<s>
The	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
is	O
the	O
second-generation	O
iPad	B-Device
Air	I-Device
tablet	B-Device
computer	I-Device
designed	O
,	O
developed	O
,	O
and	O
marketed	O
by	O
Apple	O
Inc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
announced	O
on	O
October	O
16	O
,	O
2014	O
,	O
alongside	O
the	O
iPad	B-Device
Mini	I-Device
3	I-Device
,	O
both	O
of	O
which	O
were	O
released	O
on	O
October	O
22	O
,	O
2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
is	O
thinner	O
,	O
lighter	O
and	O
faster	O
than	O
its	O
predecessor	O
,	O
the	O
first-generation	O
iPad	B-Device
Air	I-Device
,	O
and	O
features	O
Touch	O
ID	O
with	O
the	O
height	O
,	O
width	O
and	O
screen	B-Device
size	O
the	O
same	O
as	O
the	O
iPad	B-Device
Air	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first-generation	B-Device
iPad	I-Device
Pro	I-Device
replaced	O
the	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
as	O
the	O
flagship	O
iPad	B-Device
model	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
9.7	O
inch	O
version	O
releasing	O
March	O
31	O
,	O
2016	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Air	O
2	O
being	O
relegated	O
as	O
the	O
mid-range	O
iPad	B-Device
model	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
was	O
discontinued	O
on	O
March	O
21	O
,	O
2017	O
,	O
as	O
was	O
the	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Mini	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
,	O
alongside	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
iPad	B-Device
(	O
5th	O
generation	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
replaced	O
the	O
Air	O
2	O
as	O
the	O
entry-level	O
iPad	B-Device
model	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
successor	O
,	O
the	O
third-generation	B-Device
iPad	I-Device
Air	I-Device
,	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
March	O
18	O
,	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
iPad	B-Device
supported	O
eight	O
combined	O
versions	O
of	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
,	O
from	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
8	I-Operating_System
to	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
15	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
is	O
not	O
supported	O
by	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
16	I-Operating_System
due	O
to	O
hardware	O
limitations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
was	O
announced	O
during	O
a	O
keynote	B-Protocol
on	O
October	O
16	O
,	O
2014	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
iPad	B-Device
to	O
feature	O
Touch	O
ID	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
theme	O
of	O
the	O
keynote	B-Protocol
was	O
"	O
it	O
's	O
been	O
way	O
too	O
long	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
new	O
iPad	B-Device
Pro	I-Device
,	O
the	O
slogan	O
for	O
the	O
device	O
was	O
changed	O
to	O
Light	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
originally	O
shipped	O
with	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
8	I-Operating_System
pre-installed	O
and	O
includes	O
a	O
version	O
of	O
Apple	B-Application
Pay	I-Application
with	O
the	O
in-store	O
NFC	O
functionality	O
removed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
iOS	B-Operating_System
8	I-Operating_System
comes	O
with	O
several	O
built-in	O
applications	B-Application
,	O
which	O
are	O
Camera	O
,	O
Photos	O
,	O
Messages	B-Protocol
,	O
FaceTime	B-Operating_System
,	O
Mail	O
,	O
Music	O
,	O
Safari	B-Application
,	O
Maps	O
,	O
Siri	B-Application
,	O
Calendar	O
,	O
iTunes	O
Store	O
,	O
App	B-Application
Store	I-Application
,	O
Notes	O
,	O
Contacts	O
,	O
iBooks	B-Application
,	O
Home	O
,	O
Reminders	B-Application
,	O
Clock	O
,	O
Videos	O
,	O
News	B-Application
,	O
Photo	B-Application
Booth	I-Application
and	O
Podcasts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Apple	B-Application
App	I-Application
Store	I-Application
,	O
a	O
digital	O
application	B-Application
distribution	O
platform	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
browse	O
and	O
download	O
applications	B-Application
made	O
by	O
various	O
developers	O
from	O
the	O
iTunes	O
Store	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additional	O
apps	O
made	O
by	O
Apple	O
itself	O
are	O
available	O
for	O
free	O
download	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
iMovie	B-Operating_System
,	O
GarageBand	B-Application
