Apple announces iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3

Apple has just revealed the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 at its press event this evening, featuring “technology jam packed” in an “incredibly thin and light package”. Starting off with the iPad Air 2, this year's model comes in at just 6.1mm thick, making two iPad Air 2's stacked on top of eachother, thinner than the original iPad.

The iPad Air 2 now features a laminated screen, the LCD glass and Touch ID sensor are optically bonded, leaving no room for air gaps. The anti-reflective coating on the display supposedly reduces reflections by around 58 per cent. Powering the iPad Air 2 is the A8X processor, which is 64-bit and 40% faster than last year's chip.

Not much headway has been made in terms of battery life, the iPad will last a standard 10 hours. In an effort to try and get people to start taking photos with tablets, Apple has made some improvements to the iPad's camera and viewfinder tools. The camera has 8 megapixels, f/2.4 aperture and can shoot 1080p video, you'll also be able to take 43mp panoramas.

The iPad Air 2 also comes with up to 866 Mbps WiFi support, making for super fast transfers thanks to the 802.11AC compatibility. Additionally, more LTE bands will be supported for the 4G model in the US, also resulting in an increase in speed.

Image Source: Verge

The iPad Air 2 will start at $499 and go all the way up to $699, the 32GB model has been axed, leaving us with 16GB, 64GB and 128GB options. For 4G iPad Air 2's, pricing starts at $629 and goes up to $829.

The iPad Mini 3 also made a short appearance, it has the same specs as the iPad Air 2, although it has a smaller 5 megapixel camera. The iPad Mini 3 will start at $399 for the WiFi only model. The old iPad Air and iPad Mini 2 are sticking around and will now come $100 cheaper. Pre-orders start from tomorrow with shipping beginning next week.

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KitGuru Says: So there you have it, another year, a slightly more powerful set of iPads. Do any of you guys own an iPad? Are you thinking about upgrading any time soon? I was quite tempted by the Air last year. However, since selling my iPad 2, I can't say I've missed having a tablet much.

Source: Verge

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