The iPad Air 2 posted huge performance gains while slimming down and keeping the same battery life. iPad Air owners don't need to upgrade so soon, but for everyone else it'll feel like a worthy purchase.

Incredibly fast A8X processor makes everything feel more immediate; Same great battery life; Easier to see in bright sunlight; Comes in gold; and has Touch ID

16GB isn't enough storage for the entry level model; Otherwise it's the same as last year's

Apple's iPad Air 2 sees key new additions in lots of important areas, so do not be fooled by its familiar exterior

Excellent Display; Masses of power; Gorgeous design, Lightweight; Vast ecosystem; Improved Imaging; More memory

No NFC; Battery is smaller than previous generation (not that you'll notice

A new year means a new iPad, and here we are with another model ready for consumers to take home. Is the latest iteration Apple's best, and does it have what it takes to survive the onslaught of tablet competitors heading its way?

Lovely clear screen; Display has much faster touch support; making typing just that much easier and more accurate when you're a fast typist; Still one of the prettiest tablet designs out there; Touch ID fingerprint unlocking included

No flash on the rear camera; Mute and lock switch has disappeared; Still no expandable storage; No NFC

The iPad Air 2 takes the title (from Apple's original Air) of Best Tablet You Can Buy. The updates aren't enough to force an upgrade from a 2013 Air, but it'll feel like a tablet from another planet if you're still using an original iPad or iPad 2, or an early Android.

Somehow; even thinner than ever; Very snappy performance; thanks to A8X chip upgrade; Fingerprint login; Better cameras

The familiar iPad-family gripes (no MicroSD card slot; reliance on iTunes; Rear camera lacks a flash; Physical mute/orientation-lock switch has been eliminated

It's a very good device. It's fast moving all the apps, and it has got a very good display. Also, the price is very important, but nowadays it is not expensive, so if you want an iPad, you should buy it!

But as I tested out Apple's new iPad Air 2 , I see why people like to shoot pictures with a tablet. Images look great on the large screen, and there's less guesswork about whether or not small details, such as lettering on a sign, will be in focus.

The form-factor didn't change since last year's redesign, but even though the iPad Air 2 is slimmer than its predecessor, Apple didn't sacrifice battery life. The company claims up to 10 hours using Wi-Fi, and in three battery rundown tests I averaged 10 hours and 14 minutes of continuously watching...

Incredibly fast A8X processor makes everything feel more immediate; same great battery life; easier to see in bright sunlight, Comes in gold and has Touch ID

16GB isn't enough storage for the entry level model; Otherwise it's the same as last year's

The Apple iPad Air 2 is still a really good tablet that is pleasing with its even slimmer construction and high-quality materials . Unfortunately, the slim construction also results in some drawbacks since the tablet is more sensitive to pressure compared to its predecessor .

Great design; High-quality materials; Fast components; Great display; Excellent GPS module; Covers many frequencies; Good camera in daylight; Good viewing angle stability; Decent speakers; Finally 2 GB memory; The iPad Air 2 is not only nice to look at; but also really fast.

Pressure-sensitive case, Configurable toggle was removed, Problems with iOS 8.1, Throttling of the CPU and GPU, Only LTE Cat; 4, No Bluetooth 4.1, NFC without antennas can only be used in combination with Apple Pay, Signal noise of the Bluetooth connection when there is no sound, Power adaptor too...

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

A bigger screen? Nope. A lower price? Nah. How about a bit more storage in the base model? You must be joking. So what is the headline feature of the iPad Air 2? It's thinner, because that's exactly the feature everyone had been clamouring for. "You know that iPad Air?