If you're in the market for a tablet that offers the best possible technology combined with a beautiful screen and a superb form factor, the iPad Air 2 is the best product available.

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...

Beautiful Retina Display on thin; small device; Touch ID makes it easy to enable Activation Lock; Now supports Apple Pay within apps; Super thin; highly mobile form factor a delight to use and carry; Apple's A8X packs leading CPC and graphics horsepower; Still offers 10-plus hours of battery life on...

iPad mini 2 is $100 cheaper for users who don't want Touch ID and Apple Pay; iPad Air 2 offers major advancements for just $100 more; Features not available in iPad mini form factor

A hands-on look at Apple's second-generation iPad Air 2 tablet finds it lighter, thinner and faster. Could this be the iPad upgrade you've been waiting for?

There's no longer a question as to which tablet is Apple's flagship. While the new iPad mini 3 gets a Touch ID sensor and now comes in gold, the iPad Air 2 ($499 for 16GB, $828 as tested with 128GB and LTE) offers those goodies and a whole lot more.

The iPad Air 2 is lighter, thinner and faster than its predecessor, but the updates are not enough to make it worth ditching the old model if you already have one.

Nippy performance; anti-reflective screen; slim profile; good battery life; Touch ID sensor

Camera still struggles in poor lighting; not many signifcant changes over the original iPad Air

We were not sure it was possible, but Apple has done it. Apple has taken the best tablet ever made and made it even better.

Faster performance; Improved screen with richer colours and deeper blacks; Greater contrast; Smoother graphics; Superb build; Better cameras

Speaker could be better; Restrictive

Thinner, lighter, mightier – looks like Apple’s done it again

Stunningly slim and beautifully made, Screen is better than ever, Vastly more powerful

Very small hit to battery life

Summary: The iPad Air 2's performance enhancements will appeal to those who run graphically demanding apps, although Apple's quest for thinness comes at the cost of reduced battery capacity. Last year's iPad Air remains a good option, but the Air 2 will be the power user's choice.

Thin; light and elegant design; Excellent build quality; Excellent performance; Low-reflectivity Retina HD display; Touch ID support; Improved iSight and FaceTime HD cameras

Lower-capacity battery than the 2013 iPad Air; No MicroSD storage expansion

Most are in agreement that Apple's iPad Air 2 is one of the finest tablets ever produced, if not the best out there, period. Certainly, it's not difficult to make that case -- after all, the latest 9.7-inch iPad is thinner than its predecessor at just 6.1mm thick, wicked fast with its custom A8X...

Slimmer than a shaved pencil; lighter than a pound; Sleek design and now comes in gold; Fast A8X SoC; 2GB of RAM; and new storage tiers; Upgraded cameras are finally worth talking about; Lots of little upgrades; such as the Touch ID sensor and barometer; Yet again; pricing remains the same; 1-year...

While battery life is as advertised; it's less than the previous iPad Air; Isn't built for productivity; C'mon Apple; start including Beats earphones

Smartphone and tablet vendors seem to be locked in an arms race to build the thinnest possible devices at the moment, with the current thinnest smartphone - the Oppo R5 - being so skeletal at 4.85mm that it can't even accommodate a 3.5mm audio jack.

Thin; light and elegant design; Excellent build quality; Excellent performance; Low-reflectivity Retina HD display; Touch ID support; Improved iSight and FaceTime HD cameras

Lower-capacity battery than the 2013 iPad Air; No MicroSD storage expansion