At its media event today, Apple announced the next iPad models. The iPad Air 2 is the newest version of the company’s full-size tablet and the iPad mini 3 is the newest smaller tablet in the company’s tablet line-up. Both devices get Touch ID sensors in the home button for device unlocking, compatibility with Apple Pay for online purchases, and more.
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,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “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 iPad Air 2 is even thinner than its predecessor and features an improved display with an anti-reflective coating and new sensors including a barometer and the M8 motion coprocessor that has previously only been present in the recent iPhone models.
The iPad Air 2 also gets an upgraded rear camera, with a bump to 8 megapixels up from 5 in the previous model, and the ability to take panoramic photos, capture images in burst mode, and time lapse and slow motion video recording. The front-facing camera also gets a new sensor, burst selfies, and HDR photo and video.
Pre-orders for the iPad Air 2 will begin on October 17, with shipping beginning about a week later. The Wi-Fi only versions will cost $499 for the 16GB model, $599 for the 64GB model, and $699 for the 128GB model. The Wi-Fi + cellular versions will cost $629, $729, and $829 respectively for the different storage configurations.
The iPad mini 3 will cost $399 for the 16GB model, $499 for the 64GB model, and $599 for the 128GB model. As with the iPad Air, cellular capabilities will add $130 to the price for each storage configuration. No spec changes, aside from the addition of Touch ID, were announced for the iPad mini 3.
All new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 models will be available in silver, space gray, and gold and Apple will begin taking pre-orders on October 17, with shipping beginning about a week later.