Details on what Apple will be packing into its iPad Air 2 have been circulating around the web for the past month now so here's a round-up of the latest expectations.  

It's being pretty much taken as given that Apple will replace last year's A7 processor chip with the A8 and that the upgrade will boost the iPad Air 2's speed and overall performance.  That means rumors that it is going to be slimmer and lighter will not be compromising on performance.  

The prediction of the A8 chip processor comes from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who also said the iPad Air would come with a fingerprint scanner and 8mp camera.

The fingerprint scanner was introduced to the iPhone 5S last year and Apple Insider agrees with Kuo that we can expect to see it on the iPad Air 2.

Apple Insider reported last week that Twitter user and developer UNiCORN had found a code in the iOS mobile operating system giving further weight to the rumor of fingerprint scanning technology on the iPad Air 2.

The fingerprint scanner has stepped up security and also made it easier to make purchases through devices.

Meanwhile, the camera is expected to be similar to the iPhone 6 and pack in more pixels.  It's likely it will come with electronic image stabilisation (EMS).

Kuo predicts it will release "earlier in 2014 than the iPad Air was in 2013".   The iPad Air was released last October.