The reveal confirmed the rumors that the iPad Air 2 would take advantage of a TouchID on the home button, as well as Burst mode for its new camera. The iPad Mini 3 will use a TouchID on the home button as well.

The iPad Air 2 is a 6.1 mm tablet that weighs less than a pound and uses a new A8X chip. The A8X chip delivers what it calls “a 40% improvement in CPU performance and 2.5 times the graphics performance of iPad Air.”

The iPad Air 2 uses a new iSight and Facetime camera. The 8-megapixel iSight Camera takes 1080p video while the Facetime HD Camera allows for better lighting. 

The iPad Air 2 is also set to deliver faster connectivity with 802.11ac Wi-Fi with Multiple-In-Multiple-Out (MIMO) technology. The MIMO technology will deliver 2.8 times the Wi-Fi performance of the iPad Air at data rates up to 866 Mbps, though this is dependent on one’s connections.

The iPad Air 2 with Wi-Fi + Cellular also comes with more LTE bands, as well as expanded LTE. This allows for up to 50% faster cellular connections and support for other fast cellular technology around the world (DC-HSDPA, HSPA+).

The iPad Air 2 starts at US$499 for 16GB Wifi models, $599 for 32GB, and $699 for 64GB.

Also announced was the iPad Mini 3, which has a 7.9 inch Retina display, 5MP iSight Camera, and 1080p HD video recording.

The iPad Mini 3 will start off at US$399 for 16GB WiFi models. – Rappler.com