Apple also officially announced their business-targeted Apple iPad Pro tablet complete with a Microsoft Surface like keyboard and Pencil stylus. The iPad Pro comes with a 12.9-inch display with 2732 x 2048 pixel resolution. Other known tech specs include an Apple A9x processor and four speakers. The Keyboard has a magnetic Smart Connector that provides both power and data but comes separately at $169 (RM711.07). The Apple Pencil stylus also comes separately at $99 (RM416.54) but there is no place for you to slot it in on the tablet. Looking much like a 6.9mm thin iPad Air 2, the iPad Pro offers up to 10 hours battery life and is fully optimized for use with Microsoft Office and Adobe Apps. No Malaysia release dates yet but the iPad Pro is expected to arrive in November (which means Malaysia could see it next year).

The Apple iPad mini 4 was also officially announced with a slimmer 6.1mm thin case (compared to the iPad mini 3 at 7.5mm) with a zero-gap screen and still 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution Retina display. Other tech specs and features will include an Apple A8 processor, 8MP rear camera and 1.2MP front camera while everything else remains the same. Unfortunately, there is no rose gold option for the iPad mini 4 but it will have a preorder starting from 11 September 2015 with shipping on 25 September 2015. No Malaysia pricing details yet but the 16GB storage iPad mini 4 will be priced as below. Like certain Apple iPhones in Malaysia, the pricing of Apple iPads have also been increased and the iPad mini 3 has been removed from the site.

Samsung is reportedly working on a new device to directly take onApple's iPad Air 2 most likely called the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2. The South Korean giant's upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 is reportedly thinner than the iPad Air 2's 6.1mm slim profile. The company is also said to be moving towards a design and product sizing similar to the ones from Apple. Instead of the usual 8.4-inch and 10.5-inch models, the company may release 8-inch and 9.7-inch sized tablets this year to compete with Apple's iPad lineup. Also, like Apple iPad tablets, this particular device could come with a 4:3 aspect ratio. To make the device even more premium, Samsung will use a metal frame on the Galaxy Tab S2. The source has not revealed any Malaysia release date, availability or pricing of the upcoming device. However, don't expect it to be showcased as soon as MWC 2015, where the powerful Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge flagships are expected to be unveiled with much fanfare. We will be covering the MWC 2015, so stay tuned for more information. 

The Samsung Galaxy A5, one of the company's first metal body mid-range smartphone was announced last month. Now, a Vietnamese gold plating company called Karalux is offering a special gold plated Samsung Galaxy A5 variant for an additional $200. Karalux specializes in the customization of phones and supercars and has a number of gold plated models of famous flagships like the Apple iPad Air 2, Apple iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 under its belt. As for the mid-range A5, Karalux has gold plated the entire aluminum body of the phone with 24K gold. The end result is a gold Galaxy A5 with some plastic patches left on the top, back and the bottom. The company claims that it takes around 4 hours to complete the process. Interested users can also ask for a custom design on the back plate of the device. Even with the $200 (RM711) additional charge, the total cost of the Galaxy A5 comes to around $610 (RM2169). That's a decent price for a gold plated device. As for the tech specs, the A5 comes with a Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, 5-inch 720p display and 13MP rear camera. The regular version of the Galaxy A5 is already available starting from today.    

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

Another year, another new Apple iPad mini tablet. However, this year's Apple iPad mini 3 does not really bring much innovation or change to the table, unlike the previous Apple iPad mini 2 which was basically a smaller Apple iPad Air. Updating our previous comparison article on which Apple iPad mini to buy we are now doing a comparison article between the Apple iPad mini 3, Apple iPad mini 2 and Apple iPad mini. If you've been wanting one and wondering which Apple iPad mini tablet to buy then read on and find out.

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.

Unveiled recently, the Dell Venue 8 7000 tablet wowed everyone by being the world's thinnest tablet at just 6mm thin. It even manages to beat out the Apple iPad Air 2 which is 6.1mm thin. Tech specs and features for the Venue 8 7000 are also much higher-end with a quad-core Intel Atom Z3500 processor, 8.4-inch OLED display with 1600 x 2560 pixel resolution and Intel's RealSense 3D camera on the back consisting of three cameras. It also features 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and stereo speakers along with a metal frame. While there are no Malaysia release dates or pricing details yet, it has been announced for a very affordable $499 (RM1634) coming in or after November 2014.

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.

While we've yet to see any news on Malaysia release dates or pricing for the Apple iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, the Apple Malaysia Store has already revealed the updated pricing for the previous Apple iPad tablets. This includes a price drop for all of the tablets including the iPad Air, iPad mini and iPad mini 2 of about RM150 to RM300 or so for each. The iPad mini now only has 16GB versions, while the iPad mini 2 has 16GB and 32GB versions. The previous iPad 4 has also been removed from listings, leaving the iPad Air with 16GB and 32GB versions. Check out the updated pricing for the Apple iPad tablets below:

• Apple iPad mini (WiFi, 16GB) ~ RM799
• Apple iPad mini (WiFi + Cellular, 16GB) ~ RM1299
• Apple iPad mini 2 (WiFi, 16GB) ~ RM969
• Apple iPad mini 2 (WiFi + Cellular, 16GB) ~ RM1399
• Apple iPad mini 2 (WiFi, 32GB) ~ RM1139
• Apple iPad mini 2 (WiFi + Cellular, 32GB) ~ RM1569
• Apple iPad Air (WiFi, 16GB) ~ RM1279
• Apple iPad Air (WiFi + Cellular, 16GB) ~ RM1699
• Apple iPad Air (WiFi, 32GB) ~ RM1449
• Apple iPad Air (WiFi + Cellular, 32GB) ~ RM1869