Apple has announced the latest version of its iPad tablet range: the iPad Air 2. The new device is just 6.1 mm thin, weighs 437g, has a 9.7-inch (2048 x 1536 pixel) anti-reflective display and runs iOS 8.1.
It uses Apple’s A8X chip, which is said to offer a 40% improvement in CPU performance and 2.5 times the graphics performance of the original iPad Air.
There’s also an updated iPad mini, now called the iPad mini 3, with a 7.9-inch screen. This device and the iPad Air 2 both feature Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint sensor for security, enabling them to use the Apple Pay service. They’re available in a choice of three colours: gold, silver and grey.
Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, said “iPad is a magical piece of glass that runs more than 675,000 apps specifically designed for it, and is thin and light enough that you can comfortably hold it all day; the new iPad Air 2 is packed with amazing new innovations, weighs less than a pound, and at just 6.1 mm is the thinnest tablet in the world. iPad Air 2 has a new Retina display with anti-reflective coating, second generation 64-bit A8X chip, all-new iSight and FaceTime HD cameras, faster Wi-Fi and LTE wireless, and includes the revolutionary Touch ID fingerprint identity sensor.”
The two new iPad models will be available to buy from next week, with pricing from £399 for the 16GB iPad Air 2 and £319 for the 16GB iPad mini 3.