Apple iPad Air 2: Thinner, faster, 8MP camera for $499

Apple has officially unveiled the iPad Air 2. iPad Air 2 is just 6.1mm thin, making it 18% thinner than the original iPad Air (and that was already 20% thinner then the iPad that preceded it.)  Display components are now laminated together, reducing internal reflection, paired with an anti-reflection coating on the outside that reduced reflection by 56%, making it nicer to use when out and about. The iPad Air 2 is powered by the A8X processor, a 64-bit processor with 3 billion transistors that results in 40% faster CPU and 2.5x faster GPU (that’s 180x faster than the original iPad.)

Apple has improved the camera on the iPad Air 2, bringing it to 8 megapixels with f/2.4 aperture and 1080p video recording. Burst photo mode, Time lapse, and slow motion video (120 fps at 720p.) There’s a new FaceTime HD camera as well, with burst selfies and HDR videos and photos.

802.11ac Wi-Fi comes to the iPad, as well as faster LTE up to 150Mbps and 20 LTE bands. Touch ID, which Apple says is the biggest customer request, is now included in the iPad Air 2. Apple Pay comes to the iPad Air 2 as well, but only for online shopping—there’s no NFC chip for point-of-sale use.

Despite all that extra power, Apple says that the iPad Air 2 promises 10 hours of battery life. It’ll be available in silver, gold, and space gray for $499 for 16GB, $599 for 64GB, and $699 for 128GB (add $130 on top of that price if you want a cellular model.) Pre-orders start tomorrow, and it’ll start shipping by the end of next week.