,	O
iTunes	O
U	O
,	O
Find	B-Operating_System
My	I-Operating_System
iPhone	I-Operating_System
,	O
Find	B-Operating_System
My	I-Operating_System
Friends	I-Operating_System
,	O
Apple	O
Store	O
,	O
Trailers	O
,	O
Remote	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
iWork	B-Application
apps	O
(	O
Pages	B-Application
,	O
Keynote	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
Numbers	B-Operating_System
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
all	O
iOS	B-Application
devices	O
,	O
the	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
can	O
also	O
sync	O
content	O
and	O
other	O
data	O
with	O
a	O
Mac	O
or	O
PC	O
using	O
iTunes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
tablet	B-Device
is	O
not	O
designed	O
to	O
make	O
phone	O
calls	O
over	O
a	O
cellular	O
network	O
,	O
it	O
can	O
place	O
and	O
receive	O
phone	O
calls	O
through	O
an	O
iPhone	B-Device
's	O
cellular	O
connection	O
,	O
using	O
Apple	O
's	O
Continuity	O
feature	O
(	O
supported	O
on	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
8	I-Operating_System
and	O
later	O
versions	O
of	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
and	O
OS	B-Device
X	I-Device
Yosemite	I-Device
and	O
later	O
versions	O
of	O
macOS	B-Application
)	O
,	O
or	O
using	O
a	O
VoIP	B-Application
application	B-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
Skype	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
8	O
,	O
2015	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
announced	O
at	O
the	O
WWDC	O
that	O
the	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
would	O
support	O
all	O
of	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
9	I-Operating_System
's	O
new	O
features	O
when	O
it	O
is	O
released	O
in	O
Q3	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Air	O
2	O
users	O
with	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
9	I-Operating_System
will	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
use	O
Slide	O
Over	O
,	O
Picture	O
in	O
Picture	O
and	O
Split	O
View	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Slide	O
Over	O
allows	O
a	O
user	O
to	O
"	O
slide	O
"	O
a	O
second	O
app	O
in	O
from	O
the	O
side	O
of	O
the	O
screen	B-Device
in	O
a	O
smaller	O
window	O
,	O
and	O
have	O
it	O
display	O
information	O
alongside	O
the	O
initial	O
app	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
revealed	O
at	O
WWDC	O
2019	O
that	O
the	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
would	O
support	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
does	O
lack	O
the	O
support	O
for	O
some	O
features	O
though	O
such	O
as	O
Memoji	O
Stickers	O
,	O
Apple	O
's	O
ARKit	O
based	O
applications	B-Application
and	O
support	O
for	O
Sidecar	O
in	O
macOS	B-Device
Catalina	I-Device
,	O
due	O
to	O
it	O
having	O
the	O
Apple	O
A8X	O
Processor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apart	O
from	O
this	O
,	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
features	O
that	O
were	O
introduced	O
in	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
will	O
work	O
with	O
this	O
iPad	B-Device
,	O
including	O
support	O
for	O
external	O
USB	B-Protocol
drives	O
(	O
using	O
the	O
camera	O
connection	O
kits	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
redesigned	O
split	O
screen	B-Device
and	O
multitasking	O
interface	O
(	O
with	O
support	O
for	O
two	O
apps	O
to	O
be	O
open	O
at	O
once	O
)	O
and	O
support	O
for	O
Haptic	O
Touch	O
(	O
no	O
haptic	O
feedback	O
will	O
be	O
felt	O
as	O
the	O
iPad	B-Device
family	O
do	O
n't	O
have	O
Taptic	O
Engines	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
people	O
have	O
described	O
this	O
iPad	B-Device
with	O
this	O
new	O
software	O
as	O
a	O
budget	O
,	O
and	O
watered	O
down	O
version	O
of	O
its	O
successor	O
the	O
iPad	B-Device
Pro	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
13.4	O
,	O
the	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
supports	O
the	O
new	O
mouse	O
and	O
trackpad	O
feature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
WWDC	O
2020	O
,	O
the	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
was	O
revealed	O
to	O
support	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
14	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
makes	O
it	O
the	O
first	O
device	O
to	O
support	O
seven	O
generations	O
of	O
both	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
does	O
though	O
support	O
the	O
improved	O
Safari	B-Application
browser	I-Application
and	O
new	O
Messages	B-Protocol
app	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
iPad	B-Device
mini	I-Device
4	I-Device
was	O
also	O
supported	O
for	O
the	O
next	O
generation	O
of	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
14	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
7	O
,	O
2021	O
at	O
the	O
WWDC	O
2021	O
,	O
the	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
was	O
revealed	O
to	O
support	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
15	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
makes	O
it	O
the	O
first	O
device	O
to	O
support	O
eight	O
generations	O
of	O
software	O
including	O
both	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
6	O
,	O
2022	O
after	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
16	I-Operating_System
was	O
announced	O
at	O
the	O
WWDC	O
2022	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
revealed	O
that	O
the	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
will	O
not	O
be	O
compatible	O
with	O
this	O
new	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
inherits	O
hardware	O
similar	O
to	O
both	O
the	O
iPhone	B-Operating_System
6	I-Operating_System
and	O
iPhone	B-Operating_System
6	I-Operating_System
Plus	I-Operating_System
with	O
a	O
major	O
change	O
in	O
processor	O
to	O
the	O
Apple	O
A8X	O
,	O
the	O
high-end	O
3-core	O
variant	O
of	O
the	O
Apple	O
A8	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
has	O
2	O
GB	O
RAM	O
(	O
making	O
the	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
the	O
first	O
iOS	B-Application
device	O
to	O
have	O
more	O
than	O
1	O
GB	O
RAM	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
PowerVR	B-Device
GPU	O
has	O
8	O
cores	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
uses	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
M8	I-Device
motion	B-Device
co-processor	I-Device
which	O
has	O
a	O
barometer	O
and	O
is	O
the	O
first	O
generation	O
of	O
the	O
iPad	B-Device
to	O
inherit	O
the	O
fingerprint	O
Touch	O
ID	O
sensor	O
from	O
the	O
iPhone	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
iPad	B-Device
Air	I-Device
,	O
it	O
includes	O
an	O
improved	O
8-megapixel	O
(	O
3264×2448	O
)	O
rear-facing	O
camera	O
with	O
10	O
fps	O
burst	O
mode	O
and	O
slow	O
motion	O
video	O
at	O
120	O
fps	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
iPhone	B-Operating_System
5S	I-Operating_System
camera	O
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
front-facing	O
FaceTime	B-Operating_System
HD	O
camera	O
has	O
also	O
been	O
improved	O
with	O
a	O
larger	O
ƒ/2.2	O
aperture	O
,	O
which	O
allows	O
81%	O
more	O
light	O
in	O
the	O
image	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apple	O
added	O
a	O
gold	O
option	O
to	O
the	O
existing	O
silver	O
and	O
space	O
gray	O
color	O
choices	O
for	O
the	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
,	O
the	O
previous	O
existing	O
colors	O
were	O
used	O
on	O
the	O
preceding	O
iPad	B-Device
Air	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
its	O
iPad	B-Device
predecessors	O
,	O
the	O
mute/orientation	O
lock	O
switch	O
has	O
been	O
removed	O
to	O
accommodate	O
the	O
reduced	O
depth	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
a	O
slightly	O
smaller	O
battery	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
iPad	B-Device
Air	I-Device
,	O
although	O
Apple	O
claims	O
the	O
same	O
10-hour	O
battery	O
life	O
as	O
before	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
is	O
available	O
in	O
16	O
,	O
32	O
,	O
64	O
or	O
128GB	O
storage	O
options	O
with	O
no	O
storage	O
expansion	O
options	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apple	O
has	O
released	O
a	O
"	O
camera	O
connection	O
kit	O
"	O
with	O
an	O
SD	B-Device
card	I-Device
reader	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
can	O
only	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
transfer	O
photos	O
and	O
videos	O
to	O
an	O
iPad	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
received	O
positive	O
reviews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Verge	O
called	O
the	O
Air	O
2	O
"	O
the	O
best	O
tablet	B-Device
ever	O
made	O
"	O
,	O
giving	O
it	O
a	O
score	O
of	O
9.3	O
out	O
of	O
10	O
while	O
noting	O
that	O
it	O
offered	O
only	O
"	O
iterative	O
improvement	O
"	O
and	O
that	O
there	O
were	O
"	O
missed	O
opportunities	O
"	O
in	O
its	O
design	O
.	O
</s>
