Apple held a small press event today to announce their latest iPad tablets: the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3. Let’s take a closer look at what was announced.
iPad Mini 3
Design
The new tablets have extremely similar designs to their predecessors, with 4:3 aspect ratio displays set within aluminium bodies. Both tablets now feature a Touch ID home button, which allows users to unlock their iPad or authorise purchases using their fingerprints.
New display technologies allow the iPad Mini 3 and Air 2 to be thinner and lighter than their predecessors. The iPad Air 2 measures 6.1 mm thick (18% thinner), while the iPad Mini 3 is 7.5 mm thick. Both tablets are now available in gold for the first time, in addition to space grey and silver.
Hardware
The iPad Air 2 utilises an improved version of the chip that powers the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus. It’s called the Apple A8X, and Apple are claiming it is 40% faster than its predecessor. The iPad Mini 3 comes with a previous-gen A7 processor.
The new iPads also have an NFC chip built in, which works with Apple’s contactless payment system Apple Pay. The system is launching later this month in the United States, and is expected to reach the UK in the next few months.
The camera on the iPad Air 2 has been improved too, with an 8-megapixel sensor, 1.12 micron pixels and a f/2.4 aperture lens. The software side of things has been nailed too, with 1080p video recording capability, slow-motion video, burst mode, panoramas and time lapses. The iPad Mini 3 has a smaller 5-megapixel sensor, although 1080p video recording is still included.
iPad Air 2
Software
The new iPads will run iOS 8.1, the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system. The headline feature here is Apple Pay, but there are some other small feature additions and bug fixes here too. Apple Pay will allow US customers (initially) to pay for goods with a tap at thousands of stores from hundreds of banks.
Pricing and Availability
The iPad Air 2 and Mini 3 retain the pricing structure of their predecessors, although as with the iPhone 6 we see that the 32GB model has been removed from the lineup. That leaves the 16GB model, a 64GB model and a new 128GB variety. LTE-capable versions of both tablets at all capacities are also available. The Air 2 starts at $499, while the Mini 3 starts at $399.
The full pricing table is replicated below:
| 16GB WiFi | 64GB WiFi | 128GB WiFi | 16GB LTE | 64GB LTE | 128GB LTE | |
| iPad Air 2 | £399 | £479 | £559 | £499 | £579 | £659 |
| iPad Mini 3 | £319 | £399 | £479 | £419 | £499 | £579 |
The new iPad models will be available for pre-order tomorrow, with orders shipping by the end of next week.
Accessories
Both tablets will be supported by the wide Apple accessory ecosystem, including a few items from Apple themselves and many thousands of accessories from third-party manufacturers. We’ve already begun adding iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 accessories, and we’ll announce many more over the coming days and weeks. Expect full round-ups of recommended iPad Air 2 cases and iPad Mini 3 cases as the tablets are launched.
Conclusion
That’s it for now! Thanks for checking out our coverage of Apple’s 2014 iPad event, and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments below. You can also reach us on Twitter @mobilefun and on Facebook at Love Your Mobile.