Apple has unveiled the 2013 update to the iPad mini, adding a Retina display to the mix and beefing up the processor for good measure.

Announced during the company's October press event, the iPad mini 2 has the same screen size as the former model, 7.9-inches, but the resolution has been greatly improved. Text and images should look much more sharply defined on the new edition and Apple has addressed the only real issue critics had with the original.

The new iPad mini with Retina display will come with a 2048 x 1536 resolution at 326 ppi, which is the same as the iPad Air. The processor will be the same: the A7 which makes it 4x faster in processor tasks, and 8x faster for graphics tasks. It also gets the same LTE support and MIMO wireless support as the iPad.

It will come in silver/white and space grey/black. As for tech specs, you're looking at a LED-backlit Multi-Touch display with IPS technology, 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.

There's also a built-in 23.8-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. Sensors include three-axis gyro, accelerometer and Ambient light.

The iPad mini 2 will cost $399 in the US up to $529 with Wi-FI. It will be available "later in November". Apple didn't give a specific date for the new mini tablet. The same vague release date applies to the UK too, with prices starting at £319 for the 16GB Wi-Fi-only model, all the way up to £659 for a 128GB 4G version.

The original iPad mini stays in the line-up but will be dropped in price to $299 in the US, £249 in the UK.

The iPad mini 2 will of course also ship with iOS 7, the latest major release of Apple's mobile operating system. As with the iPhone 5S, there will be new cases from Apple as well.