Apple announced the new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 today, bringing new features, colours and form factors to the tablet space.
While the resolutions remain unchanged, the iPad Air 2 is 20% thinner, at 6.1mm, than its predecessor, and considerably faster with its new A8X chip. The iPad mini 3 is, for all intents and purposes, identical to its predecessor, save for the addition of a Touch ID sensor. It even uses the same A7 processor.
Pricing is as follows:
iPad Air 2 WiFi:
- 16GB – $549
- 64GB – $659
- 128GB – $769
iPad Air 2 LTE:
- 16GB – $689
- 64GB – $799
- 128GB – $899
iPad mini 3 WiFi:
- 16GB – $439
- 64GB – $549
- 128GB – $659
iPad mini 3 LTE:
- 16GB – $579
- 64GB – $689
- 128GB – $799
Both new models come in gold, silver and space grey and will ship next week, with pre-orders beginning tomorrow, October 17th.
Apple will continue to sell the iPad Air, too: $439 for the 16GB WiFi model. The iPad mini with Retina display will be sold for $329 for the 16GB WiFi model. The iPad mini will be sold for $279 for the 16GB WiFi model.
In comparison to last year, the iPad Air 2 is $30 more expensive for the 16GB model, but the equivalent 64GB and 128GB versions are slightly cheaper than they were in 2013 since Apple has done away with the 32GB variant.
Similarly, the base iPad mini 3 is $20 more expensive than last year’s iPad mini with Retina, but the higher storage numbers are $60-$70 cheaper than their equivalents in 2013.
[source]iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3[/source]
