iPad Air 2: Apple unveils the world's thinnest tablet

The new iPad Air 2 is the world's thinnest tablet, measuring a razor-thin 6.1mm - 18% thinner than the original iPad Air.

Unveiled by Apple boss Tim Cook, the Cupertino brand's new flagship tablet also sports a Touch ID fingerprint sensor, as first seen on the iPhone 5S and featured on the new iPhone 6 and iPhone Plus. This means that eventually you'll be able to pay for online shopping with one touch.

The new tablet sports Apple's brand new A8X chip, which it says is 40% faster than the previous model, while the maker promises a 10-hour battery life.

If you're keen on taking snaps with your tablet, Apple has you covered with a new rear-facing 8MP iSight camera which includes timelapse and burst mode for the first time on an iPad. The new front-facing FaceTime HD camera brings burst selfies to the iPad for the first time.

Apple also unveiled the iPad Mini 3 - an updated version of its smaller tablet, also with now with the Touch ID fingerprint sensor.

The iPad Air 2 starts at £399 for the 16GB model, while the 64GB version will set you back £479 and the 128GB model will cost £599. For the 4G models, you'll have to pay £499 (16GB), £579 (64GB) and £659 (128GB).

The smaller iPad Mini 3 will start at £319 for the 16GB model, with the most expensive 4G-enabled 128GB selling for £579.

Pre-orders start from tomorrow (17 October) which devices due to ship the following week.

Apple boss Tim Cook announced that a staggering 225 million iPads have now been sold around the world and there are now a 675,000 apps available for the iPad.

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Apple also announced that the OS X Yosemite update for iMac and MacBook, which has been in public beta testing since it was first showcased at the company's World Wode Developer Conference in June, is available from today. He confirmed that iOS 8.1, including Apple Pay, will be available from Monday.

The NFC-enabled Apple Pay system will begin to roll out in the US from Monday. So far Mastercard, Visa and American Express are all signed up, along with hundreds of national banks. There are also plenty of big US retailers on board including Macy's Nike and Whole Foods. There's no word on when Apple Pay will be available outside of the US.

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Tim Cook also had some news on the Apple Watch, which he announced would ship in early 2015, while a developer kit will be availble to app developers from November.

Apple also unveiled a new 27-inch iMac with the world's highest resolution display.