Tim Cook hails arrival of 'unbelievably gorgeous' new iPads

Apple unveils new iPad Air 2 and iPad Air mini 3 last night

Apple last night unveiled the latest iPad models in the form of the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3.

Apple's chief executive Tim Cook spoke at the company's Town Hall Auditorium in California and commented on the slimness of the new iPad, saying it was thinner than a pencil.

"It's unbelievably gorgeous, and look how thin it is. Can you even see it?" Cook asked.

The iPad Air 2 features a specially created A8X chip to deliver 40 per cent faster performance, an 8MP iSight camera and 1.12 micron pixels, with battery life now lasting up to 10 hours. It also features Touch ID sensors built into the home button.

The iPad Air 2 is priced at $629 (£391) for the 16GB model, $116.71 more expensive than the previous model ($514.10 for 16GB).

Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing, unveiled the iPad mini 3, which has a 7.9in Retina display, a 5MP iSight camera and Touch ID technology.

The iPad mini 3 is priced at $399, $499 and $599 for 16GB, 64GB and 128GB respectively.

In March Cook announced Microsoft's Office products would be available on iPad in response to a groundswell of demand from customers.

News of the launch comes after figures suggested tablet growth has slowed to 11 per cent in 2014.