The iPad Air 2, the obvious follow up to the iPad Air, is set to be an iterative update to the currentbest tablet on the market right now.
While
its name is likely to be in the iPad Air 2 region, this will actually
be Apple's sixth generation full size (9.7-inch) tablet - and the
Cupertino based firm will be looking to continue its domination at the
top end of the market.
Many rival manufacturers have
attempted to ape the iPad's success, but numerous Android and Windows
devices have tried and failed to match the premium build quality,
consumer lust and ultimately the sales figures that Apple has enjoyed.
Apple
is going to have a tough job topping the iPad Air, after it gained a
coveted 5 star TechRadar review and it currently sits proudly at number 1
in our "Best Tablets in the World" top 10.
There's very little on the new iPad to tell you about right
now, but that doesn't mean we can't take an educated guess at when the
new model is coming and with the help of the rumours which are starting
to circulate we can also explore what it may offer.
The launch of iOS 7.1 contained some mentions of two newer models of iPads, according to 9to5Mac, noting iPad 4.3 and 4.6 models, which could reference the new iPad Air and iPad Mini 3.
Cut to the chase
What is it? The sequel to the iPad Air
When is it out? The current best guess is a November 2014 launch
What will it cost? The iPad Air 2 will likely start at £479 / $500 / AU$600
iPad Air 2 release date
The
iPad Air 2 release date is likely to be the beginning of November, with
the launch happening at the start of the month or the week after.
Why
November? Well that's when the iPad Air made an appearance last year,
and Apple does like to stick to its annual produce cycle - if you
overlook the whole iPad 4 thing. It should be on track for November too, as according to Bloomberg's sources the iPad Air 2 has already gone into production.
iPad Air 2 rumors
The
iPad Air 2 is not going to drop in cost if Apple's past performance is
anything to go by, and we can't see the design changing that much either
given the recent change in the larger iPad's chassis last year.
There are some analyst rumors buzzing around and KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo
believes that the new iPad Air will come with an Apple A8 processor, as
well as sporting an 8MP rear camera and inheriting Touch ID from the iPhone 5S.
This theory which is given extra credence by the mention of iPad's in the Biometric Kit for iOS 7.1. Kuo added that he expects the new slate to ship towards the end of the third quarter.
Obviously
an analyst is just that, so these theories are unlikely to be based on
hard evidence, but Kuo has a better track record than some, as among
other things he correctly predicted the inclusion of a fingerprint
scanner in the iPhone 5S.
iPad Air 2 design
Kuo's theories are looking increasingly believable, as according to sources speaking to ETNews
the iPad Air 2 will have an A8 chip, which is expected to improve
efficiency and increase battery life, and its main camera will be
boosted from 5 to 8MP, while the front-facing snapper will be increased
to 1.5MP.
However they went on to say that the design is
going to be similar to that of the original iPad Air and its screen will
stick at a resolution of 2048 x 1536. However according to sources speaking to Bloomberg that screen might have an "anti reflection coating" which would make it easier to read.
We've also caught a glimpse
of what might be the new iPad Air's front panel and it appears that the
display is integrated into the panel, which would allow it to be
slimmer than the iPad Air, which has a separate display and panel.
A more comprehensive leak
claiming to show off a prototype iPad Air 2 in pretty much all its
glory has also hit the web, revealing subtle design changes rather than a
total overhaul.
(credit: nowhereelse)
Something
worth noting in this series of images is the fact the TouchID button
from the iPhone 5S appears to be on the iPad Air 2, backing up Kuo's
claim that the biometric tech will land on the slate.
A new button design may be on the cards (credit: nowhereelse)Will the camera get a boost? (credit: nowhereelse)A slim profile is pretty much nailed on (credit: nowhereelse)
TouchID seems to be the feature of choice surrounding most of the next-gen iPad rumors, as another image claiming to show the iPhone 6, iPad Mini 3 and iPad Air 2 highlights the fingerprint scanner on all three devices.
While another recent leak
mentions that Touch ID will be included in the new iPad Air and that
it's going to be more durable than the current incarnation.
The Air 2, Mini 3 and iPhone 6? (credit: AppleClub)
We've also seen yet another photo of the iPad Air 2, this time alongside an iPhone 5S and with Touch ID just as much of a focus as it has been in previous images.
It appears the iPad Air 2 just can't stay away from cameras, as a series of shots appeared on ASCII Plus showing off the front, rear and sizes of a tablet which looks very similar to the ones appearing in previous leaks.
The
report does state that the device next to the current iPad Air in the
shots is a mock up of Apple's tablet, so it has to be taken with a pince
of salt - but again it's more of the same with no slider switch above
the slightly redesigned volume keys.
No slide switch on the Air 2? (credit: ASCII Plus)iPad Air 2 (L) mock up lines up next to iPad Air (R) (credit: ASCII Plus)The Air 2 is missing its Apple logo (credit: ASCII Plus)
Yet another set of images has emerged,
this time supposedly showing the rear cover and they largely line up
with what we've seen so far. It's evident from them that the volume
controls have been recessed into the frame, while the speaker grille is
now a single line of holes and there appears to be a microphone next to
the rear camera.
While
we loved the iPad Air, there's always room for improvement. Head over
to page two to see what we'd love to see on the iPad Air 2.
The iPad Air
is a great device but even brilliance can be built upon, so there's
room for improvement for Apple's sixth generation slate - aka the iPad Air 2.
Since the Air shares much of its design and many of its components with the latest iPad mini, some of this list overlaps with what we want to see for the iPad mini 3. But given the new iPad Air will be the flagship model, there are a few other things Apple could do.
A bigger screen
There's
always a tradeoff between portability and screen size, but the success
of some competing tablets shows that there is a market for devices
larger than the iPad.
