Apple tuesday unveiled thinner iPad Air and faster Mac computers and offered free upgrades for life on its operating system and business software, ahead of a competitive holiday shopping season.This iPad is thinner than the previous launch, it is 7.5mm (0.3in) thick and weighs 1lb (469g), which the firm claims is the lightest full-sized tablet on the market.It is powered by the same A7 chip found in the company's iPhone 5S.

This launch has come at the time when some analysts have said that Google's android is about to overtake Apple's iOS as the bestselling tablet platform.This device has Its 7.9in (20cm) screen and has been upgraded to feature 2048 by 1536 pixels - the same as the larger model. It is being branded as "retina" to highlight the increased resolution.

The debut of the one-pound iPad Air and MacBook Pro with sharper 'retina' display repeats a pattern of recent launches with improvements in existing lines rather than totally new products, and Apple shares fell 0.3 per cent for the day.