The Apple iPad is fading away, so it can make iOS apps even more visible. Apple's obsession with making its iPads thinner and thinner, lighter and lighter every year is a philosophical statement. The computer should disappear; all that should be left is the app. The iPad Air 2 ($499, 16GB) is the least physical object, with the most apps. That's Apple's genius, and something Android tablet makers have trouble matching. That's what has made the iPad our top pick for large-screen tablets since the very first model came out in 2010.The iPad is no longer advancing by leaps and bounds; as I've said before, it's basically a laptop, with a three-year planned replacement cycle rather than the one-to-two-year cycle we see with mobile phones. This year's model has a few key improvements, though, at least two of which are very meaningful: a very powerful processor, and the first multi-carrier SIM card we've seen in the U.S. So yes, the iPad Air 2 pushes the state of the art forward, and is a...
The iPad Air 2 balances seamless ease of use, app abundance, and raw power in its ever-so-slender frame, continuing Apple's reign atop the tablet heap.
Very thin and light; Extremely fast processor; Best app design and selection of any platform; Cellular models can be switched between wireless carriers in software
Expensive; Battery life is just okay