$500 iPad Air revealed

"Thinner, lighter, and more powerful" iPad Air features 9.7-inch Retina display"; new $400 iPad Mini with Retina display also announced; both launching November 1.

Today during a news event in San Francisco, Apple unveiled the its fifth-generation iPad, the iPad Air, described as "thinner, lighter, and more powerful" than any Apple tablet before it.

The iPad Air features a 9.7-inch Retina display and is 7.5mm thick. The iPad Air weighs 1lb, down from 1.4 lbs from the previous model. This makes the iPad Air the lightest full-size tablet in the world, Apple said.

The iPad Air is powered by Apple's A7 chip, which also runs the iPhone 5s. It features a 5mp camera, as well as dual microphones and Siri. It does not feature the thumbprint scanner featured on the new iPhones.

The 16GB iPad Air will ship on November 1 for $500 in silver and white color configurations. A cellular model will be available for $629.

Also during the event, Apple announced an all-new iPad Mini, dubbed the iPad Mini with Retina Display. It will feature a 2,048x1,536 Retina Display and the new A7 chip. The tablet will be available also on November 1, starting at $400 for a 16GB model.

The iPad 2 will remain on the market for $400, the same price as a new iPad Mini.

Apple also announced today that lifetime iPad sales have reached 170 million. The company added that its tablet marketshare is 81 percent.