Apple iPad Air vs Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition

Introduction

Smartphone manufacturers are leapfrogging themselves with every new generation of their products, and the same thing goes for their tablet endeavors. Every new top-shelf tablet is slimmer, lighter and faster than the previous one, but there is a certain difference between how things stand in phones and tablets. While Apple is no longer the undisputed leader in the smartphone space, it still has a firm grip on the tablet market, where the iPad manages to remain on top of its mobile OS-powered opponents at all times.

The iPad Air, which only recently became available, has set the standard even higher in terms of design. With its thin side bezels and super-light weight, Apple's full-sized tablet is more alluring than ever. However, what it'll go up against this time is the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition – arguably Samsung's best Galaxy tablet, which hopes to attract consumers with its S Pen and productivity-focused features. Let the fight begin!

Design

The Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition isn't anything extraordinary in the design department. While it's respectably thin, it's still made of plastic and presents us with an odd back panel that has a pattern resembling leather. It's by no means bad, but it's just 'meh', compared to the fancy aluminum build of the iPad Air. The Air is more compact than the Note 10.1 2014 (9.45 x 6.67 x 0.30 inches for the iPad vs 9.57 x 6.75 x 0.31 inches for the Note), and it's also significantly lighter with its 16.86 oz (478 g), compared to the Note's 19.29 oz (547 g). This allows you to hold the iPad Air much more comfortably, regardless if you're using one or two hands.

Obviously, the iPad Air can offer you a way more premium design of the two, and that also translates to the physical volume and power keys of the devices, which react better on the iPad. Anyway, there's one thing that stands out in the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014's design and that's the microSD card slot, which is going to come in handy in case you want to expand your storage at some point. Both devices have versions with cellular radios, and thus – SIM card slots. However, note that the iPad Air uses the Nano SIM standard, while the Note 10.1 uses Micro SIM.

Display

There is a small difference between the sizes of the displays of these two lovely tablets. The iPad Air's one measures 9.7” (the same size as on any other iPad), while the Galaxy Note 10.1 is slightly bigger with its 10.1 inches (what a surprise!). Resolution-wise, the iPad is quite a solid performer with its 2048 x 1536 pixels (264 ppi), but the Note 10.1 2014 takes things a couple notches further with its resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels (299 ppi). Both look very clean and detailed, with the Note 10.1 being a bit better in this respect.

We should also note that there's a substantial difference when it comes to aspect ratio. The iPad Air stays true to 4:3, which makes it very convenient for web browsing and reading, while the Note 10.1 has a 16:9 display that's more suitable for video playback.

Inspecting both display panels positioned side by side, one of the first things that we notice is that the gamma of the iPad Air's screen is a bit off. Certain dark levels appear brighter than they should be, resulting in a less contrasting image. Indeed, since this problem isn't present with the Note 10.1's display, its own image looks a bit more attractive at first glance.

While both displays use LCD technology, the colors of the iPad Air are more realistic and well-balanced, as those of the Note 10.1 2014 appear somewhat greenish in comparison. Viewing angles seem to be about the same with both screens.

S Pen

The Galaxy Note 10.1 2014's most unique feature is the S Pen stylus. Of course, you can get a capacitive stylus for the iPad Air, but it'll be a much worse solution, because the S Pen uses Wacom technology. It's very easy to write with and supports pressure sensitivity. If you fancy the ability to take hand-written notes or draw using a stylus, then this is the feature which should make you consider the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014.

Interface and Functionality

Equipped with iOS 7.0.3, the iPad Air comes with a fresh and cheerful UI complementing its super-intuitive user experience. The UI is way more simplistic than the TouchWiz interface of the Note, as it only presents you with a grid of app icons and that's pretty much it as far as the homescreen is concerned. Well, there are also the notification and control centers, as well as the new multitasking view, but to a large extent, this is what you'll be limited to.


On the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition, which is currently running Android 4.3 under the Touch Wiz Nature UX, things are considerably more complex, as you're bombarded with all kinds of widgets, menus and alternative screens that start sliding in from all directions as soon as you power the tablet up. You can do a lot more with the homescreen of this Android-powered tablet, but it'll definitely take a while before you can really feel at home as you unlock your device. Besides its complexity, the fact that there are dozens of settings within almost every app doesn't help either. TouchWiz has become a versatile, yet cluttered interface that could use some serious simplification.

