The iPad Air has nearly twice the performance of its predecessor, according to Primate Labs. The new device from Apple, which is set to hit store shelves on Friday, is 80 percent faster than the fourth-generation iPad, CNET reported.

Using Geekbench 3 tests, Primate Labs compared the iPad Air to all iOS 7-compatible tablets, which includes the iPad 2, third- and fourth-generation iPad and iPad Mini. The report found that the tablet does indeed come close to doubling the performance of the iPad 4 as Apple promised.

The iPad Air is powered by an A7 processor, just like the iPhone 5S. But the new iPad runs at 1.4GHz--which is 100MHz faster than the 5S, Primate Labs founder John Poole said on Wednesday.

Poole was uncertain as to whether the iPad Air's processor is faster due to a larger battery, which would offer more power; a larger chassis, which would offer better cooling; or a combination of the two. But he does expect the iPad Mini's A7 processor to also clock in at 1.4GHz.

"With most recent Mac updates showing only modest performance improvements, it's exciting to see iOS devices do the opposite, with substantial improvements between generations," he said. "I wonder, how much longer Apple can keep this up?"

Poole also wondered why the second-generation iPad is still being sold at $399, which is just $100 less than the starting price for the iPad Air-a tablet that is five times faster than the earlier model.

The 9.7-inch iPad Air has 10 hours of battery life and weighs only a pound, about a third less than the earlier version, The New York Times reports. It will face competition from Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1, Microsoft's Surface 2, Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX, and soon, Google's new Nexus tablet.

Apple will also begin selling a new version of the iPad Mini, which will come in at $400, in November.

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