The average selling price of tablets continues to drop, according to the latest research from IDC, as sales growth in the tablet market is reportedly being driven by low-end, low-cost devices, just as Apple has entered the sub-$250 market with the first-generation iPad mini.
Sprint on Thursday expanded its hardware leasing options beyond Apple's iPhone to include the new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, with pricing for 16GB models pegged at a respective $20 and $17 per month for 24 months.
Apple appears to have moved to a semi-custom design for the graphics processor in its new A8X SoC while employing an unusual triple-core CPU, according to a new analysis of the chip that powers the iPad Air 2.
Fresh data from ad network Chitika shows Apple's iPad accounted for 79.9 percent of North American Web traffic for the month of September, up 1.9 points from measurements taken in July.
For an extremely limited time, AI readers can take advantage of some truly killer — and previously unseen — deals including $150 off the just-introduced iMac with Retina 5K display, $350 off the entry Mac Pro, $150 off a 13-inch MacBook Pro and 3% off all other MacBooks. There's also a handful discounts on new iPads, iTunes Gift Cards, and coupons for up to $268 off HP printers.
Logitech this week updated its Type+ and Ultrathin keyboard cases to be compatible with Apple's new iPad Air 2, and also introduced a new standalone ultraportable wireless iPad keyboard dubbed Keys-To-Go.
Apple fans still hoping the company will adopt a scratch-resistant sapphire cover for the iPhone in the near future should temper their expectations, as one display expert believes the impressive anti-reflective glass coating on the iPad Air 2 display is instead the way of the future.
Apple is estimated to pay suppliers $275 for each base-model iPad Air 2 — compared to $274 for the first-generation iPad Air — even as the company made the tablet even more slim, upgraded the application processor, and added a Touch ID sensor and NFC chip for in-app Apple Pay compatibility.
Apple's new A8X Application Processor not only trounces other Android tablets in CPU tasks, but is also advancing iPad Air 2 to the front of the line in graphics operations as well, even before considering the ten-fold boost potential of iOS 8's Metal API.
Wireless carriers on the Old Continent are approaching the Apple SIM — a new, Apple-provided SIM card that would allows users to easily switch between data service providers — with caution, staking out a similar position to the one they held the last time Apple proposed such a solution.
Apple's latest iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 incorporate Touch ID and support for Apple Pay within apps, with the same 10 hour battery life of previous models. The full size iPad Air 2 is also now 18 percent slimmer with an improved, antireflective display and gains a faster A8X chip, faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi and LTE wireless, a barometer, and a significantly improved iSight camera.
Though Apple's iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 just launched this week and many protective cases have yet to hit the market, there are still a handful of early case options available for purchase in addition to Apple's. Here are some of the first options available to protect your brand new iPad.
Apple's newest iPads feature one of the same chips used by iPhone 6 and 6 Plus to handle tap-to-pay NFC transactions, but the new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 only support Apple Pay within apps, sparing users the embarrassment of carrying around a gigantic alternative to their credit card.
It was discovered on Friday that AT&T is dedicating the new multi-carrier Apple SIM included with the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 to its network, forcing buyers to obtain a new one when switching to another carrier, while Sprint Stores will not supply the card at all.
Apple on Wednesday initiated in-store sales of its new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 tablets, though the rollout appears to be limited to the UK and select U.S. locations, notably brick-and-mortar outlets on the East Coast.
A teardown of the recently released iPad Air 2 on Wednesday revealed a slew of iterative changes made to Apple's flagship tablet model, including sized-down components and a smaller battery.
Apple's latest iPad Air 2 is super fast, super slim and incorporates the same Touch ID and Secure Element as iPhone 6, enabling secure Apple Pay transactions within apps. Here's what it looks like naked, and in Apple's custom Smart Case and Smart Cover.
The reviews are in for this year's iPad product refreshes and the results are expectedly positive for the new iPad Air 2, though some question whether Apple did enough to warrant the iPad mini 3's price tag.
New Geekbench processor benchmarks show Apple's triple core, 64-bit A8X Application Processor is dramatically faster than the latest Android tablets, despite their additional cores and faster clock rates.
Though Apple hasn't revealed the exact specifications of the beefed-up A8X processor that powers the iPad Air 2, a new benchmark purports to show the horsepower of the CPU, revealing a triple-core processor with 2 gigabytes of RAM.
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Neil Hughes
AppleInsider Staff
Mikey Campbell
Katie Marsal
Daniel Eran Dilger
