Apple has revealed two new additions to the company's top-selling product line: the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3, which will both be available in silver, space gray and gold, and will have TouchID technology built in.
With the two latest iPad offerings, Apple will still have their predecessors available, widening the choices for tablet computers.
According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the iPad continues to be the company's best-selling product, with over 225 million devices sold.
"We've sold more iPads in the first four years than we've sold of any product in our history," he told those who attended the launch event at 1 Infinite Loop at the Apple headquarters in Cupertino.
For the iPad Air models, the new version is thinner -- indeed the thinnest tablet in the world -- at only 6.1mm thick. Aside from the slimmer body, the iPad Air 2 remains mostly identical on the outside to the original iPad Air.
On the inside, the new iPad Air 2 boasts a more powerful processor, making it up to 12 times more efficient than the original. The M8 motion coprocessor and barometer built into the new Air will also potentially make the battery last a bit longer and aid in more precision location mapping.
The unveiling of the new iPad Mini 3 was not given much fanfare, though, probably due to the fact that aside from the addition of TouchID, the hardware and specs of the new Mini remain practically identical to the previous version.
Apple will begin taking pre-orders for the new iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 on Oct. 17. They will retail for around $100 more than their predecessors and will also have options for models with bigger storage -- a major deciding factor for many in the market for a new Apple tablet.
