a primary computing device, a student tablet, or a machine for more than two apps at once, we have to say skip it. The 1GB of RAM is a deal-breaker for modern use. You'll experience constant app reloads and frustration. In those cases, stretch your budget for a newer base iPad or consider a modern budget Android tablet. They'll serve you much better.