Apple Has lunches the new iPad Air 2 has arrived, and it delivers a more powerful A8X processor and a new anti-reflective display in a design that’s 18 percent thinner than its predecessor. There’s also a Touch ID sensor on board.
The iPad Air 2 will start at $499 for 16GB, $599 for 64GB and $699 for 128GB. What cellular? It adds $130 to the price of each version.
The iPad Air is now .24 inches thick, down from .29 inches on the prior model. The new anti-reflective coating is a first for multi-touch tablets. It reduces reflections by 56 percent.
The iPad Air 2 packs an A8X processor with 3 billion transistors The chip promises performance that is 40 percent faster and 2.5X faster graphics. The slate also includes a motion co-processor with a built-in barometer.
The Air 2 has an improved camera. There’s an 8-MP iSight camera that does burst mode photos and 43-MP panorama shots. A new FaceTime HD camera offers improved face detection and burst selfies.
The iPad Air 2 comes with 802.11ac Wi-Fi and faster LTE with more bands (20 of them) for up to 150 Mbps speed.
The Touch ID sensor will let you not only take advantage of Apple Pay in stores but also when you’re shopping online.
Apple also announced the iPad mini 3, the latest version of its compact tablet. Starting at $399, the mini 3 features a 7.9-inch Retina display, a new FaceTime HD front camera, a 5-MP rear shooter and 802.11n Wi-Fi with MIMO.
Apple has sold a whopping 225 million iPads to date. In addition, Apple now offers 675,000 iPad apps, which is far more than the competition.
