Apple Showcase: Thinner iPad Air ... iOS8.1 And Apple Pay Debuts

Apple CEO Tim Cook Shows Off New iPad Air 2 (photo: Engadget)

As expected APPLE introduced its new iPAD, the Apple iPAD Air 2, at its CUPRTINO, CA product showcase. Dubbed  "the world's thinnest tablet," the iPAD Air 2 is 6.1mm thick, 18% thinner than the first iPAD Air.

Other product announcements included APPLE' iOS 8.1 officially debuting next MONDAY, as well as the new APPLE PAY service. Coming in NOVEMBER will be WatchKit, while will open up its smartwatch to third-party developers to create features for its new devices. Thus, hotels, banks and major retailers can create apps for their customers to use with their new APPLE products.

iPad Air 2 Specs

The iPAD Air 2 boasts an A8 processor and M8 coprocessor, which is 12 times more powerful than the original iPAD. It's also got a  8MP iSight camera in back that does 1080p video, burstmode, panorama shots, and auto HDR. The front-facing camera has been upgraded to "Facetime HD." It also has Touch ID, the fingerprint login security system  and APPLE PAY for online purchases only.

The iPAD Air 2 comes in silver, space grey or gold and costs $499 for 16GB, "599 for 64GB and $699 for 128GB.

iOS 8.1 Upgrades

The new iOS 8.1 will offer APPLE PAY compatibility for the IPHONE 6 and 6 Plus. It'll contains Camera Roll,  access to the public beta of iCloud Photo Library, and Continuity compatibility, which enables the user to make and receive texts and phone calls from a MAC with OS X Yosemite.

Cashing In On Apple Pay

Starting MONDAY, APPLE PAY will have the support of 500 U.S. banks along with STARBUCKS, MACY'S, MCDONALD'S, DISNEY, WALGREENS, TARGET and other major retailers. Since the iPHONE 6 and 6 Plus have NFC chips, users can sign in quickly via the Touch ID fingerprint scanner, and the system will work with any of credit cards stored in Passbook. Secure Element chip encryption is reported to keep user data from outside parties -- including APPLE.

Read all about it at ENGADGET.

« see more Net News