Apple iPad Air vs. Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 [2014 Edition]: Specification Comparison

The much-awaited Apple iPad Air (along with iPad Mini 2) made its way to the Indian stores on 7 December.

The new premium Apple iPad Air will compete against archrival Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014), which made its debut a couple of months ago. With Christmas holidays just around corner, many would be planning to get special gifts for their loved ones (or for themselves). Prospective consumers contemplating to buy top-end tablets this season should have a look at both Apple iPad air and Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition).

To give a better perspective on the devices, we compiled a list of stand-out features of the two tablets.

Here is the brief description of Apple iPad Air and Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 [2014 Edition]

Design & Display:

Like all Apple premium products, the new fifth generation iPad boasts smooth metal finish and is just 7.5 mm thin, 20-percent leaner than previous generation 9.7-inch iPads and weighs just little over a pound (469 g); hence the moniker iPad Air.

Coming back to the display, iPad Air sports a 9.7-inch Retina (2048x1536p) display, boasting IGZO (Indium gallium zinc oxide) screen technology with pixel density close to 264 ppi (pixels per inch).

On the other hand, Samsung's new Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) features a metallic rim over edge of the body but the back cover is made of plastic. The company in its bid to make tablet look premium, has covered the rear-side with faux leather stitching, like seen on the Galaxy Note 3 phablet.

However, do not let the bad build quality cloud the fact that Galaxy Note 10.1 has a rich-colour display. It boasts a WQXGA super-clear LCD screen with 2560x1600p resolution and pixel density of 299 ppi.

Processor, RAM and Storage:

Apple's new iPad Air is the only tablet in the industry to boast a 64-bit architecture chipset, making it the most advanced device in the market. The new generation chip design has made iPad Air more efficient and twice faster than its predecessor. To further enhance its performance, Apple has planted a co-processor M7, which is capable of independently operating tasks (motions), related to gyroscope and accelerometer. Apple iPad Air features 1GB RAM and comes in four storage variants - 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB [no memory card slots].

Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) comes in two variants - the LTE model that boasts 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 series quad-core series in developed markets, whereas the 3G model boasts company's in-house built Exynos 5 Octa-core processor (with 1.9GHz quad-core Cortex A15 + 1.3-Quad-core Cortex A7). Both variants come with 3GB RAM and are available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB storage, with option of a microSD card slot. 

Camera:

Compared to the last generation device, the new Apple iPad Air comes with lot of new features. It houses an iSight 5.0-megapixel main camera with 5-element lens, f/2.4 aperture, HDR photos, full HD video recording capability, 3x video zoom and a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera with HD (720p) video recording and face-detection features.

On the other hand, Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) flaunts a pretty decent 8.0-megapixel main camera with BSI sensor, LED flash and a 2.0-megapixel secondary camera with BSI sensor and full HD video recording feature.

Operating System:

Apple iPad Air runs on the new v7.0 iOS out-of-the-box. It boasts of a new control center (improved setting options), revamped Notification feature, AirDrop, real-time photo editing options, enhanced Siri (new male and women voice configuration), iTunes Radio, re-designed Safari search engine and more.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 runs on the Android v4.3 Jelly Bean (upgradable to v4.4 KitKat) and features Knox security app, new keyboard layout,new notification options, more language support (including Hindi), Wi-Fi hot-spot location mode and Open GL ES 3.0 graphics. For easy navigation on big-screen, Samsung's tablet comes optimised with S-Pen functionalities: S Note (Easy chart), S Planner, Action Memo, Scrapbook, Screen White, S Finder, Pen Window and Direct Pen Input.

Price:

Apple's metal-clad iPad Air prices range between ₹35,900 to ₹65,900. [Wi-Fi + SIM support based devices costs more, scroll down for complete price structure].

Whereas the Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 edition)-32GB model price is hovering around ₹47,000 (or even less) in the market.

Key specifications of Apple iPad Air and Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 [2014 Edition]: