I normally rush out to buy each new iPad, and for the first time I'm skipping one. I don't understand Apple's approach these days. WTF happened to leading a category, not simply "catching up to the competition"??
The Air 2 is class-leading. Its processor is significantly better than any other competitor (even faster than the 64-bit 2.5GHz Tegra K-1 that Google is using in the Nexus 9, by virtue of being triple-core). As for the display, the differences between the iPad Air 2, and the Samsung and Microsoft tablets is very minor. Once you get to full or near-full color gamut and a bonded screen, there isn't much more that's possible.
Apple went ahead and boosted the processor and RAM, and made the device even thinner, which makes a difference. The next steps are likely software-related (better multi-tasking, more use of Metal and the new APIs).
Apple rarely has "led" the competition in a raw spec contest. The iPhone was the one of the last to get 3G, LTE, and NFC, for example, and to go large-screen. The iPad was the first, but its UI was largely a carryover from the iPhone.