New 'iPad Air' Way, Way Faster Than iPad 4: Report

Looks like the new 'iPad Air' may be worth an upgrade after all. New reports reveal the slimmer, lighter Apple tablet computer is substantially faster than its predecessor.

Apple unveiled the iPad Air -- along with the powerful Mac Pro and an iPad Mini equipped with Retina display -- at an October 22, 2013 press event.

The iPad Air is roughly one-quarter lighter and thinner than the iPad 4 it succeeds. That's an impressive feat for a device that was already quite portable.

Apple Co-Founder Disappointed with Storage Options

But not everyone was thrilled with Apple's newest iPad. For example, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak expressed disappointment with the device's 128GB max storage capacity.

Upset that he wouldn't be able to cram all of his favorite shows onto the device, 'Woz' said he was ticked that Apple failed to unveil a 256GB version of the Air.

But for those consumers who can stomach 128GB (or less) of storage, the new iPad Air appears to be an impressive piece of technology. So far it's winning praise for an upgraded front-facing camera, which makes FaceTiming (or video chat) look a whole lot better.

Even more impressive may be its overall system performance. CNET found the Air to be roughly 80 per cent faster than the iPad 4, which Apple released last year. (Source: cnet.com)

While CNET found the iPad Air's functionality fairly similar to last year's iPad, in the end they concluded that, "in design and aesthetics ... the iPad Air is on another planet. It's the best full-size consumer tablet on the market." (Source: cnet.com)

Surface 2: Good, but No iPad

That's bad news for Microsoft, which just released its Surface 2 tablet computer a few weeks ago.

While many reviewers consider the new Surface a serious improvement on the original version (particularly the Surface RT), most won't go further than saying it's the best Windows tablet on the market. (Source: pcworld.com)

For example, the Los Angeles Times recently noted that "Surface 2 is much better" than its predecessor, "but [is] still inferior to [the] iPad." (Source: latimes.com)