Predictions point to Oct. 16 as the iPad Air 2 release date, since Apple will hold a press event on that day.

Of course, any new product that Apple plans to roll out will have better specs and features than its predecessor, and the new iPad is no exception.  Reliable links and sources are quite confident about some of the rumored features of the new tablet, and below are five of the top candidates that are likely to appear in the iPad Air 2.

Higher resolution

iPad Air 2 is speculated to come with the same screen size of 9.7 inches but with a higher resolution. Developer Hamza Sood found that iOS 8.1 beta supports 3x versions of the iPad's UI. This means that the tablet will probably pack a 4K Retina display, just as rumors say.

iOS 8

There is no question, the iPad Air 2 will be running on the iOS 8 platform. It has always been like that — the latest iOS is integrated with the latest Apple devices each year.  The operating system supports a number of new features such as Apple Pay and iCloud Drive integration.

A8X processor

A new leaked photo published in Taiwanese website Apple.club.tw shows that the iPad Air 2 will be powered by a processor labeled as "A8X." This is not surprising since former tablets packed the "X" versions of the current processor because of the unique features of the iPad line such as the larger screen display. The A8X chipset will boost the graphics performance of the A8 processor, similar to the "X" variants of the previous ones.

Touch ID fingerprint sensor

Another leaked photo shows that the new version of the iPad Air will finally include the Touch ID fingerprint sensor. It was quite surprising when Apple left out the fingerprint sensor on the iPad Air and iPad Mini Retina when the said feature was first introduced in the iPhones 5S. However, with the advent of Apple Pay which requires fingerprint identification, it is highly likely that the Touch ID fingerprint sensor will be included in the new iPad.

Longer battery life

With all of the power hogging features that the iPad Air 2 is rumored to have, it won't come as a surprise if the new Apple tablet will be supported by a battery that has a larger capacity and longer life.