Apple Launch iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3

As expected both iPads received updates yesterday evening and while being fairly minor for the iPad Mini, the new iPad Air 2 comes in 18% lighter than its predecessor and measures an incredible 6.1mm in thickness.

Apple claims that the Retina iPad Mini received 100% customer satisfaction scores. This probably explains why the only real change to the smaller of the iPads is the addition of Touch ID. Dropping the “Retina” moniker, the latest model will be known as the iPad Mini 3 with the previous model becoming the iPad Mini 2 and the non-retina version being named just the “Mini”. Pricing for the new model starts at €409 with the Mini 2 being 100 less at €309 and the Mini starting off the range at €249.

Apple now have an iPad available for nearly every pocket with prices ranging from €249 all the way up to €829 for the 128GB Cellular iPad Air 2.

Speaking of the iPad Air 2, as we mentioned above, the latest model has trimmed down and now measures in slightly less than that pencil we saw the first iPad Air being compared to. At 6.1mm, it is extremely thin for its screen size.

Naturally, Apple has also included Touch ID here too with other upgrades in specs coming via a new chip, the A8X, which Apple claims delivers substantially better CPU and graphics performance than its predecessor while still delivering 10 hour battery life.

In addition to the new chip, the iPad Air 2 now has an 8MP iSight camera with several improved features such as Auto HDR and Panoramas up to 43MP in size. Bluetooth 4.0 is included as is MIMO 802.11ac Wifi and a huge selection of LTE bands on the cellular models.

Ordering for both models begins online today. The 16GB Wifi only iPad Air 2 starts at €509 and both models come in Silver, Space Grey or Gold.