Apple shows off iPad Air, iPad Mini with Retina display

The Cupertino, Calif., electronics giant says the bezel of its 9.7-inch device is 43 percent smaller, and it's also lighter.

Apple on Tuesday updated its popular iPad, making the device thinner and lighter and giving it a new name, the iPad Air.

The company also updated its iPad Mini, adding a Retina display and its A7 processor that boosts processing four-fold and graphics eight-fold.

The 9.7-inch device weighs only 1 pound versus 1.4 pounds for its predecessor. The iPad Air is 20 percent thinner at 7.5mm, and the bezel is 43 percent smaller. It also includes Apple's new 64-bit A7 processor, as well as its M7 motion processor and a Retina Display.

The iPad Air will start at $499 for the 16GB, Wi-Fi version, the same price as the earlier model. It will be available November 1.

Apple boosted the price of its iPad Mini to $399 from the original device's starting price of $329. However, it will sell the older version of the smaller tablet for $299. The new iPad Mini also will hit the market in November.

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