Processor and Memory

With its A7 64-bit SoC, the Apple iPad Air is running buttery-smooth, which makes for an overall great user experience. The A7 comes packing the dual-core Cyclone CPU that's clocked at 1.4 GHz. It's complemented by the PowerVR G6430 GPU. In comparison, the Note 10.1 2014 sports the Snapdragon 800 with quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400 CPU and Adreno 330 GPU. On paper, the Note 10.1 seems much beefier, however, in reality its TouchWiz UI suffers from some very visible lag and slow-down.

RAM amount stands at 1 GB for the iPad Air and 3GB for the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition. Once again, it seems as if the Note 10.1 should fly with this kind of internals, but it's actually very easy to make it stutter under the load of just a few apps.

Storage space can be 16, 32 or 64 GB with the iPad Air. The same goes for the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition, but as we said earlier, it also features support for microSD cards, so it does give you a bit more flexibility in this area.

Messaging and Organizer

The on-screen QWERTY keyboard of the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition is more versatile – it has an extra row with numbers, and it also tries to display a bit too many things at the same time, resulting in keys of smaller size compared to those on the iPad Air's on-screen keyboard. So, yeah, you may have to do a few additional presses in order to type the same thing using the iPad's keyboard, but most of the time users will feel more comfortable doing so with it, rather than with the Note.



The Note 10.1 is packed to the brim with all kinds of apps from the get go, and its organizer apps are full of settings and features as well. Actually, they can prove to be a bit too complex to use or set right. Meanwhile, the iPad Air has just the bare necessities in the form of very simple, yet efficient apps for notes, reminders, clock and calendar. There isn't so much to tweak within those apps – in many cases, Apple has made some decisions for the customer, and in most cases those decision prove to be the right ones.

Internet and Connectivity

Samsung has loaded the Note 10.1 with its own Internet browser, which is pretty fast indeed, although Safari on the iPad Air is even faster and more responsive. Nevertheless, it is a pleasure to browse the internet on either of these two tablets, especially since their large, high-resolution screens can make entire web pages readable without us having to zoom in on them. Both web browser apps allow for pages to be organized in tabs, which facilitates switching between them, and they both can play back embedded YouTube videos without any problems.


In terms of features, the iPad's Safari internet browser has a bit of an advantage over the Note 10.1's Internet app. It allows tabs and bookmarks to be synchronized across Apple devices, so you can continue your work where you left off. This kind of functionality can be had on the Note 10.1 as well, should you choose to use the Chrome internet browser instead of the default one. If you happen to be a Chrome lover, you can also get that browser on the iPad Air as well.


Connectivity-wise, both the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition and the iPad Air come in multiple variants – an option for those who need only Wi-Fi to go online, and a 3G/4G model for people who need to be constantly connected to the internet. We must note that while all Note 10.1 models have a built-in GPS radio, the Wi-Fi-only iPad Air doesn't have one, relying solely on Wi-Fi network data to provide positioning information.

Software

The area, which allows the iPad to keep being the undisputed leader in the tablet space is the software catalog. With over 475,000 tablet-optimized apps available in the App Store, there's much more to choose from compared to the tablet offerings in the Google Play Store. In fact, many iPad apps are designed to really take advantage of the large display, while many tablet-optimized apps for the Note 10.1 and other Android tablets are just that – they are optimized for a large display, but don't necessarily add anything valuable to make their experience better than that with their phone counterparts.

There's still a sizable gap between iOS and Android when it comes to quality apps (in favor of iOS), but that gap is even bigger when it comes to tablets.

Camera

Well, what do you know: both the 2014 Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 and the iPad Air can take decent photos and videos with their main cameras. Given the right lighting conditions, of course. The former comes with an 8MP auto-focus camera and a bright LED for illuminating low-light scenes, while the latter packs a 5MP auto-focus snapper, which lacks flash, unfortunately.


