iPad Air 2 is out with a stunning video introduction from Apple. The slate is compared to a chiselled pencil, only thinner at 6.1 millimeter. Of course, this sixth iteration of Apple's 9.7-inch slate is the star of last night's Keynote event bringing in a bucket-full of new features to the portfolio of devices that defined the tablet industry. We’ve got you covered with all the points that you need to know with Apple's second generation iPad Air but before that, check out this intro video.
Display
Currently, the iPad Air 2
is the gold standard of all the slates in the market. Its 9.7-inch is dubbed as
the perfect form factor in this device category. The display tech is now
56-percent less reflective than before with the same screen resolution as the
original iPad Air. To some extent, the device may not have the Retina HD of the
iPhone 6 duo but Apple deems that the current 2048 x 1536 pixel is stunning
enough for our eyeballs.
Design
and Construction
Yes, the iPad Air 2 has
the same form factor as its predecessor. However, its 6.1-millimeter depth has
some design trade-offs like the shedding off of the mute toggle at the side of
the device. This brings a 16-percent thinner slate than before.
Processor
and Touch ID
Just like the previous
iPad 4 and iPad 3, the new iPad Air touts a custom-variant of the existing
processor that can be found in the iPhones. As of this case, the A8 chip has
been up-scaled to a more profound A8X chip. It is 40-percent faster in terms of
CPU speed and 2.5-times faster in graphics than the A7 chip found in the iPad
mini 2 and iPad Air.
Of course, after making
its debut in the iPhone 5s last year, the Touch ID sensor is now in the iPad.
This allows the slate to skip the passcode entry stage in device unlocking, App
Store purchase and third party apps user authentication. Ad yes, It’ll also be
used in Apple Pay.
iSight
Camera
You will have the
8-megapixel with f/2.4 iSight camera in this year's 9.7-inch iPad which makes
it more of a legit camera-device like the iPhone. Camera software has also been
improved with the Burst Mode and 120 fps Slo-Mo for videos that we have seen in
iPhone 5s.
Likewise, you can also
have 43-megapixel panorama shots and Timelapse in this slate.
The front-facing camera
also received shiny new tweaks. There's the new FaceTime HD sensor to improve
face detection and HDR videos.
Connectivity
and Battery
The iPad Air 2 supports a
faster WiFi technology with the 802.11ac support. You'll also get multiple-in
multiple-out MIMO antennas which are rated up to 866Mbps rate. The device also supports
a new LTE bands of up to 150 Mbps speed.
In terms of battery, Apple
preserved the 10-hour battery life of the slate.
Storage
and Software
Apple manages to get a
hold of the same configurations as of the iPhone 6 line. The slate will also
have 16GB, 32GB and 128GB options for you to choose from with Space Gray,
Silver and Gold hues.
The tablet also comes with
iOS 8 out of the box.
Pricing
and Availability
The base model, 16GB WiFi,
starts at USD 499 with the 128GB WiFi plus Cellular hitting the USD 829 mark. Check out the list below for more details.
16GB Wi-Fi USD
499
64GB Wi-Fi USD
599
128GB Wi-Fi USD
699
16GB Wi-Fi plus Cellular USD 629
64GB Wi-Fi plus Cellular USD 729
128GB Wi-Fi plus Cellular USD 829
The iPad Air 2 will be
available on October 24th in these countries:
United States
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Canada
China (Wi-Fi models only)
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
France
Germany
Hong Kong,
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Macau (Wi-Fi models only)
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Singapore
Slovakia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
