Meet the newest members of the Apple ecosystem family, the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3.

Meet The iPad Air 2

The new iPad Air 2 is thinner than a pencil.  No really.  It’s 6.1mm thin.  It’s the thinnest iPad ever made – making it the world’s thinnest tablet EVER.  (It’s so thin that you can stack two of them on top of each other and together, they’re still thinner than just one original iPad.)

 

iPad Air 2 is powered by the new Apple-designed A8X chip, which delivers a 40 percent improvement in CPU performance and 2.5 times the graphics performance of iPad Air, and still delivers the up to 10-hour battery life users expect while working, playing games or surfing the web. Combined with Metal™, the new graphics technology in iOS 8, the A8X chip unlocks realistic visual effects comparable to the most advanced gaming consoles. iPad Air 2 also includes the M8 motion coprocessor that gathers motion data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, compass and an all-new barometer which senses air pressure to provide relative elevation.

Touch ID gives iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 users a simple and secure way to unlock iPad with just the touch of a finger, plus the ability to authenticate within apps to better protect logins and data. Touch ID can be used as a secure way to approve purchases from the App Store?, iTunes Store® or iBooks Store?, and with Apple Pay, when paying for physical goods and services within apps.

 

 

 CAMERA

Innovations to the iSight and FaceTime HD cameras in iPad Air 2 enable better photos and videos, with an 8MP sensor and advanced optics in the iSight camera to help capture rich, detailed images and add new features including panoramic in Photos, time-lapse video, slo-mo and 1080p HD video. The FaceTime HD camera now captures over 80 percent more light than iPad Air’s camera, and features burst mode as well as HDR stills and video. With thousands of powerful apps that take advantage of iPad’s amazing cameras and large Retina display viewfinder, iPad becomes a tool that can scan and annotate documents, help study the sky above and provide athletic performance analysis—all with just a tap.

 

AVAILABILITY

iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 come in three metallic finishes including gold, silver and space gray, and customers in 29 countries and territories can order online starting tomorrow – Friday, October 17.

Pad Air 2 with Wi-Fi models will be available for a suggested retail price of:

$499 for the 16GB model, $599 for the 64GB model $699 for the 128GB model.

iPad Air 2 with Wi-Fi + Cellular models $629 for the 16GB model, $729  for the 64GB model and $829 for the 128GB model.

 

 

iPad mini 3 with Wi-Fi models $399 for the 16GB model, $499 for the 64GB model and $599 for the 128GB model.

iPad mini 3 with Wi-Fi + Cellular models will be available for a suggested retail price of $529 for the 16GB model, $629  for the 64GB model and $729 for the 128GB model.

 

iPad Air, iPad mini 2 and iPad mini, available in silver or space gray, are offered at now more affordable prices. iPad Air starts at $399 for the 16GB with Wi-Fi model, iPad mini 2 starts at $299 for the 16GB with Wi-Fi model, and iPad mini starts at $249 for the 16GB with Wi-Fi model.

Although the new iPads are equipped with improved camera features, graphic display and touch id, I’m disappointed that it isn’t NFC equipped to handle the pay and go Apple Pay feature that’s launching (and available on iPhone 6 / 6 Plus devices) on Monday.

Would you use Apple Pay on the new iPad?  Are you thinking about purchasing the new Apple tablet soon?  Share your thoughts below.