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

Gadgets get thinner every year. That's a given. But the iPad Air 2 crosses a threshold where thin makes a difference. I bought my first iPad in the summer of 2012, under the pretense that it would be a really killer digital photo frame at my wedding.

It's an iPad, which means it's a finely crafted tablet with an app store filled to bursting with the latest mobile games and utilities; This one is better than ever before

I don't give a damn about Touch ID until Apple trusts my fingerprint enough not to require a password ever again; and until Apple lets me use it to buy things at brick and mortar stores with Apple Pay

A selection of small but meaningful changes means the best tablet in the world just got even better

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

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

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...

If you liked last year's iPad Air, you'll almost certainly like this year's version, unveiled early last month (along with the 5K Retina iMac) by Apple CEO Tim Cook. The iPad Air 2 features Touch ID, a (much) faster system architecture and an aluminum enclosure that is both thinner and lighter than...

Fast; Continuity feature allows seamless integration with other Apple devices; Touch ID feature; built-in encryption

No LED flash support for photos and movies; camera specs lag behind iPhone 6 models; cannot use Apple Pay via NFC

The Good Ultra thin - Ultra light - Ultra fast - Excellent OS - Outstanding ecosystem - Industry-leading support The Bad Battery life still the same Apple continues to dominate the tablet market with good reason -- its pace of innovation since launching the original iPad just four years ago must...

Ultra thin - Ultra light - Ultra fast - Excellent OS - Outstanding ecosystem - Industry-leading support

Battery life still the same