Photo: Maurizio Pesce from Milan, Italia / CC BY 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons · source
iPad Air 2
Barely 6 mm thick, with three CPU cores and 2 GB of RAM.
Overview
The iPad Air 2 trimmed the thickness to 6.1 mm, which at the time made it the thinnest tablet on the market. To get there Apple fused the display, touch layer and cover glass into a single laminated stack and applied an anti-reflective coating that cut glare noticeably.
The A8X chip had three CPU cores and a graphics unit with eight clusters, and 2 GB of RAM finally gave the iPad enough memory to run multiple apps side by side in later versions of iOS, starting with iOS 9 Split View. An 8-megapixel camera with burst and slow-motion modes replaced the old 5-megapixel sensor.
Touch ID and a faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi radio rounded out the changes. The Air 2 lived on in the lineup until 2017 and got iPadOS updates through iPadOS 15.
Why it mattered
Introduced the laminated, anti-reflective screen and 2 GB of RAM that enabled iPad multitasking.
At a glance
- Announced
- October 16, 2014
- Released
- October 24, 2014
- Discontinued
- March 21, 2017
- Launch price
- $499
- Chip
- Apple A8X, 1.5 GHz triple-core
- Display
- 9.7"
- Storage
- 16GB, 64GB, 128GB
- Status
- Vintage
Highlights
- 6.1 mm thin with a laminated anti-glare display
- A8X chip with three cores and 2 GB RAM
- Touch ID and Apple Pay
- 8 MP rear camera with slo-mo video
Tech specs
Specifications as published at launch. Some values (like battery life) are manufacturer estimates.
Display
- Size
- 9.7-inch
- Type
- Retina LED-backlit IPS, laminated with anti-reflective coating
- Resolution
- 2048 x 1536 (264 ppi)
- Refresh rate
- 60 Hz
Chip
- Chip
- Apple A8X, 1.5 GHz triple-core 64-bit
- Coprocessor
- Apple M8 motion coprocessor
Memory
- RAM
- 2 GB
- Storage options
- 16GB, 64GB, 128GB
Camera
- Rear camera
- 8 MP iSight, 1080p video, slo-mo at 120 fps
- Front camera
- 1.2 MP FaceTime HD
Battery
- Battery life
- Up to 10 hours of web, video or music
- Capacity
- About 27.3 Wh
Connectivity
- Wi-Fi
- 802.11a/b/g/n/ac with MIMO
- Cellular
- Optional 4G LTE model
- Connector
- Lightning
- Bluetooth
- Bluetooth 4.2
Accessories
- Apple Pencil
- Not supported
- Keyboard
- Bluetooth keyboards and third-party cases
Design
- Dimensions
- 240 x 169.5 x 6.1 mm
- Weight
- 437 g (Wi-Fi), 444 g (cellular)
Security
- Authentication
- Touch ID fingerprint sensor
Software
- Launch OS
- iOS 8.1
- Latest supported OS
- iPadOS 15.8.x
How it compares
More in the iPad Air family
iPad Air
A radical slimming that made the full-size iPad feel new.
iPad Air (3rd generation)
The Air returns with a 10.5-inch screen and a Pro-inspired body.
iPad Air (4th generation)
The Air goes all-screen, with Touch ID in the power button and five colors.
iPad Air (5th generation)
M1 power and 5G in the colorful Air.
iPad Air 11-inch (M2)
An Air with M2 power, a landscape camera and Apple Pencil Pro.
iPad Air 13-inch (M2)
A bigger-screen Air arrives for the first time.
iPad Air 11-inch (M3)
M3 power and Apple Intelligence in the unchanged Air body.
iPad Air 13-inch (M3)
The large Air gets M3 speed and Apple Intelligence.
iPad Air 11-inch (M4)
M4, 12 GB of memory and Wi-Fi 7 for the same $599.
iPad Air 13-inch (M4)
The big Air steps up to M4 and 12 GB of memory.