Question: How Fast is the iPad?

Answer:

The iPad Air 2 adds a 1.5 Ghz Tri-Core processor to what was already one of the fastest tablets in the world.  This not only makes the iPad Air 2 a super-fast tablet, it is now approaching the speed ad performance of a laptop.   As a way of comparison, the iPad Air 2 scores a 4438 on Geekbench's Multi-Core test, while the 11-inch MacBook Air barely edges out the iPad Air 2 with a score of 5043.

As for the iPad Air and the iPad Mini 2, the A7 chip powering these tablets still ranks as one of the fastest in mobile, edging out all but the fastest Android tablets.   

Which iPad Should You Buy?

Is the iPad Air 2 faster than the iPhone 6?

Yes.  And by a considerable margin.  The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are powered by the dual-core 1.4 Ghz A8 chip, while the iPad Air 2 has the tri-core 1.5 Ghz A8X.  And while the performance in a single app may be comparable, the overall potential of the iPad Air 2 is much higher than the iPhone 6.

How does the iPad compare to Android tablets?

It's difficult to do a true comparison when dealing with different platforms. While one device might score better on benchmark tests, the platform itself may require more processing power. For example, Windows tends to require more resources than a Mac because the operating system -- which is built more for business than consumers -- is simply doing more at any given time.

Similarly, the Android platform has some neat tricks up its sleeve.

It allows for more robust multitasking, with some tablets allowing you to pin two apps to the screen at one time. But this means apps in the background can take a bigger slice of the processing pie, which can slow down overall performance.  

In benchmark tests, the iPad Air 2 is considerably faster than even the fastest Android tablets.  The Nvidia Shield Tablet, which is powered by a quad-core Nvidia Tegra, ranks as the fastest Android tablet.  It has a single-core benchmark of 1082 and a multi-core benchmark of 3221, which makes it a very sleek device.   However, it is surpassed by the iPad Air 2's single-core score of 1792 and multi-core score of 4438.   

iPad vs. Android: Which Tablet Should You Buy?