TechGreatest
iPad Air 2 With “Anti-Reflection Display” Expected Late-Q3, Early-Q4
Bloomberg sources report the iPad Air 2 is now in production, complete with a new display feature, ahead of a release in late-Q3, early-Q4
The iPad Air 2 has sort of gone by the wayside, drowned in a deluge of iPhone 6 rumours and leaks. But today some more information about Apple’s next-gen iPad Air has surfaced, and it’s pretty damn juicy.
According to Bloomberg, the iPad Air 2 is now in production ahead of a late-Q3, early-Q4 release. The news site’s sources did not want to be named and did not go into detail, save for the revelation that Apple will introduce a new anti-reflection coating to the iPad Air 2’s 9.7in display.
According to the sources, “Mass production of a full-sized iPad with a 9.7-inch screen is already under way, with an unveiling projected for the end of this quarter or early next. A new version of the 7.9-inch iPad mini is also entering production and will probably be available by the end of the year.”
Beyond this the iPad Air 2 will likely look very similar to 2013’s still-excellent iPad Air – just ever so slightly slimmer and lighter. Inside you’ll find Apple’s 64-bit A8 chipset, potentially 2GB of RAM and support for TouchID inside the Home button – 2014, ICYMI, is the year Apple gets serious about mobile payments.
“Apple especially needs to boost its iPad business, which is its second-biggest product category after iPhones. For Apple’s fiscal third quarter ended June 28, iPad sales slipped to 13.3 million units,” said the report.
Apple’s deal with IBM earlier this year was done, in part, to act as a catalyst for iPad growth.
In addition to this, says the unknown sources, Apple will also release a refreshed iPad Mini in 2014. No details about spec or hardware were given, although a similar CPU, RAM and biometric (TouchID) configuration to the iPad Air 2 seems likely.
Richard Goodwin
10:46, 12 Aug 2014