At the press event that Apple held this week, the tension was quite thin while many were waiting for the announcement of two new iPad models that have been rumored for months leading up to the event. Apple came on stage and announced they had two new models, the iPad Mini 2 and the iPad “Air”. The iPad Air probably caught the most attention as it was the first time that Apple used another word for an iPad model that wasn’t just “iPad”. The fifth generation iPad will bring many improvements over the iPad 4, while at the same time forcing the price of other iPad models down.
The iPad Air will join the new iPad Mini 2 at the Apple stores in a week or so and will most likely be selling off the shelves very quickly. If the popularity of the original iPad Mini is anything to use as a gauge, the second generation will sell just as well. The iPad Air comes a little thinner and lighter this time around and with a new design that looks very similar to the iPad Mini. According to Apple, the iPad Air will be just 7.5mm thick and more than 20 percent thinner than the iPad 4.
The bezels along the display will also be thinner, much like the iPad Mini design and the device weighs just one pound. The iPad Air comes with the new Apple A7 dual-core processor to give a little boost for those gaming and streaming content. The all important battery life component will reportedly be the same, but according to reviews that was not that bad since most users could get all day use from the iPad in the past. If anything the new processor will provide a more efficient use of the battery.
The brand new 10.1-inch tablet will also bring a new iSight camera and the operating system that will be pre-installed is the iOS 7 that we all heard so much about over the last couple weeks. Just like the iPad Mini 2, the iPad Air will be available for purchase on the 1st of November, giving consumers plenty of time to pick one up before the busy holiday shopping season. The iPad Air comes with storage up to 128GB for just $799, while the 32GB model is priced at just $599. The LTE model of the new iPad will be priced the same as the iPad 4 LTE.
