To create the astonishingly thin silhouette of iPad Air 2, we started by redesigning the Retina display, fusing what had been three layers into one. Not only did this make the display thinner, it made it better, with more vivid colors and greater contrast. Then we added an antireflective coating, giving iPad Air 2 the least reflective display of any tablet in the world.

Not only is iPad Air 2 thinner, it’s also a lot more powerful. We designed a new chip, the A8X, that delivers substantially better CPU and graphics performance than its predecessor. In fact, with its 64-bit desktop-class architecture, iPad Air 2 is as powerful as many personal computers. It’s power efficient, too, with a 10-hour battery life that lets you work, play, surf, and shop all day long.1

iPad Air 2 comes with our breakthrough Touch ID technology. It gives you an unprecedented level of security because it uses nature’s most perfect password: your fingerprint. So with just one touch, you can instantly unlock your iPad Air 2. But Touch ID goes beyond that. You can also make secure purchases in iTunes, iBooks, and the App Store. And with Apple Pay, you can unlock an entire world of online shopping that’s fast, convenient, and secure.

The new iSight camera is our best iPad camera yet, with advanced optics, an improved sensor, and a powerful Apple-designed image signal processor. There are new features like panorama, time-lapse videos, slo-mo, and burst and timer modes. The front-facing FaceTime HD camera has been redesigned, too, with an improved sensor and larger pixels for even better low-light performance. The upshot? All your photos and videos — and video calls and selfies — look incredible.

Wi-Fi on iPad Air 2 is fast — more than twice as fast as the previous generation — so downloading movies and streaming videos take less time. And the Wi-Fi + Cellular model is equipped with faster, more advanced LTE technology.2 In addition, the cellular model lets you choose from a variety of carriers and flexible short-term plans. So you can make fast connections, even when you’re on the go.

iPad Air 2 comes with powerful apps for the things you do every day, like surfing the web, checking email, editing movies and photos, writing reports, and reading books. And there are hundreds of thousands of apps on the App Store, designed specifically for the large Retina display (instead of stretched-out phone apps). So whether it’s photography, gaming, traveling, or managing your finances, you’ll find an app that will help you do it better.

iOS 8 is the most advanced mobile OS ever, with features that make iPad Air 2 even more indispensable. Continuity lets you start a project on one device and finish it on another. Family Sharing lets up to six people in your family share movies, books, music, and apps. With iCloud Drive, you can safely store any kind of document and access it from any device. In fact, every feature in iOS 8 is designed to work seamlessly with iPad Air 2, taking full advantage of its powerful A8X chip, ultrafast wireless, and brilliant Retina display.