Apple confirms what has been buzzing around the rumor mill about its new iPad Air 2. The newest tablet to come out of Cupertino is thinner, lighter and has a Touch ID fingerprint sensor.
At its low-key media event held at Town Hall auditorium on Thursday, Apple unveiled a line of refreshed products that includes the iPad Air 2, iPad Air Mini, a new 27-inch iMac that gets Apple's 5K Retina display and a faster Mac Mini. However, the iPad Air 2, which comes with a 6.1 millimeter form factor and faster A8X processor, was unmistakably the star of the event.
"It is the thinnest iPad we have ever made," says Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller.
Apple says the new processor on the iPad Air 2 makes the device 40 percent faster than its predecessor and provides graphics that are 2.5 times better. Aside from that, the new iPad also gets an amped up 8-megapixel rear camera with the ability to take photos in burst mode and videos in slow motion or time-lapse mode. And, as expected, Apple also added Touch ID to the iPad Air 2 and the new iPad Mini 3, though it will only be available for use to purchase goods online and not in physical retail stores.
The iPad Mini 3 also gets Touch ID, but retains last year's A7X processor and the 5-megapixel rear camera. The iPad Air 2 starts at $499 for the entry-level 16GB Wi-Fi only version, $599 for 64GB and $699 for 128GB. For the LTE version, buyers have to throw in an extra $130 on top of the retail price. Also introduced is a 27-inch 5K Retina display iMac at $2,499 and an updated $499 Mac Mini that gets a top-of-the-line 2.8 GHz dual-core processor, Intel Iris graphics, 8GB of RAM and a 1TB hybrid flash and hard-disk drive.
One thing Apple did not mention at the event, however, is the Apple SIM, which lets users switch between carriers without having to switch SIM cards. For now, the technology is limited to AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile and some carriers in the United Kingdom, but Apple says the list of carriers is "subject to change."
"The Apple SIM gives you the flexibility to choose from a variety of short-term plans from select carriers in the U.S. and U.K. right on your iPad," says Apple on its website. "So whenever you need it, you can choose the plan that works best for you - with no long-term commitments. And when you travel, you may also be able to choose a data plan from a local carrier for the duration of your trip."
Apple will continue to sell the older iPad Air and iPad Mini 2, with prices starting at $250. Analysts believe the different price points will protect Apple against the downward trend in its iPad sales. Jan Dawson, analyst at Jackdaw Research, says Apple adds eight to ten million new iPad customers each quarter, and a pair of new iPads can help keep up the momentum.
In Apple's latest earnings report, the iPhone maker revealed that it sold 13.3 million iPads in second quarter of this fiscal year, marking a 9.9 percent decrease in revenue from the same period last year.
