Apple Pushes Boundaries with World’s Slimmest Tablet and Pioneering Payment Platform

In the wake of launching their much-adored iPhone 6, Apple continues to push the envelope with the unveiling of its newest device: the iPad Air 2. Billed as the world’s thinnest tablet, this groundbreaking gadget boats a slimline width of a mere 6.1mm. But it’s not just its svelte size that’s turning heads.

The iPad Air 2 features an enhanced display, offering a stunning screen resolution of 2048 by 1536 pixels that promises to provide users with a more vibrant and immersive viewing experience. At its heart, you’ll find the cutting-edge A8X chip, outperforming its predecessor with a formidable speed increase of 40%. Apple also claims an impressive 10-hour battery life, letting users enjoy all these features that much longer.

Photography enthusiasts and selfie aficionados can rejoice as Apple ups the ante with an upgraded rear-facing 8MP iSight camera. For the first time on an iPad, it includes both timelapse and burst mode, offering more flexibility and creativity when capturing those special moments.

The iPad Air 2 is priced at £399 for the 16GB model, with the 64GB and the 128GB models coming in at £479 and £599 respectively. Consumers eager for 4G capability can expect to shell out £499 (16GB), £579 (64GB), and £659 (128GB).

In addition to the iPad Air 2, the technology powerhouse is marching into the finance sector with their revolutionary Apple Pay service. Scheduled for launch on Monday, this game-changing service is already back by hundreds of banks. Not only does this service highlight the versatility of the Apple brand, it also gives consumers an enticing new reason to invest in Apple’s suite products.

Apple Pay, compatible with the company’s latest iPhone models starting from the iPhone 6 and now with the new iPad Air 2 for online purchases, employs a special chip that enables payments at dedicated terminals in retail outlets.

Industry leaders speculate that “Apple is poised to reap the benefits of being a pioneer in a mobile payment system that enjoys widespread recognition and acceptance from consumers, retailers and banks – assuming there are no system breakdowns or security flaws.” These factors are essential for the success of Apple Pay, emphasizes MasterCard Inc. executive James Anderson.

This article was updated in 2025 to reflect modern realities.

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