Apple's got it wrapped for Christmas! iPad Air is TWICE as fast, 20% thinner, weighs just 1lb and comes with a Retina display

• Apple launched iPad Air - thinner, lighter, more powerful than before
• Costs from $499 for 16GB in US and from £399 in UK from November
• New iPad Mini has high resolution 7.9inch Retina display and new A7 chip
• Costs from $399 in US and £319 in UK and will be on sale 'later next month'
• Apple also revealed the latest version of its Mac OS X software
• Free to all Mac users and claims to give laptops extra hour of battery life
• Faster and more powerful cylindrical Mac Pro was unveiled for $2,299
• This will be the first Apple machine to be assembled in the US
• Nokia also launched first 10.1-inch Lumia 2025 tablet at event earlier today
• Launch comes the day Microsoft's Surface 2 and Surface 2 Pro go on sale
• Tablets will compete against Amazon, Tesco and Argos in Christmas sales

Apple has barely had time to restock the shelves since its latest iPhone launch but that hasn't stopped the tech giant unveiling its latest iPad - renamed the iPad Air. The announcement has added serious fuel to the fire in the battle of the tablets in the run up to Christmas and comes just hours after Nokia entered the tablet market with its Lumia 2520 and Microsoft started selling its new Surface devices. The iPad Air is thinner, lighter, more powerful than ever before, Apple said. Scroll Down for Video

Philip W. Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing, unveiled the newly named iPad Air. It features a new design that's reminiscent of the iPad mini released last year

Sparkling: The Apple media launch in Central London, showing the new iPad Mini (left) and iPad Air (right)

Thinnger: An Apple employee holds up the new iPad Air in San Francisco. Apple unveiled a new, lighter tablet called the iPad Air along with a slew of new Macs

It has 9.7-inch Retina display with a smaller bezel and is 43 per cent thinner than the previous model, making it more comfortable to hold. It also has a 5MP camera and dual microphones for the first time. Apple announced that the device will become available in mid-December in four colours - silver, white, 'space grey' and black. Prices will start from $499 for a 16GB model with UK prices starting at £399. The tablet is 7.5mm thick and weighs just 1lb, compared to the 1.4lb previous model, making it the 'lightest full size tablet in the world'. The tablet also has Apple's A7 chip, that was just launched in the iPhone 5S and is twice as fast as before.The graphics are 72 per cent faster than the very first iPad. It's almost a year to to the day since Apple's CEO Tim Cook unveiled Apple's first generation iPad mini. The iPad Air is thinner, lighter, more powerful than ever before, Apple said New model :A reporter holds the iPad Air at an Apple announcement in San Francisco. The tech giant announced its new iPad Air, a new iPad mini with Retina display, OS X Mavericks and highlighted its Mac Pro Speaking to the crowd at San Francisco’s Yuerba Buena Center for the Arts, he said: ‘You’re going to see some amazing products this morning.’ Apple also unveiled a new iPad Mini with a new high resolution 7.9inch Retina display, which also has the new A7 chip from the iPhone 5s. It boasts 10 hours of battery life, improved wi-fi and better LTE support, and is available in silver, white, space grey and black, contrary to rumours that suggested tit would come in a rainbow of colours like the iPhone C. The iPad Air has a 9.7-inch retina display and is 7.5mm thin. This is 20 per cent thinner than outgoing model

Tim Cook, Apple CEO said: 'Regardless of what you might hear or read about how many other tablets are bought or sold or activated, iPad is used more... more than 4 times more than all the others put together

Lighter: Apple CEO Tim Cook holds the new iPad Air during an Apple announcement at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco

The new model will cost from $399 in the U.S. and £319 in the UK, and will also become available in November, although a precise date is yet to be announced.

The original iPad mini, which previously cost $329, will now cost $299 - 'the lowest price for an iPad yet.'

However, neither new iPad comes with Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint sensor.

Tim Cook said the latest iPad is Apple's 'most advanced technology in a revolutionary and magical device. 'The iPad is one of the most successful products in Apple's history and in the whole industry. Earlier this month Apple sold its 170 millionth iPad. He said: 'Now everybody seems to be making a tablet, even some of the doubters iPad is used more than any of the rest. iPad is used over FOUR times more than all of those other tablets put together.' Experts had predicted that the iPad mini would be launched in a number of bright colours and would also feature a camera upgrade from 5MP to 8MP or even 12MP - to make it a market leader. Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 model is the only tablet from a major retailer to currently feature a high-quality, 8MP camera. Apple also revealed the latest version of its Mac OS X software, claiming it can give current laptops an extra hour of battery life, as well as boosting graphics performance. The software, called Mavericks, includes Apple’s controversial Maps app for the first time, and its iBooks electronic reading app.

Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering, said: 'The team has been hard at work on the latest release of OS X, and this one is a doozy'. In the West Coast, Cook also hit at out at Google and Microsoft, saying: 'Our competition is confused, they are trying to make tablets in PCs and PCs into tablets. We have a very clear direction and am ambitious goal. We still believe in the PC market.’ Speaking about the latest software launch, Federighi said: 'It's a fantastic release, extends your battery life has great features from across the system.' 'We're reinvented the way we distribute OS 10 now as easy as downloading an app. 'Today we're going to revolutionise pricing. Today we announce a new era for the Mac. Today we're announcing that Mavericks is free,' he said. The free upgrade is available for all Apple Mac users from today, he said.

Reviewed: MailOnline's Victoria Woollaston looks at the iPad Mini during the Apple media launch in London

Certain parts of Apple's official iPad store were taken offline in the build up to the event. The error message, pictured, said the firm was 'busy updating the Apple Store.' This usually precedes any major product launch

Apple's launch event comes just hours after Nokia entered the tablet market with its 10.1-inch Lumia 2520, pictured, and Microsoft started selling its new Surface devices

The free software, shown off by Federighi, can give users alerts about changes on their favourite websites, give directions directly from someone’s calender and send them directly to an iPhone.

The 13inch Macbook Pro has been made lighter and thinner, and given a new low power Intel Haswell chip to improve its graphics and battery life, which Apple claims is now 9 hours. The firm will sell the new machine from $1,299 in the U.S. and £1099 in the UK - roughly $200 cheaper than the previous version. The radical tubular Mac Pro, designed for high-end users is the most powerful machine that Apple has even made with an Intel Xeon E5 processor, which is capable of driving three next-generation ultra HD monitors. It also has a motion sensor to illuminate the machine’s ports when it is moved. Thinner, faster, cheaper and more powerful, it is available in December and will cost from $2,999 in the U.S. and £2,499 in the the UK. Apple's marketing manager Phil Schiller, said: 'The Mac Pro is no louder than a Mac Mini. We're really proud it's designed by an incredible team. There have been 2000 people spread across 20 states and it will be made in the U.S.' The all-American Macbook Pro is the first of Apple's machine to be assembled in the country and the firm said that 20 states will be involved in the process.

Apple has announced the latest version of OS X, 10.9 Mavericks, will be available as a free Mac App Store download today. Pictured is Apple senior vice president of Software Engineering Craig Federighi

Philip W. Schiller, the senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple, unveiled the new Macbook Pro. It will feature nine hours of battery life, Iris graphics and will be up to 90 per cent faster. The Macbook Pro will start at $1299 which is a $200 drop from the original price

Testing it out: Attendees look at the new iPad Air during an Apple announcement at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, California

In recent weeks, high-street retailers Tesco and Argos have both released tablet devices and just this morning Nokia announced its first tablet computer, the Lumia 2520. Nokia's device starts at $499 in the U.S. and £309 in the UK, has a 10.1-inch screen and runs Windows RT. It comes in red, blue, white and black and its screen has a pixel density of 218. The tablet contains a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor, 2GB Ram and a 800mAH battery. Microsoft announced its Surface 2 tablets last month and they officially went on sale today. Reports in July suggested Microsoft lost around $900m due to poor sales of its original Surface devices. Called the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2, the latest tablets run the latest Windows 8.1 operating system.

Before the event, leaked images, pictured, purported to show the rear of a rumoured iPad 5, left, and iPad mini 2, right

Experts predicted Apple would launch a new range of iPads after leaked images from technology site Tactus, allegedly showed the rear shell of the iPad 5, pictured, with coloured cases

The Surface Pro 2 has the same ClearType HD display as its predecessor. It is said to be 20 per cent faster, and Microsoft has added 75 per cent to its battery life. The Surface 2 runs Windows 8.1 RT version - a scaled-down version of the full operating system that has been designed specifically for mobile devices which Microsoft was forced to pull from it store earlier this week after reports claimed it caused tablets to freeze. Additionally, the Surface 2 comes with a 3.5MP front-facing camera, and a 5MP rear camera, while the Surface Pro has just a 1MP rear-facing and HD 720p front-facing camera. Surface 2 is available in 32GB and 64GB models and starts at £359, while the Surface Pro 2 comes in 64GB and 128GB versions and starts at £719.