Apple unveils iPad Air, new Macs for holidays

Philip W. Schiller, the Senior Vice President of worldwide marketing at Apple Inc speaks on stage during an Apple event in San Francisco, California October 22, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

Tim Bajarin, a Creative Strategies analyst who's followed Apple for more than three decades, said the 64-bit chip in the new iPads makes them the most powerful tablets on the market. Keeping the iPad 2 on store shelves also makes sense, according to the analyst.

"That's the one that's a big hit in Asia and emerging markets," Bajarin said. "It's still got a lot of traction."

Apple also refreshed its computer lineup. A new, 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is thinner and lighter, Schiller said, adding that the laptop has up to 9 hours of battery life, enough to watch the entire trilogy of 'The Dark Knight' on one charge. The notebook's new price is lower: $1,299, compared with $1,499 for the previous version.

A larger MacBook Pro, with a 15-inch monitor and 256 gigabytes of storage starts at $1,999, compared with $2,199 for the previous version.

The Mac Pro, a high-end desktop computer aimed at what Apple calls "power users," will be available in December for $2,999.

The company also said that its latest computer operating system, Mavericks, is available free of charge.

"Between the iPad and iPhones, I think they'll have a monster holiday season," Bajarin said.

Apple also gave updated statistics related some of its other products. The company said that nearly two-thirds of its mobile devices are running iOS7, the revised operating system it released in September. Twenty million people have listened to iTunes Radio about a month after its release.

Shares of Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple slid $2.64 to $518.79 in afternoon trading following the event.