iPad: the New Generation

Published: October 18, 2014 2:31 PM /

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Black Apple logo

Apple has announced the new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3. The new iPad will reportedly have an improved retina display and better cameras for taking photos and videos. Both will be available in gold, silver, and space gray, with an aluminum body, and will offer Touch ID.

Both will also be compatible with Apple Pay, in the US--Apple's other recently announced news, will allow users to use their Touch ID to make purchases. Both will be available on at&t, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

The iPad Air 2 is 18% thinner at 6.1mm, and weighs less than a pound. This is a significant improvement over the previous model, which was more than 2x a thick, and weighed 1.5 pounds. It will have a 9.7 inch display, with a 2048x1536 resolution and 3.1 million pixels. It boasts the lowest reflectance of any tablet, with an antireflective coating.

The Air 2 with have a new A8X chip and 64-bit architecture, resulting in 40 faster CPU performance, according to Apple. And it will also have an M8 motion coprocessor, with barometer, gyroscope, accelerometer, GPS, and compass for using maps or pedometer apps and the like.

In comparison, the iPad mini 3 will have many of the same features, but at a much more compact 7.9in display, although it looks as though only the Air 2 will have that antireflective coating. The iPad Air 2 is also almost 2 inches bigger in height than the mini 3, and 1.3 inches wider, and the mini uses an A7 chip still, instead of the more powerful A8X in the Air 2. The mini 3 also has a 5MP camera compared to the 8MP in the Air 2.

iPad mini 3

The iPad mini 3 will be 399$ for the 16BG version, 499$ for the 64GB version, and 599$ for the 128 GB version, with the iPad Air 2 comparing at 499$, 599$, and 699$ respectively for Wi-Fi only.

All in all, if you're an Apple fan, both new products look to be promising, depending on your preferences. You sacrifice a bit of performance in the iPad mini 3 from the iPad Air 2, but make up for it with its more compact size and smaller price tag. If you plan to get a new tablet from Apple, which would be your vote and why?

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I'm a 20-something into tech, games, and most things nerd. Currently back in school for more IT certs, because you can never have enough.