The iPad has evolved since it was originally announced in January, 2010. The iPad 2 added dual-facing cameras along with a faster processor and improved graphics, but the biggest jump was with the iPad 3, which increased the resolution of the display to 2,048 x 1,536 and added Siri for voice recognition. The iPad 4 was a super-charged iPad 3, with around twice the processing power, and the iPad Mini, released alongside the iPad 4, was Apple's first 7.9-inch iPad.

 Last year, the iPad Air became the first iPad to use a 64-bit chip, ushering the iPad into a new era.

The iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3 are the latest in the iPad lineup.  The iPad Air 2 adds a tri-core processor and boosts the available RAM to 2 GB, giving it more power to do multitasking. It also includes the Touch ID fingerprint sensor that debuted with the iPhone 5S. The iPad Mini 3 is virtually the same as the iPad Mini 2 except for the inclusion of the Touch ID.

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The following chart iterates the differences between the current lineup of iPads available from the Apple store.

iPad Comparison:

Feature	iPad Mini	iPad Mini 2	iPad Mini 3	iPad Air	iPad Air 2
Entry Price:	$249	$299	$399	$399	$499
CPU:	1 Ghz Dual-Core Apple A5	1.29 Ghz 64-bit Apple A7	1.29 Ghz 64-bit Apple A7	1.4 Ghz 64-bit Apple A7	1.5 Ghz Tri-Core 64-bit Apple A8X
Motion Co-Processor:	None	M7	M7	M7	M7
Resolution:	1024x768	2048x1536	2048x1536	2048x1536	2048x1536
Touch ID:	NO	NO	YES	NO	YES
Display:	7.9-inch IPS LED-backlit	7.9-inch IPS LED-backlit	7.9-inch IPS LED-backlit	9.7-inch IPS LED-backlit	9.7-inch IPS LED-backlit
Graphics:	PowerVR SGX543MP2	PowerVR SGX543MP2	PowerVR G6430	PowerVR G6430	PowerVR GX6650
Memory:	512 MB	512 MB	1 GB	1 GB	2 GB
Storage:	16, 32, 64 GB	16, 32, 64 GB	16, 64, 128 GB	16, 32, 64, 128 GB	16, 64, 128 GB
Rear Camera:	iSight 5 MP	iSight 5 MP	iSight 5 MP	iSight 5 MP	iSight 8 MP
Front Camera:	720p	720p	720p	720p	720p
Data Rate:	4G LTE	4G LTE	4G LTE	4G LTE	4G LTE
Wi-Fi:	802.11 a/b/g/n	802.11 a/b/g/n	802.11 a/b/g/n	802.11 a/b/g/n	802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
MIMO:	NO	YES	YES	YES	YES
Bluetooth:	4	4	4	4	4
Siri:	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Accelerometer:	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Compass:	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Gyroscope:	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Barometer:	NO	NO	NO	NO	YES
GPS:	4G Version Only	4G Version Only	4G Version Only	4G Version Only	4G Version Only
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Older iPad Models:

It can also be helpful to compare older models when you are buying a used iPad. This chart will help you tell the difference between some of the older models using the new iPad Air as a comparison model.

Feature	iPad	iPad 2	iPad 3	iPad 4
Entry Price:	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
CPU:	1 Ghz Dual-Core Apple A4	1 Ghz Dual-Core Apple A5	1 Ghz Dual-Core Apple A5X	1.4 Ghz Dual-Core A6X
Motion Co-Processor:	None	None	None	None
Resolution:	1024x768	1024x768	2048x1536	2048x1536
Display:	9.7-inch IPS LED-backlit	9.7-inch IPS LED-backlit	9.7-inch IPS LED-backlit	9.7-inch IPS LED-backlit
Graphics:	PowerVR SGX535	PowerVR SGX543MP2	PowerVR SGX543MP4	PowerVR G6430
Memory:	256 MB	512 MB	1 GB	1 GB
Storage:	16, 32, 64 GB	16, 32, 64 GB	16, 32, 64 GB	16, 32, 64, 128 GB
Rear Camera:	None	720p	iSight 5 MP	iSight 5 MP
Front Camera:	None	VGA	720p	720p
Data Rate:	3G	3G	4G LTE	4G LTE
Wi-Fi:	802.11 a/b/g/n	802.11 a/b/g/n	802.11 a/b/g/n	802.11 a/b/g/n
MIMO:	No	No	Yes	Yes
Bluetooth:	2.1 + EDR	2.1 + EDR	4	4
Siri:	NO	NO	YES	YES
Accelerometer:	YES	YES	YES	YES
Compass:	YES	YES	YES	YES
Gyroscope:	No	YES	YES	YES
GPS:	3G Version Only	3G Version Only	4G Version Only	4G Version Only