Apple announced the new version of its flagship tablet at a special event in Cupertino today. The iPad Air 2 will be available October 24 starting at $499, and it will be available in gray, white, and---of course---gold.
Aside from the new color choices, the other big new feature is that the home button now incorporates TouchID. This is a significant upgrade; not only for quick-unlocking the screen, but for use with authentication for other systems like Apple Pay and HomeKit. The fact that the iPad Air 2 would include a TouchID sensor wasn't a big surprise. After a deluge of leaks, including an "unintentional" peek at the new product on iTunes itself, most of the new features were already known among the Apple fans.
While it does support Apple Pay, it's worth noting that the new iPad Air 2 does not include NFC, limiting the press-of-a-button purchasing power to online or app-enabled transactions.
The back-facing camera's hardware has been upgraded to 8 megapixels from the previous 5-megapixel camera for photos. The iPad's video capture capability stays at 1080p resolution, the same as the previous version. A new feature called "Burst Mode" takes a series of photos in rapid succession with a long hold of the shutter button. Apple also added the same Timelapse and Slo-mo modes found on the iPhone. The front camera offers same 1.2-megapixel photos and 1080p video resolution as the previous iPad Air.
Its 9.7-inch display boasts a 2048 x 1536 resolution, the same as the already excellent Retina display on the original Air, as well as an anti-reflective coating for better daytime viewing.
Physically though, the iPad Air 2 is lighter and thinner the first iPad Air: It's 6.1mm thin, and weighs just under a pound. As rumored, it's got a new A8x processor and M8 coprocessor for better multitasking, page scrolling, and gaming action.
And it'll be available in silver, gray, and gold. Pricing starts at $499 for the 16GB iPad, followed by, $599 for 64GB, and $699 for 128GB.
The iPad Mini also gets updated with TouchID, but keeps the same A7 chip as its predecessor. The iPad Mini 3 will be available in silver, gray, and gold. Prices are $399 for 16GB, $499 for 64GB, and $599 for 128GB. The iPad Mini 2 drops in price to $299 and up, and the original non-Retina Mini drops to $249 and up.
Preorders on all the iPads start tomorrow, and the devices begin shipping at the end of next week. All the iPads will come with iOS 8.1 installed.
