• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Apple

Apple unveils iPad Air 2, the ‘world’s thinnest tablet’

By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 16, 2014, 1:52 PM ET
Apple

Apple unveiled the iPad Air 2 at an invite-only event on the tech giant’s Cupertino, Ca., campus Thursday morning.

The new iPad Air 2 is 18% thinner than its predecessor and less than half the girth of the original iPad.

“Can you even see it?” Apple CEO Tim Cook joked as he showed off the new tablet. Cook had previously called the iPad “a simple and magical device,” adding that Apple has 225 million iPads in the product’s first four years in existence.

The device features a new iSight camera with 8 mexapixels and a feature called Burst mode that takes photos in bunches. The iPad Air 2 also has a touch ID sensor on its Home button, a feature that Apple previously debuted last fall with the launch of the iPhone 5s.

Apple (AAPL) also revealed the new iPad Mini 3 that features the touch ID sensor as well. At a similar Apple event last October, the company announced the first iPad Air as well as a new iPad Mini.

Apple started the event by letting Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi run through some of the new features of Apple’s iOS 8 and OSX Yosemite operating systems, the latter of which includes a version of the Safari explorer that the company says is 6.6 times faster than before as well as a feature called “Continuity” that lets users start working on a project on one Apple device and then carry that work over to another device. The operating system also gives users the ability to place phone calls and send and receive text messages across any Apple device.

Federighi announced that Yosemite will be available for free starting Thursday, while the iOS 8.1 update will be available starting Monday.
[fortune-brightcove videoid=3843372651001]

Apple’s latest product reveal comes a little over a month after the company launched its new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, along with the much-anticipated Apple Watch and the Apple Pay mobile payment system. If Thursday’s event did not have quite the same hoopla leading up to it as the September launch, that could be because most industry insiders felt pretty strongly that Apple would reveal its new iPad iterations along with a handful of other, slightly less exciting, updates to existing product lines.

What’s more, Apple seems to have accidentally leaked images of the two new iPads on iTunes a day before their unveiling in an iPad user guide that included previews of two new products with Home button touch ID sensors and cameras with Burst-mode features. The guide hit the web on Wednesday before being quickly removed by the company, but not before eliminating at least some of the suspense leading up to Thursday’s event.

The product launch event also saw the introduction of Apple’s newest iMac with Retina display, new Mac minis, the company’s new Yosemite operating system and news that Apple Pay will start operations on Monday.

About the Author
By Tom Huddleston Jr.
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

CryptoYouTube
Exclusive: YouTube launches option for U.S. creators to receive stablecoin payouts through PayPal
By Ben WeissDecember 11, 2025
4 hours ago
Five panelists seated; two women and five men.
AIBrainstorm AI
The race to deploy an AI workforce faces one important trust gap: What happens when an agent goes rogue?
By Amanda GerutDecember 11, 2025
7 hours ago
Stephanie Zhan, Partner Sequoia Capital speaking on stage at Fortune Brainstorm AI San Francisco 2025.
AIEye on AI
Highlights from Fortune Brainstorm AI San Francisco
By Jeremy KahnDecember 11, 2025
8 hours ago
Sam Altman
Arts & EntertainmentMedia
‘We’re not just going to want to be fed AI slop for 16 hours a day’: Analyst sees Disney/OpenAI deal as a dividing line in entertainment history
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 11, 2025
8 hours ago
InnovationBrainstorm AI
Backflips are easy, stairs are hard: Robots still struggle with simple human movements, experts say
By Nicholas GordonDecember 11, 2025
9 hours ago
Personal FinanceLoans
Is it worth it to pay off a personal loan early?
By Joseph HostetlerDecember 11, 2025
9 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
At 18, doctors gave him three hours to live. He played video games from his hospital bed—and now, he’s built a $10 million-a-year video game studio
By Preston ForeDecember 10, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Investing
Baby boomers have now 'gobbled up' nearly one-third of America's wealth share, and they're leaving Gen Z and millennials behind
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 8, 2025
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Palantir cofounder calls elite college undergrads a ‘loser generation’ as data reveals rise in students seeking support for disabilities, like ADHD
By Preston ForeDecember 11, 2025
14 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
‘We have not seen this rosy picture’: ADP’s chief economist warns the real economy is pretty different from Wall Street’s bullish outlook
By Eleanor PringleDecember 11, 2025
19 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
‘Be careful what you wish for’: Top economist warns any additional interest rate cuts after today would signal the economy is slipping into danger
By Eva RoytburgDecember 10, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Exclusive: U.S. businesses are getting throttled by the drop in tourism from Canada: ‘I can count the number of Canadian visitors on one hand’
By Dave SmithDecember 10, 2025
2 days ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.