Apple iPad Air 2 launched, features TouchID and faster processor, prices start from $499

Rumor mills can go on a vacation now as Apple has officially taken the wraps off its latest tablets. The company has unveiled the iPad Air 2, the successor to its last year’s iPad Air. The tablet flaunts several new features and richer hardware while maintaining the same $499 price tag for the 16GB Wi-Fi only model like always.

This is the sixth generation flagship iPad tablet the company has launched. While Apple has refreshed the hardware and slightly shifted the positions of ports, and occasionally increased the display’s pixel count, the iPad’s design hasn’t changed much over the years. The same is true this year as well. It has gotten a little thinner – getting its waistline reduced from 7.5 mm to 6.1mm.

The biggest improvement is actually inside the device. The company has laced the tablet with its latest A8X processor, and has doubled the RAM from 1GB to 2GB. And much like the recent iPhones, the company has added the Touch ID fingerprint sensor to the Home button. The iSight camera has also been bumped to 8-megapixels and gets a burst shot mode. The front-facing FaceTime camera has also been improved.

Price and Availability

The company has removed the 32GB variant, while maintaining the other three – 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB storage models. The 16GB Wi-Fi variant costs $499, the 64GB variant costs $599, and the 128GB variant costs $699. Pricing for the Wi-Fi+Cellular variant starts at $629 for the 16GB variant, $729 for the 64GB variant, and $829 for the 128GB variant.