Thinner, lighter and a lot more powerful, the iPad Air 2 is the best 'big' tablet

Apple has trained us pretty well about what to expect from alternating years of iDevice launches. The year of the Big Upgrade is routinely followed by the year of an extra letter tacked to the end of the name.

Reduced weight and thickness make this easy enough to use with one hand; let alone held normally with two; Triple-core processor and 2GB of RAM can be felt in basic apps like heavy-duty browsing and video exporting; Touch ID is a welcome home-button upgrade; If you need to take a photo; you may look...

Apps; games; and iOS in general all have yet to catch up to the boosted specs; It's hard to call the gorgeous screen "bad" by any measure; but anyone expecting a major improvement to last year's model will be disappointed; especially in terms of a relatively unremarkable glare guard; Smart Cover...

All in all, this is one quick tablet, all set for some great game playing if you like that sort of thing. It also makes for a silk-smooth interface and the power to take on production duties from the more serious apps out there. The best iPad upgrade yet? Undoubtedly.

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?

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

The iPad Air 2 is not worth the upgrade if you already have the Air 1. Aside from the enhanced hardware, better camera and Touch ID, there simply isn't anything compelling. The Absence of NFC relegates Apple Pay to being able to make App Store purchases, without having to type in your password.

Anti-reflection screen coating; Faster processing; More RAM; Wireless Connection is faster; Touch ID

Very Minor Upgrade; No Mute button or rotation lock; Apple SIM does not work in Canada or Australia

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 has sold more iPads in the last four years than it sold iPhones in the first four years they were available. And yet, despite these amazing figures, Apple's tablet business is suffering.

Razor-thin, fast as hell, finger friendly, and now in gold: Apple's iPad Air 2 is the best tablet you can buy.

Thinner than any other Apple device; Screen brighter than iPad Air; Powerful new processor is a step up; iPads have best app selection of any tablet; Improved rear camera; Touch ID added

16GB model does not have enough storage; Speaker quality worse than Air 1; iPad Air 1 is $100 cheaper; Not water resistant; No MicroSD storage options

Apple's marketing suggests that the iPad Air 2 is the fastest, thinnest, best iPad Air ever. But they would say that. Is the iPad Air 2 worth buying, or upgrading from if you're an existing iPad owner? First up: My early impressions, and a comparison to last year's iPad Air.