Apple announces iPad Air�thinner, lighter and morepowerful than ever

Apple unveiled a thinner, lighter version of its popular tablet called the iPad Air and a high-resolution version of the iPad Mini at a Tuesday event in San Francisco. (Apple)

The new Apple iPad Mini with Retina Display. (Apple)

Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, introduces the new iPadAir on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP)

Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook speaks on https://www.facebook.com/bernoonsub stage about the new iPadduring an Apple event in San Francisco, California October 22, 2013. (Reuters)

This new tech heavyweight is lighter than air.Â

Apple unveiled a thinner, lighter version of its popular tablet called the iPad Air along with a slew ofnew Macs and new software at a Tuesday event in San Francisco -- just in time for the holidayshopping season.

The company also said that its latest computer operating system, Mavericks, is available free ofcharge.

The Cupertino, Calif. company said the iPad Air weighs 1 pound, compared with 1.4 pounds for theprevious version. Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller called the tablet a "screaming fast iPad" that'seight times faster than the original, which came out in 2010.

The iPad Air will go on sale Nov. 1 and start at $499, while the iPad 2 will continue selling at astarting price of $399. BUt Apple CEO Tim Cook first took the stage to announce major updates tothe company's line of computers.

"We've had one focus since the beginning: to build the best personal computers in the world."

- Apple à ¸Â�à ¸´à ¸¡à ¹Â�à ¸Â�à ¸Âà ¸£à ¹Â�à ¸¡à ¸Â�à ¸Â�à ¸¥ CEO TimCook

"We have an amazing line up of desktops andnotebooks," Cook said. "And we've had onefocus since the beginning: to buildhttps://www.facebook.com/bernoonsub thebest personal computers in the world."

Unlike the competition, which Cook called"confused," Apple has a very clear directionand a very ambitious goal, he said. "We stillbelieve deeply in this category and we're notslowing down on our innovation. We've beenreally hard at work on the Mac."

The comment was likely a reference to Microsoft, which began selling a new version of the Surface

tablet computer on Tuesday as well. That product is essentially a 10.6-inch tablet, but an innovative,snap-on cover with integrated keyboard lets it convert into a slick laptop.

On that front, Apple had news of its own: A new, 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display that'sthinner and lighter than earlier models, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller said. The laptop has upto 9 hours of battery life, he added, enough to "watch the entire trilogy of 'The Black Knight' on onecharge."Â

The notebook's new price is lower, too: $1,299, compared with $1,499 for the previous version. Alarger MacBook Pro, with a 15-inch monitor and 256 gigabytes of storage starts at $1,999, comparedwith $2,199 for the previous version. And the Mac Pro, a high-end desktop computer aimed at powerusers, will be available in December for $2,999.

Apple said nearly two-thirds of its mobile devices are running iOS7, the revised operating system itreleased in September. Twenty million people have listened to iTunes Radio about a month after itsrelease, he said.

The company sold 14.6 million iPads in the June quarter, down 14 percent from the same time lastyear. The iPad's market share has been eroding compared with cheaper products from rivalsrunning Google's Android operating system. Ovum analyst Jan Dawson, chief telecoms analyst, saidthe company clearly had no plans to undercut those rivals.

"This is the clearest statement Apple could have made that it is only interested in competing in thepremium tablet space. The yawning gap between the specs of the cheaper iPad Mini and iPad 2 andthe new iPads signifies that it is only willing to compete at the lower price points with older models."

The iPad's marketshare will continue to shrink as a result, Dawson said.Â

"This reinforces our view that Apple's share in tablets will continue to fall as Android's share risesover the coming years."

Research firm Gartner estimates that Android tablets will end 2013 with a 50 percent share of theworldwide market versus 49 percent for the iPad. Just two years ago, the iPad commanded a 65percent market share compared to 30 percent for Android tablets.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said Apple has sold 170 million iPads since the tablets launched three yearsago.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.