After Apple made the official announcement about its flagship tablet at a major event in Cupertino last Oct. 16, the public can now look forward to Oct. 24 when the iPad Air 2 will finally be available with a starting price of $499. Customers can choose from its gray, white or gold variants.

One of the biggest features of the new iPad Air is the TouchID incorporated into its home button. Aside from allowing users to quickly unlock the screen, it can also be used for authenticating systems such as Apple Pay and HomeKit.

While the iPad Air 2 has been designed to support Apple Pay, the tablet has not been integrated with NFC, which means that it will only be limited to online or app-based transactions.

The iPad Air 2 now has an 8-megapixel rear camera, better than its predecessor's 5-megapixel shooter, along with a 1.2-megapixel front snapper. In terms of video capture, the new tablet remains at 1080p resolution.

New features have been included, such as the Burst Mode that allows the users to take a bunch of images in rapid succession through a long press of the shutter button. Similar to new iPhones, the iPad Air 2 also comes with Timelapse and Slo-mo modes.

The tablet's 9.7-inch display comes with a 2048 x 1536 resolution, similar to that of the first iPad Air, and is covered by an anti-reflective coating for enhanced viewing even in bright environments.

Compared to its predecessor, the iPad Air is thinner and lighter. It comes with a new A8x processor with 2 GB of RAM as well as an M8 processor, ensuring that tasks are easily performed simultaneously. Speedy scrolling of pages and dynamic gaming action can be expected as well.

The iPad Air 2 has three storage options: the 16 GB model for $499; the 64 GB model for $599; and the 128 GB model for $699. All of these tablets come with the iOS 8.1 installed.