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Why You Shouldn’t Buy the 16GB iPad Air 2

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Apple’s new iPad Air 2 is out on shelves for the first time as a flagship replacement for the original iPad Air. If you’re thinking about buying the iPad Air 2 and you’re not sure which model to buy, we have some advice for you: Avoid the 16GB iPad Air 2 if you can. Here’s why you shouldn’t buy the 16GB version of Apple’s new slate.

Last week, after several months of anticipation, Apple announced its two new iPad models dubbed iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3. While the company’s iPad mini 3 is a tiny refresh that brings a new gold color and Touch ID fingerprint technology, the iPad Air 2 is far more interesting and it includes some noteworthy changes that unsurprisingly have many buyers intrigued.

The new iPad Air 2 comes with some impressive set of features including Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint technology embedded in the home button, a design that’s just 6.1mm thin and less than a pound, a display that now includes several improvements including anti-reflective technology, a brand new A8x chip that delivers 64-bit support, and an improved rear camera. It also comes in three storage sizes including 16GB, 64GB and 128GB. The 32GB iPad Air 2 does not exist.

iPad Air 2 colors space gray

After a bit of a wait, the iPad Air 2 is now in stores which means that those who didn’t pre-order can now waltz into an Apple Store to try out Apple’s brand new hardware. As we’ve noted, we highly recommend going hands-on before buying the iPad Air 2. It starts at $499 and with the original iPad Air dropping to $399, it’s worth doing some research.

That research should include looking into the iPad Air 2’s three different storage options which include a $499 16GB, $599 64GB and $699 128GB. The device also comes in LTE form though that model starts much higher.

Why You Shouldn’t Buy the 16GB iPad Air 2

While we can’t make your decision for you, we can tell you that there is one particular iPad Air 2 model that we think you should avoid. The 16GB iPad Air 2 is the cheapest model which means that it, and its $500 price point, probably look pretty attractive. We’re here to tell you that if you can help it, you should go with the 64GB model instead.

You Will Run Out of Space

Last year, I bought the 16GB iPad Air. All year, I’ve been regretting that decision. See, over the past year or so, I’ve slowly filled up my iPad Air with applications and other files like photos, messages, and more. And while the iPad Air itself is great, the storage is a constant headache and a source of immense frustration.

For most of my time with the iPad Air, I’ve had no more than 1GB of available space. Most of the time I’m teetering on the edge of 16GB which means that every time a new game comes out, every time I decide to snap some video or photos, every time I want to install a new app to help with my work flow, I need to delete something. If you haven’t had to go through this, you should be thankful.

iPad Air 2 colors gold

I regret not paying the extra $100 for the 32GB model and it’s a mistake I will never make again. When Apple put the iPhone 6 up for sale, I bought the 64GB model. And if and when I buy a new iPad, it’s going to be a 64GB model, a 128GB model, or nothing. 16GB just isn’t enough for a tablet these days, not with app sizes pushing 1GB or more.

I’m not saying that you might run out of space if you buy the 16GB iPad Air 2, I’m saying that you will run out of space if you buy an iPad Air 2. It’s inevitable. It may not happen over night, it may not happen a month from now, but I guarantee within six months to a year, you’re going to be looking at that 64GB iPad Air 2 wishing you bought it.

64GB iPad Air 2

Speaking of the 64GB iPad Air 2. Apple’s killed off the 32GB iPad Air in favor of a 16GB, 64GB and 128GB lineup. I wish they would have kept the 32GB model as the base size but beggars can’t be choosers. As I’ve discovered on my iPhone 6, 64GB is going to be more than enough space for most people. I’ve filled up about half of my iPhone 6 thus far. However, that extra space will give you incredible peace of mind.

You don’t have to constantly worry about exceeding your storage. You can download at will. And that’s extremely nice on a device that’s meant to be used as a content consumer.

iPad Air 2 vs iPad mini 3

If money is an issue and for many of you it will be, I suggest taking a long hard look at the original iPad Air. The original iPad Air is still a very solid tablet, I know because I own one, and Apple’s charging just $449 for the 32GB model. 32GB isn’t as good as 64GB but it’s still a whole lot better than 16GB. Believe me, I wish I had double the space.

Even if you don’t plan to use a ton of applications, shoot a ton of photos, or download a bunch of music, I guarantee that that 16GB of internal storage on the iPad Air 2 is going to fill up a whole lot faster than you think.

So, if you have a little extra money to spend right now or even if you have to wait a few months to scrape up a few extra dollars, I think you’re going to be better off skipping 16GB model and going for the 32GB iPad Air or the 64GB iPad Air 2. For most people 128GB is going to be way too much.

The iPad isn’t a device that you upgrade every year. And for most of you, it’s a device that will stick around for two years or more. So, it’s not a device that you should just throw money at. Do your homework and you’re going to come out of this iPad Air 2 release date in a lot better shape than those that didn’t do any research at all.

13 Comments

13 Comments

  1. Pat Patel

    10/25/2014 at 9:04 pm

    Hogwash. I have had a 16 gb mini for 2 years and still have 5 gb of space on it. I don’t feel in any way hampered by lack of apps or storage. It is entirely a function of how you use your device; some people, like you, fill up space quickly and others don’t. One needs to be aware of their use and needs. To say everyone will run out of space with 16 go is simply not true.

  2. Mark

    10/27/2014 at 12:59 am

    I agree with Pat, I had the iPad Air 16GB, and made it to about 2GB away, but most of the time, I had 8-11 GB free for a long time. Hardly took pictures, downloaded LOTS of games(but quickly got bored with them), only watch movies and shows online, listen to streaming music, etc.