Upon launching the camera app on the Note 10.1, we're presented with a familiar, feature-rich user interface. It offers many of the options we've already tried on the Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy S4, such as the built-in filters and the multitude of shooting modes – HDR, Panorama, Night, and so on. The camera interface on the iPad Air offers an HDR mode and filters, but nothing more in terms of control over the produced image.


Neither camera is as capable as what you can find on top-shelf smartphones these days, but you'll still be able to snap some decent pics. For the most part, pictures taken with both look very similar, with almost equal color tones and exposure. We do notice that in some shots, though, the Note 10.1 2014 manages to keep colors a tad more natural, as the iPad Air shows a bit of a tendency to slightly warm things up. The area where the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 manages to gain the advantage is details, as its 8 MP resolution allows it to capture a bit more data about the surrounding world, compared to the iPad Air. The situation is about the same when shooting indoors, where the Note 10.1 2014 also has the benefit of the LED flash, as such is missing from the iPad Air.


Both tabets record video in 1920 x 1080 resolution, and while the iPad Air's footage appears to run more fluidly, the one from the Note 10.1 2014 has a slightly higher detail level. It's up to the user to decide which type of footage they'd prefer.


The Note 10.1 2014 is equipped with a 2 MP front-facing camera, but it takes much worse photos than the 1.2 MP FF shooter of the iPad Air. In short, images seem somewhat blurry and lacking any fine detail with the Note, while those from the iPad Air look much sharper and better, even though there's a bit of noise present when shooting indoors.

Multimedia

The Gallery application on the 2014 Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is decent and it allows one to organize their photos in folders. The iPad Air gallery, however, is a bit smarter, for it does that automatically – it knows when and where each photo has been taken and groups them in collections based on that data.

Samsung's music player is packed with goodies, as it has always been on any recent Samsung device. You get the mandatory lock screen controls, sound enhancements, and a neat feature called AdaptSound, which optimizes music depending on the listener's earphones and hearing. However, we have to admit that we're more satisfied with Apple's Music app. It not only looks better, but it comes with the new iTunes Radio, which streams free music over the web – you just pick a station and enjoy!


When it comes to video playback, we'd rather use the 2014 Note 10.1. It handles any popular video file format at up to 1080p resolution and it plays it smoothly, with instant fast-forwarding. Moreover, its screen aspect ratio is more suitable for watching high-definition video in wide-screen format.

There's a pair of stereo speakers on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014. Their output is passable, but nothing special in terms of quality. The iPad Air also has stereo speakers, though their close positioning practically eliminates the stereo effect. However, they do sound drastically better than the Note 10.1 2014's speakers, especially on the lower end of the spectrum.

Getting your photos, music, and videos onto the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is a straightforward process – you just copy-paste them onto its internal memory and you're done. With the iPad Air, however, this process can be a bit of a ritual. Those who use a Mac and/or iTunes to organize and purchase their media should be perfectly fine, but those who don't will have to get used to moving content around with the help of Apple's software. Moreover, some videos have to be converted to an iOS-friendly format first so that the iPad Air would play them.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition comes equipped with a built-in IR blaster, which is a neat stand-out feature. Basically, it allows you to control some of the appliances throughout your house, such as your TV, multimedia system, air conditioner, and more, if they are compatible.

Battery

Despite being a lot thinner than its predecessor, the iPad Air has kept the same wonderful battery life that will keep it powered on for quite a while. It's an 8820 mAh battery unit inside that is non removable, of course. The battery of the Note 10.1 2014 is slightly smaller with its 8220 mAh, and it's also sealed, meaning that you cannot replace it. Overall, the iPad Air seems to fare visibly better in terms of battery life, due to both the larger capacity and more optimized operating system.

Conclusion

At the end of this tough and heavy fight, the iPad Air has managed to reinforce its position as the leading mobile tablet available on the market. With its wonderful design and blazing-fast performance, it really has no weak spots in comparison with the rest of the offerings on the market, and that includes the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition.

Samsung's tablet is a fine gadget with a lot of capabilities, and it'll prove to be quite useful if you're really into TouchWiz Android and the S Pen stylus, but if that's not the case, then we see no solid reason why you should pick this one instead of the iPad Air, which can offer you so much more entertainment and productivity, courtesy of its richer application ecosystem.