Apple's iPad Air makes a mockery of Android devices. It completely outsells every single one of them, but we are not talking about that, nor the fact that it looks better, or has a better OS. I am instead talking about how Cupertino's slate has just 1 GB of RAM and tramples over the competition in terms of performance. Now, imagine how well the iPad Air 2 is going run when it arrives with 2GB of RAM!
Yes Android loving boys and girls out there, I am capable of being non-biased, which is why I know that Android multitasks far more than iOS. That basically means that Android slates need more RAM to deal with the extra things the OS is doing aside from what you may be concentrating on. I admit that iOS is not a multitaskers dream, but Apple has been making strides in this department and iOS 8 is going to feature split screen multitasking for the first time.
With this new feature Apple will need more RAM, so the iPad Air will land with 2GB of the stuff. That is still only the same amount as the current Nexus 7 though, but we assure you that the way iOS 8 flies that the Air 2 will completely destroy the admittedly lower end Nexus 7. It will also take on the top end Android slates that will now be arriving with 3GB of RAM and 4GB of RAM to handle Google's heavy OS.
To be honest, I never had any complaints with the iPad Air and have never thought "this thing could do with more RAM," in fact it NEVER hangs on me. Considering iOS 8 is very much compatible with the original Air, I presume that last year's model will deal with the multitasking just fine with its menial 1GB of RAM. Apple clearly just wants to add a little more raw power to proceedings for the iPad Air 2, and hey I have no problem with that.
Cupertino is rolling out the iPhone 6 next month, but my sources tell me the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini replacement will land in October, with the company finalizing an exact launch date. We expect some other cool features to be present on the new slate, with the iPhone 5s' Touch ID fingerprint scanner also making the journey to the iPad range. As for the oft rumoured iPad Pro; that is unlikely to be launched this year and will be developed further with a 2015 launch planned.
The sales of iPads in general have declined in recent months, and indeed the dropping numbers were the only sore point in Apple's otherwise stellar financial results recently. The iPad Air 2 should drum up renewed interest in the product, which is still comfortably the most popular slate on the market.
