Apple Ipad tablet
IN PHOTO: An illustration picture shows application icons on an Apple Ipad tablet held by a woman in Bordeaux, Southwestern France, February 4, 2013. Reuters

Apple's 2014 tablet refresh appears to be fast-approaching as a new report suggests that the iPad Air 2 on release date will boast of a 2GB RAM among its key upgrades while the smaller iPad Mini 3 will stay at 1GB of random access memory.

At the same time, U.S. retail giant Best Buy dangles its limited offer that chopped off $75 from the regular iPad Air sticker price, somehow reinforcing the notion that preparation is now in full swing for the arrival of the tablet's second edition.

MacRumors, pointing to Chinese-language tech site TechNews as source, has reported this week that the Air 2 is getting a significant bump up in speed. In addition to earlier reports that the sixth regular iPad from Apple will sport a speedy 64-bit A8 CPU, its RAM provision will jump from 1GB to 2GB.

The report added that higher RAM for the next iPad Air will surely boost its hardware and software capabilities. One solid reflection would be via the Split-Screen Multitasking that is rumoured as one headline features to unpack with the iOS 8-powered iPad Air 2.

Similar to Android devices' multi-window rendition or the ability to view and work on two applications as the same time, the "feature ... will certainly be more memory intensive," MacRumors said on its report, adding that 2GB of RAM fits with Apple's planned feature upgrades for its next-generation tablet.

The iPad maker has previously stated that functions and features of upcoming models will highlight productivity capabilities that can be characterised as desktop-class. Apple CEO Tim Cook even recently shared that 80 per cent of his work duties are accomplished using the iPad.

So it makes sense that majority of the feature upgrades that Apple will pack with the next iPads are centred on productivity.

Meanwhile, signs of the nearing iPad Air 2 launch are gradually emerging and the latest of which is Best Buy's decision of slashing $75 off the tablet's starting price, leaving the 16GB model tag price at only $425.

The promo deal is a one-day affair only but according to Apple Insider, such move tells of better things to come for those planning to upgrade from their existing iOS slates.

"The sale is likely meant to clear out inventory ahead of an expected iPad lineup refresh coming this fall," the Apple-dedicated site said on its report.

From the notes provided by well-known analyst Ming-chi Kuo, it can be said that release date of the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 will be earlier than last year, likely between October and early November 2014.