And before you dismiss the idea,
remember this is the company that said it wouldn't build a smaller iPad
and then went on to design the wildly successful iPad mini. Recent
rumours have raised the spectre of a 12.9-inch iPad, significantly
larger than the current 9.7-inch screen and running at 2K or even 4K
resolution.
While the current Retina display running at
2,048 x 1,536 pixels could arguably already be described as 2K or very
close, having a physically larger screen would be good for movies and
photo editing, and Apple likes to boast about statistics when it suits.
Of course, this could actually be the much-vaunted iPad Pro, which would mean the iPad Air would stay the same - and if that's the only way to maintain portability, we're all for it. Current rumors
are pointing to a more 'pressure sensitive' display, which would allow
for better reception of prods from your digits and even that much-fabled iStylus that could do everything but make the tea for you.
Bluetooth mouse support
As
the iPad gets more powerful it becomes a more realistic proposition as a
work machine, with current models inching closer to being dubbed true
laptop replacements. The only problem is that touch input just isn't as
accurate as mouse input for some tasks.
Adding support
for mice or graphics pen-style devices over Bluetooth could make the
iPad a more usable device for more complex tasks, especially when it
comes to graphics apps.
This would be quite a step for
Apple since it touts touch as easy and intuitive, but it would
nonetheless be welcomed by some users.
Facial recognition
iPads have had a front-facing camera for ages, and the Camera app is already able to detect faces when focusing.
So
it would be nice to have some means to unlock or authenticate your
device by simply holding it up as you normally do and having the camera
recognise you. However, there's a big caveat here: Apple needs to do
what it did with Touch ID and make the system work instantly, and be
very hard to spoof.
There are other possibilities
instread, such as eye tracking, scrolling pages depending on your eye
movements, or pausing movies when you look away. Again, we've seen these
already, so we'd be looking to Apple to make the system flawless.
Touch ID
Like the Mini, the iPad Air still lacks the Touch ID sensor found in the new iPhone 5S.
This seems a little odd for an expensive flagship device, and in future
you can expect to see fingerprint sensing used for more than just
unlocking a device, so putting it in the iPad would enable easier
downloads, logins and even user switching. Its
current omission may be a cost issue, in the sense that Apple wants to
protect its profit margins, but over time all technology tends to become
cheaper so it would be a welcome inclusion.
A card slot
Look,
we know that a lot of people reading this will laugh in our faces, but
hear us out. We know there's no way Apple will put a card slot in its
sleek, machine-tooled surfaces of its iPad but there's no doubt that a
way to bring content more easily on and off the tablet is needed.
With
games and bigger music and video apps easily eating up 1GB or more, the
base 16GB iPad can quickly fill up, especially if you're going to be
away from your computer and unable to re-sync new content easily.
So
if it's not a card slot (which it won't be, unless the moon suddenly
turns into a banana and gravity inverts) then some other ability to sync
content - be it a digital locker, a Lightning port connector with card
slot that can do more than just photos, or some other idea that multiple
intelligent bods can dream up.
Come on Apple, we're not doing all the work for you.
A haptic screen
Touch
is pretty amazing though we all take it for granted now. An interesting
way for Apple to go could be to use a pressure-sensitive haptic screen
in its iPad lineup. As
well as providing better interaction for painting and drawing apps, it
could surely leverage the extra input information for other purposes
like pressing hard on a link to open it in a new tab.
A file browser
This
is more of an iOS wish than specifically an iPad one, but iOS currently
provides no real access to a file storage or manipulation area.
Sure,
third party apps do this, each in their own way but if Apple
implemented it at a system level it could standardize the process of
downloading files (not currently supported by Safari), saving documents
and storing stuff so that all developers could provide a better overall
experience - and would facilitate expandable storage in some form, as we
mentioned earlier.
Apple wants you to use iCloud to sync
all this kind of stuff but that presumes that you always have a network
connection and that users will happily pay to upgrade the measly 5GB of
standard iCloud storage associated with each Apple ID.
A quad core CPU
It's
true that Apple's dual core A7 performs better than most quad core
mobile CPUs in everyday use and this is down to the fact that by making
the processor and the software and tightly controlling both, it can
optimize everything very well.
But just imagine that
level of expertise being applied to a quad core CPU. Track counts and
frame rates would go up, render and load times would go down - it's
going to happen at some point, and the boon in creativity, already one
of Apple's taglines to buying it tablets, would be immense.
So
a quad core iPad seems likely, though the timing is less clear. The
physically larger battery available would mean the Air likely went quad
core before the iPad Mini ever could - but would Apple really want to
switch out its strategy?.
A better camera
The iPad's two cameras are good, but there's no real limit on how good people would like them to be.
It's
not just about screen sizes, since the Air already shoots in HD, but
improving the quality of the image, the zoom and stills performance
would all be welcome and seem likely contenders for inclusion in future
versions of the iPad, since camera technology is constantly improving.
And
by the way, we don't mean the rear camera. That can go down to 2MP if
it would make the design better, as it might discourage the scourge of
tablet photography. We mean the front camera, improving it for use as a
video conferencing tool and taking self portraits for social networks.
Live multitasking
By
live,we mean the ability to have two apps on screen at the same time.
Imagine streaming iPlayer while checking your email, and not having to
switch out of one to see the other.
There would have to
be limits, like not allowing two apps to play sound at the same time,
but it seems plausible enough on the larger screen of the Air, and with
its significant processing power.
Again some other
manufacturers have tried this with limited success, so it would be up to
Apple to show them how to do it right - ideally it would be contextual
or even Siri-driven, allowing you to be working on a spreadsheet or
watching a movie and say 'Siri, is my train delayed?' and have what you
were doing staying front and center with the information subtly popping
up.
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