A Child Uses A iPad Air Tablet At The Apple Store.
A child uses an iPad Air tablet at the Apple store in San Francisco, California November 1, 2013. Reuters

New reports hint on a release date and new specs for Apple's latest iPad installment, currently called by news sites and blogs as the iPad Air 2. If the reported hints are to be believed, the iPad Air 2 may be hitting the markets within the month.

Reported October Release

Several news and blog sites agree that Apple is likely to refresh their iPad offering before the current calendar year ends, as pointed out by ValueWalk and MacWorld. The latter source quotes another site, DailyDot, as saying the release will most likely take place on October 21st or within that week, citing anonymous sources close to Apple.

"[Apple] is planning to hold its next event on 21 October, where it will unveil two new iPads and announce the release of OS X Yosemite, according to sources familiar with the matter," says the Daily Dot.

ValueWalk's report, which came earlier than MacWorld's, says the release of the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3 may be delayed and pushed to as late as early 2015. Previous iPad launches were around the same time as the predicted October 21 release.

iOS 8 Developer Code Hints New Features

Meanwhile, MacWorld's report also notes a tweet from Hamsa Sood, who spotted a line in the iOS 8.1 developer code suggesting the iPad Air 2 may be coming with two new features: Apple Pay and Touch ID.

Apple Pay is a feature present in the recently launched iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus that allows users to sign transactions using their Touch ID fingerprint. MacWorld points out that while this means the next-generation iPad is sure to get the Touch ID fingerprint scanner, it is not sue to get the other hardware requirement of Apple Pay - the NFC antenna. According to their report, consumers may expect a more limited version of Apple Pay if rumors are to be believed.