U.S. President Obama holds up his iPad during a visit to TechShop in Pittsburgh
U.S. President Barack Obama holds up his iPad with a photo of him hugging his daughters during a visit to TechShop in Pittsburgh June 17, 2014. The iPad's case, a Dodo case, was first designed and prototyped at a TechShop facility. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

On Oct. 16, Apple unveiled the next-generation iPad Air 2 and the smaller iPad Mini 3. Both the tablets are the successors of the iPad Air and the iPad Mini 2 (with Retina display), respectively. Unlike other OEMs, Apple is not going to make the Australian customers and fans wait any longer. The new iPads will land on the Australian shores in the similar time-frame as the U.S. counterparts.

According to reports, the Apple iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 can be pre-ordered from Oct. 18. Plus, the release date is confirmed for Oct. 25 in Australia. In the case of iPad Air 2, the 16 GB Wi-Fi only variant can be purchased for $619. On the other hand, the 64 GB and 128 GB models are priced at $739 and $859, respectively, reports Life Hacker.

Potential buyers with interest in getting Wi-Fi plus support for a 4G or 3G connectivity, also known as LTE support, can purchase the device for $779 for a 16 GB variant. While the 64 GB model is priced at $899, the 128 GB variant will set the buyers back by a whopping $1019. It is worth mentioning that, Apple has not introduced the 32 GB model for the new iPads.

Moving on to the Apple iPad Mini 3, the 16 GB Wi-Fi only model is priced at $499. The 64 GB variant, meanwhile, can be purchased for $619 and the 128 GB model for $739. Moreover, the LTE variant of a 16 GB iPad Mini 3 will set the buyers back by $659. While the 64 GB and 128 GB variants can be availed at a price of $779 and $899, respectively.

When it comes to key specifications, the iPad Air 2 features a 9.7-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD display complemented by 1,536 x 2,048 pixels resolution. The device is powered by a dual-core 1.3 GHz Cyclone (Apple A8) processor and it runs on iOS 8.1. Under the hood, the tablet is backed by a good Li-Po 8600 mAh non-removable battery unit. Nonetheless, Apple has not made any changes to the 1 GB RAM configuration even in the upgraded version. The silver lining, however, is that the device houses a Touch ID Fingerprint scanner for unlocking the tablet and also for making payments via the newly introduced Apple Pay service aided by Visa, MasterCard and AMEX.

The iPad Mini 3, on the other hand, comes with a 7.9-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD display and 1,536 x 2,048 pixels screen resolution. The compact tablet is powered by a dual-core 1.3 GHz (Apple A7) processor and iOS 8.1 OS. The device comes equipped with a non-removable Li-Po 6470 mAh battery unit and 1 GB of RAM. Similar to the bigger iPad, the Mini 3 also comes with Touch ID and Apple Pay support.

Plus, both the tablets are offered in "Gold" colour along with the usual Space Gray and Silver hues. Interested readers can check out the discounts available on the current-generation iPad models from IBTimes.

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