The Apple iPad Air 2 is a real thing. It's not confirmed yet but we know it's a real thing because firstly it's Apple and secondly it's the iPad.
What we know for certain is when Apple will unveil the next iPad Air. The company has sent out invites to a special event on 16 October.
The original iPad Air was Apple's first major move away from the numbering system with its iPad and could well mark the start of a new naming system where Apple simply calls it the 'new iPad Air'.
New iPad Air 2 Release Date
The iPad Air 2 release date will almost certainly be announced on 16 October after Apple sent out invites for a special event with the slogan 'It's been way too long'. While it's not clear what Apple is referring to it certainly fits in with the timings of previous iPad launches.
More recent information we've had suggests that while the iPad Air will still be announced the company has had to delay the release of the iPad Pro due to the overwhelming success of the iPhone 6.
Sources inside the manufacturing chain have confirmed that Apple is struggling to keep up with demand and so has had to delay the tablets impending arrival while it clears up the backlog of demand for Apple's new smartphone.
The original iPad Air was launched on 20 October 2013 which would mean that the latest tablet could be in our hands within just a few weeks.
As well as the iPad Air 2 a rumour surfaced suggesting that the company is preparing not only a new iPad Air but also a brand-new version of the iPad Mini with Retina Display.
It's also believed that Apple will use the event to focus on its Mac lineup with new products including a new MacBook Air and possibly the unveiling of the next version of Apple TV.
New iPad Air 2 Specs
To be quite honest there's been very little chatter about the specs of the new iPad Air but thanks to Apple's utterly predicable nature we can almost certainly make some educated guesses.
For starters it seems logical that the iPad Air 2 will launch with Apple's most powerful processor, the A8. This would allow it to run games at the same level of graphical fidelity that the iPhone 6 can.
Next up is an addition that seems completely logical by this point but could still elude this generation of Apple's tablet. Touch ID. It would make sense for Apple to finally employ the security feature into its tablet. It would secure the iOS 8 ecosystem and help lock down all your connected devices from being accessed.
It's unlikely that Apple will give either of its tablets a sapphire display, especially considering the cost of making one for the Apple Watch. What they might do though is change the design of the display to feature the same curved edges as those found on the iPhone 6. This would mean improvements to the viewing angles of the screen.
New iPad Air 2 Features
While it's believed that the design will remain generally unchanged there have been reports that Apple will be introducing a gold iPad Air in addition to the silver and space grey variants.
This would put the iPad in line with the iPhone range and would certainly fit in with the continuity that Apple is keen to maintain with its product range.