Despite the fact that the iPad Air 2 is one of the best-selling tablets in the world, a new test has revealed that it is not the fastest on the market.
Consumers who buy an iPad Air 2 looking for lightning fast performance might be better off buying a Microsoft Surface Pro 3, according to research by consumer watchdog Which?. The research reveals that the Surface Pro 3 is 20% faster than its rivals the Apple iPad Air 2 and Google Nexus 9.
Apple loses out to Microsoft Surface Pro 3 and Tesco Hudl 2
Not only did the full-size iPad lose out to the Surface Pro, the iPad Mini 3 recorded lower scores in speed tests than the more affordable Tesco Hudl 2.
Which? carried out the tests using industry-recognized Geekbench software, putting the tablets through their paces during a number of tasks like downloading apps and handling multiple programs simultaneously.
The tablets were given a score for each task, which was determined by measuring their performance against a baseline. An average of theses scores provides an overall score for the device.
During these latest tests, the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 recorded a score of 5,069, the Apple iPad Air 2 received 4,046 and the Google Nexus 9 3,537.
Further down the rankings were the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX, with a score of 3,060, the Apple iPad Air with 2,687, the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro with 2,650 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S with 2,594.
Demand for tablets suffers sharp fall
“Our tablet speed test is a great indication of how fast tablets can run when downloading apps or using multiple functions at once,” according to Which? editor Richard Headland. “Nowadays we expect everything in a swipe or a click of the button, so understanding how quickly a tablet is able to process information is important to buyers,” he continued.
Demand for tablets is expected to fall, but analysts believe that the global market for the devices will continue to grow slowly throughout the year. Technology industry analysts Gartner predict that sales will reach 233 million units in 2015, an increase of just 8% over the 216 million units sold in 2014.
Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner, blames the falling demand for tablets on a lack of innovation in hardware, as well as the fact that existing models are lasting longer.
