Apple has announced its fifth-generation iPad, previously known as the iPad 5 but now called the iPad Air, and it boasts an even faster processor than ever before.

The bezel is now 43 per cent thinner and the iPad Air is now 7.5mm thick instead of 9.4mm thick. And the A7 chip from the iPhone 5S is on board, which promises that apps will open up twice as fast on the previous generation. In comparison to the original iPad, it is 72 times faster.

It comes in silver and white and space grey like two of the iPhone 5S models, is priced from $499 and will ship in many countries, including the UK and US from 1 November. UK prices start at £399 for the 16GB Wi-Fi only model and rise to £739 for the 128GB Wi-FI and Cellular model.

As for tech specs, you're looking at a 9.7-inch LED-backlit Multi-Touch display with IPS technology. To maintain the Retina standards, that display has a 2048x1536 resolution at 264 pixels per inch.

Other specs for the iPad Air include A7 chip with 64-bit architecture and M7 motion coprocessor, support for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0, 1.2MP front-facing FaceTime HD camera, 5MP rear-facing iSight camera and 1080p video-recording capability. The iPad Air will of course also ship with iOS 7, the latest major release of Apple's mobile operating system.

There's also a built-in 32.4-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery, which supplies up to 10 hours of surfing on the web, and the usual inputs and outputs like microphone, speakers, Lightning connector, etc.

The iPad 2 will remain in Apple's line-up, but the new iPad Air will replace the iPad 4.

Apple also announced the iPad mini 2 with Retina display at the 22 October announcement event.