The Apple iPad Air 2 (2nd Air Generation) is a tablet designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple from 2014 to 2017 as part of the iPad Air series. The tablet was introduced on October 16, 2014, and its price started at $499.
The second generation iPad Air features a Three-Core 1.5 GHz 64-bit Apple A8X processor with Eight-Core graphics, Apple M8 motion coprocessor, 2 GB of RAM, 9.7″ high-resolution Retina multi-touch widescreen LCD IPS Display, fingerprint identity Touch ID sensor built into the Home button, Wi-Fi, 16 GB / 32 GB / 64 GB or 128 GB of flash memory, Bluetooth 4.0, Dual camera system; front 1.2 Mpix FaceTime HD camera, and rear 8.0 Mpix camera with 1080p video recording capability, accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, digital compass, Lightning port, 3.5-mm headphone jack, and an optional version with GPS, and 4G / LTE data capability.
The iPad Air 2 inherits hardware similar to both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus with a major change in the processor to the Apple A8X, the high-end 3-core variant of the Apple A8. The iPad Air 2 has 2 GB RAM (making the iPad Air 2 the first iOS device to have more than 1 GB RAM) and the PowerVR GPU has 8 cores.
It also uses the Apple M8 motion co-processor which has a barometer and is the first generation of the iPad to inherit the fingerprint Touch ID sensor from the iPhone. In addition, compared to the iPad Air, it includes an improved 8 Mpix (3264×2448) rear-facing camera with 10 fps burst mode and slow-motion video at 120 fps, similar to the iPhone 5s camera capabilities.
The front-facing FaceTime HD camera has also been improved with a larger ƒ/2.2 aperture, which allows 81% more light in the image. Apple added a gold option to the existing silver and space gray color choices for the iPad Air 2, the previous existing colors were used on the preceding iPad Air.
Unlike its iPad predecessors, the mute/orientation lock switch has been removed to accommodate the reduced depth. Instead, the user must use the Control Center to access these functions.
This iPad was discontinued on March 21, 2017, and replaced by the iPad 5th Generation. Today iPad Air 2 is 9 years old!
iPad Air 2 Details
| Introduced | October 16, 2014 – 9 years ago |
| Released | November 5, 2014*1 – 9 years ago September 7, 2016*2 – 8 years ago |
| Discontinued | March 21, 2016*3 – 8 years ago March 17, 2017*4 – 7 years ago |
| Last Software Update | March 5, 2024 – 6 months ago |
| Time on the Market | 28 months (2 years) |
| Time of Support | 112 months (9 years) |
| Model Identifier | iPad5,3 iPad5,4 |
| Model Number | A1566 (Wi-Fi) A1567 (Wi-Fi + Cellular) |
| EMC | 2822 2823 |
| Order Number | MGL12LL/A (16 GB Space Gray Wi-Fi) MNV22LL/A (32 GB Space Gray Wi-Fi) MGKL2LL/A (64 GB Space Gray Wi-Fi) MGTX2LL/A (128 GB Space Gray Wi-Fi) MGLW2LL/A (16 GB Silver Wi-Fi) MNV62LL/A (32 GB Silver Wi-Fi) MGKM2LL/A (64 GB Silver Wi-Fi) MGTY2LL/A (128 GB Silver Wi-Fi) MH0W2LL/A (16 GB Gold Wi-Fi) MNV72LL/A (32 GB Gold Wi-Fi) MH182LL/A (64 GB Gold Wi-Fi) MH1J2LL/A (128 GB Gold Wi-Fi) MH2U2LL/A (16 GB Space Gray Wi-Fi + Cellular) MNW12LL/A (32 GB Space Gray Wi-Fi + Cellular) MH2M2LL/A (64 GB Space Gray Wi-Fi + Cellular) MH312LL/A (128 GB Space Gray Wi-Fi + Cellular) MH2V2LL/A (16 GB Silver Wi-Fi + Cellular) MNW22LL/A (32 GB Silver Wi-Fi + Cellular) MH2N2LL/A (64 GB Silver Wi-Fi + Cellular) MH322LL/A (128 GB Silver Wi-Fi + Cellular) MH2W2LL/A (16 GB Gold Wi-Fi + Cellular) MNW32LL/A (32 GB Gold Wi-Fi + Cellular) MH2P2LL/A (64 GB Gold Wi-Fi + Cellular) MH332LL/A (128 GB Gold Wi-Fi + Cellular) |
| Original Price | $499 (16 GB Wi-Fi) $399 (32 GB Wi-Fi) $599 (64 GB Wi-Fi) $699 (128 GB Wi-Fi) $629 (16 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular) $529 (32 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular) $729 (64 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular) $829 (128 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular) |
| Colors | Space Gray Silver Gold |
| Weight | 0.96 – 0.98 Ibs. – 435 – 444 Grams |
| Dimensions | 9.4” H x 6.6” W x 0.24″ D 23.87 cm H x 16.76 cm W x 0.6 cm D |
*2 32 GB and 128 GB
*3 128 GB reintroduced on September 7, 2016
*4 16 GB / 32 GB / 64 GB and 128 GB
iPad Air 2 Tech Specs
Processor
| Processor | Apple A8X |
| Processor Speed | 1.5 GHz |
| Architecture | 64-bit |
| Number of Cores | 3 |
| Coprocessor | Apple M8 motion |
| Cache | 64 KB L1 2 MB L2 |
Storage
| Storage | 16 GB 32 GB 64 GB 128 GB |
Memory
| Memory | 2 GB LPDDR3 |
Graphics
| Graphics Card | PowerVR GXA6850 |
| Number of Cores | 8 |
Display
| Display | 9.7″ Retina widescreen LCD IPS Display |
| Resolution | 2048 x 1536 |
| Pixel Density | 264 ppi |
| Brightness | 415 cd/m2 |
| Input | Multi-Touch |
Controls
| Buttons | Volume + / – Home Sleep / Wake up |
Sensors
| Sensors | Touch ID Ambient light Accelerometer Three-axis gyroscope Barometer |
Connections
| Networks* | UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz) GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B (800, 1900 MHz) LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 38, 39, 40, 41) |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac dual-channel (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) HT80 with MIMO |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.0 |
| SIM slot | nano-SIM* |
| Ports | 1 – Lightning port 1 – 3.5-mm headphone jack |
| Camera | 1 – 1.2 Mpix front FaceTime HD camera 1 – 8.0 Mpix rear camera |
| Location | Assisted GPS* GLONASS* iBeacon microlocation* Digital compass |
| Audio In | 2 – Microphones |
| Audio Out | 2 – Stereo Speakers |
Media
| Audio Formats | HE-AAC (V1 and V2) AAC (8 to 320 Kbps) Protected AAC (from iTunes Store) MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps) MP3 VBR Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+) Apple Lossless AIFF WAV |
| Video Formats | H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats |
Software
| Original OS | iOS 8.1 |
| Maximum OS | iPadOS 15.8.2 |
| Intelligent Assistant | Siri |
| AirDrop | Supported |
| Handoff | Supported |
| System Requirements | Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3 or later |
Power
| Battery | 27.3 W Rechargeable Lithium-Polymer |
| Battery Capacity | 7340 mAh |
| Battery Life | Up to 10 hours |
| Power Adapter | Apple 10W USB Power Adapter |
Disclaimer: The data presented in this article is under continuous development and has been manually collected from various sources based on their availability. The author of this article may revise this dataset as additional research is conducted and reviewed. Please note that the information is provided “as is” and “as available” without express or implied warranties. The author cannot be held responsible for any omissions, inaccuracies, or errors in the published information. Any warranties relating to this information are hereby disclaimed.
