Apple has added the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 2 into its vintage and obsolete products list. The company has stopped the sale of the mentioned products for more than five years, so it's time for them to enter the list.

Two months ago, Apple announced its latest flagship in its tablet lineup, the Apple iPad Air 2. But at the same time, Apple slashed the prices of all the previous generation tablets that are available for sale in Malaysia including last year's iPad Air. This actually made things harder for many buyers as now they must choose between buying the latest iPad Air 2 tablet or the slightly more affordable iPad Air from last year. With the recent price listing on Apple Malaysia for the iPad tablets, we decided to compare both the aforementioned models, the iPad Air 2 vs iPad Air to help you decide which one to buy this holiday season.

The much awaited Apple iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3 are finally listed on the official Apple Malaysia store today with their retail prices. However, the company has not yet started shipping both the devices with no idea yet as to the exact Malaysia release dates. For both the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3, you can choose between three colors namely silver, gold and space grey followed by three different storage variants, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. Finally, there are two connectivity variants like the previous generations namely Wi-Fi only and a Wi-Fi + Cellular version. Prices differ according to each storage variant and connectivity version that you choose for the device. The exact prices for both the models are as given below:

Apple iPad Air 2

• Apple iPad Air 2 (WiFi, 16GB) ~ RM1599
• Apple iPad Air 2 (WiFi, 64GB) ~ RM1929
• Apple iPad Air 2 (WiFi, 128GB) ~ RM2249
• Apple iPad Air 2 (WiFi + Cellular, 16GB) ~ RM2029
• Apple iPad Air 2 (WiFi + Cellular, 64GB) ~ RM2349
• Apple iPad Air 2 (WiFi + Cellular, 128GB) ~ RM2679

Apple iPad Mini 3

• Apple iPad mini 3 (WiFi, 16GB) ~ RM1279
• Apple iPad mini 3 (WiFi, 64GB) ~ RM1599
• Apple iPad mini 3 (WiFi, 128GB) ~ RM1929
• Apple iPad mini 3 (WiFi + Cellular, 16GB) ~ RM1699
• Apple iPad mini 3 (WiFi + Cellular, 64GB) ~ RM2029
• Apple iPad mini 3 (WiFi + Cellular, 128GB) ~ RM2349

It seems inevitable that other Apple products will get a bend test as well, especially after how easily the Apple iPhone 6 Plus bent due to bare hand force. This time around the 6.1mm thin Apple iPad Air 2 goes through the bend test and rather predictably, breaks. While we're not surprised at such a thin and big device bending or snapping in half, it appears that you do need a good deal of strength to bend it. If you've got pencils for arms then you probably won't have to worry too much about it. In the meantime, do check out the iPad Air 2 bend test video in this article.

The Apple iPad Air 2 was officially announced yesterday. At first glance, the overall design may look the same but the tablet is now 18% thinner at 6.1mm thin and 435g. Other notable design changes include removing the mute button and slanting the volume rocker diagonally, allowing the tablet to achieve it's 6.1mm thinness. Apple also laminated it's 9.7-inch screen, combining the cover glass, touch sensor and LCD into one thinner optically fused layer. However, resolution remains the same at 2048 x 1536 pixels, but at least Apple have included an anti-reflective coating as well.

A user manual containing stats and images of the upcoming Apple iPad Air 2 and Apple iPad mini 3 recently appeared on Apple's own site. It was quickly taken down but not before leaking stats and images of the upcoming tablets set to be announced tonight. The leak doesn't reveal much in terms of tech specs but does reveal some features such as a Touch ID fingerprint sensor for both tablets and a Burst mode for the camera on the Apple iPad Air 2. The manual also confirms the names as Apple iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 which could mean an expanded inventory at the Apple store rather than an outright replacement. No Malaysia release dates or pricing just yet but we expect it to arrive in Malaysia sometime in November or December of 2014.

Reports from Taiwan say that the next Apple iPad Air which probably won't be called the iPad Air 2 may be coming next month in October. While there isn't any Malaysia release date, the report was very specific, pointing to 21 October 2014 as the reveal date for the tablet. Tech specs and features about the upcoming tablet have not been many with some saying that it could pack in a new A8 processor, 2GB of RAM, a redesigned speaker and possibly a Touch ID fingerprint scanner. While we're quite certain about the A8 processor and Touch ID scanner, we'd advise you to take a pinch of salt regarding the other rumoured tech specs. Unfortunately, the reports go on to say that the next Apple iPad mini or iPad mini 3 will only be coming in early 2015. Granted, it was a bit late last year but it could also be late this year as well so take this rumour with a pinch of salt too. The 12.9-inch Apple iPad Pro is expected to be announced as well, but again there are no specific Malaysia release dates or pricing details yet.

With the Apple iPhone 6 and Watch officially announced, the next device in the Apple stable will likely be the Apple iPads with a rumoured announcement set for 21 October 2014. This rumour comes from insiders supposedly, so do take it with a good pinch of salt. However, the previous iPad announcements did come in October around this time as well, so it could be possible. For now, there is no definite news on what will be available for the iPad. We are expecting an A8 chip refresh for both the Apple iPad Air and iPad mini along with a TouchID fingerprint sensor, but apart from that nothing else is definite. There are rumours about a 12.2-inch iPad Pro tablet but again, this is still very much a rumour.

Mockups or dummy versions of the Apple iPad Air 2 have appeared, this time showing that the next generation iPad tablet will have a Touch ID fingerprint sensor built into the Home button. The new tablet weighs in at 484g, compared to the 469g of the WiFi version for the current Apple iPad Air. In terms of design, nothing else seems to be different. Unfortunately, there are no details on other tech specs or features but the iPad Air 2 is expected to come with the Apple A8 processor, picking up from the Apple A7 processor from last year. As always with such rumours, do take this with a pinch of salt, as these could be dummies or mockups for an entirely different tablet (which has happened before).

In a keynote event held just yesterday, Apple has revealed the latest versions of their iPad and iPad Mini tablets confirming many of the rumours and leaked images that surfaced before this official announcement. While many of the obvious rumours were confirmed such as the 5th generation Apple iPad tablet getting a redesign along with the Apple iPad Mini 2 getting a new Retina Display, there were some surprises revealed. First off, the 5th generation Apple iPad tablet will be called the Apple iPad Air and the iPad Mini 2 or Apple iPad Mini with Retina Display gets a much better processor than earlier thought. The keynote event also mentions a lot more which you can replay here (provided you have QuickTime and are watching it with Safari):

http://www.apple.com/apple-events/october-2013/