    Depends on your needs.

  3. buffytheslayr

    12/22/2014 at 8:34 pm

    Excellent points! I just got an iPad Air 2 128gb and I’m so pleased! I had a ipad 4 64gb before and I was always deleting things, movies etc. Now I have at least 12 movies on my iPad and lots of audiobooks. It’s a dream! Plus it’s so light and thin!

  4. Santiago Pónce De León

    12/27/2014 at 10:24 am

    I also struggled with my 16gb iphone 5s, it wouldn’t let me update due to the amount of pictures and videos i had on it, i would have to erase many of them to free up the 5gb required, i did regret not paying little extra for the 32gb or 64bg model

  5. Grouchiolme

    02/22/2015 at 6:30 pm

    I tend to believe all parties. But it really does boil down to what you want to keep with you at all times. It also depends on what type of user you are. With iCloud and Dropbox, you can offload those videos and photos when you need to. Probably store some music locally, but put the majority of it in the cloud. I use a wireless harddrive for my media at home so I rarely need to store them on the iPad. And if I want music to go, I usually just use my phone for that and its micro SD card for storage.
    I have effectively used a 16gb iPad Air, without issues and never wanted for more storage space. Of course had it not been for Dropbox, I probably would have been really frustrated.

    Be wise and think about what you will use it for, what media you want with you at all times, and keep in mind to have enough room for updates so you wont be frustrated having to offload stuff you want to keep with you just to perform that update.

    Look at your smartphones storage for an idea of space your using… How much memory are you using on the internal and external together between apps, photos, videos, music… Some people have no idea how much gets “ate up” with our daily media consumption. One could say if you were to look at one’s phone, it could be compared to a common household horder.

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  7. Paul Robinson

    09/12/2015 at 12:46 pm

    “I’m not saying that you might run out of space if you buy the 16GB iPad Air 2, I’m saying that you will run out of space if you buy an iPad Air 2. It’s inevitable. It may not happen over night, it may not happen a month from now, but I guarantee within six months to a year, you’re going to be looking at that 64GB iPad Air 2 wishing you bought it.”

    Excellent advice! With the iOS taking more room, and if anyone gets into photography and video, podcasts, or storing PDFs, the more the merrier you’ll be!

    Our iPad Mini was 16GB– and we get close to topping it off all the time and have to manage apps, docs, etc.. I would like to have a bunch of astronomy apps on there, and several rich textbooks, but run out of room.

    So, I have to manage things! On our 32GB, that rarely happens.

  8. Hey

    11/07/2015 at 9:28 am

    I had brought the 16 gb ipad 4 which was okay back then , I sold it and wanted to buy the air 2 purely for its light weight and thumb touch thing … I was tempted to buy the 64 but I said to myself why waste another 100 $ the 16 gb worked well for me , boyyyyy was not spending the extra 100 cost me with so much wastage of money , I had earlier sold the ipad 4 for 15000 Indian around 300 us.d so I lost about 300 us$ , I brought the 16 gigs air 2 later I found the space to be less as apps sizes started to increase so I brought a iPad mini 1 16 gb only to find out that it was useless it had a very weak processor so I sold it and suffered a loss of 125$ then I brought the iPad mini 2 32 gb which I used for a while and later sold it another loss of 110 $ , now there are great news games on the iPad Air 2 and my 16 gb was just not sufficient so i sold that as well (another 250$ ) lost in resale ….now brought the 128 gb air 2 …….so not spending the extra 100 which purchasing the air 2 for the first time I ended up loosin 785 $ allthough I am rich but I felt i could have saved that money had I just spend another 100…. So guys and gals just buy 64 gb (minimum) …. And shame on Apple those greedy crooks are selling a 16 gb phone with a camera with 4K recording

  9. Anne south

    11/17/2015 at 2:53 pm

    Well.. I’m having the same problem, and looked on safari to see if anyone else was suffering my storage problems.. I now have no apps, no photos, no music, no email account,.. I’ve deleted everything I can delete, and I’m still running out of storage!

  10. Gary James (Asheville)

    11/27/2015 at 9:00 am

    I have owned a Nook 16gb since 2011 and I have 11gb left on it. I am looking to finally get an ipad Air or 2 to pair with my macmini with two external drives, and ICloud and Dropbox. After reading these, though compelled to get the 32gb, as I think I “may” use the iPad differently, the bottom line is that I understand how space fills up on the phone and other uses. And since the iPad and MacMini play nice, I am sure I can move anything back and forth with ease. I think people who suggest 32 or 64 use their tablets for virtually everything vs. a support “on the go” system. My opinion. I do feel I’ll be happier with the ipad air 2 however …

  11. Manny

    04/01/2016 at 3:14 pm

    i just fixed an iPad air2 64gb and added Google Netflix and about three more apps I use everyday and my memory was full and I was confused that the storage is being used up somewhere because there’s no pics or video as I got this ipad for about a month

  12. w0lfspirit

    07/07/2016 at 6:31 am

    Oh please. I’m currently on my original jailbroken iPad 16GB. I still have a good strong 4GB of space left and I haven’t cleaned my pictures out in years. The only issue is the RAM can’t handle the iOS anymore. Here I thought this article would present good reasons to avoid it. All it does is give a BS opinion that doesn’t even fit for everyone yet falsely tries to label it being for everyone.

    Ps. If you take photos and videos with a freaking tablet… You’re a moron.

  13. captaingroovy

    07/18/2016 at 11:04 am

    I despise how search engines can keep pushing this article even though it is over 1 year old and for the most part is not of current revelence

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