Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces the new Apple iPad Air 2 during an event at Apple headquarters on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014 in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)CUPERTINO, Calif. - Apple unveiled a thinner iPad Thursday with a faster processor and a better camera as it tries to drive excitement for tablets amid slowing demand. The company also released an update to its Mac operating system and introduced a high-resolution iMac model that might appeal to heavy watchers of television over the Internet.
The new iPad Air 2, at a quarter of an inch "thin," also adds many of the features previously available on iPhones. That includes the ability to take burst shots and slow-motion video, and unlock the device with a fingerprint ID sensor instead of a passcode.
Meanwhile, Apple made its new Mac operating system, Yosemite, available as a free download starting Thursday. The new 27-inch iMac - which Apple is dubbing the "Retina 5K" model - went on sale Thursday as well.
The company also said Apple Pay, its new system for using iPhones to make credit and debit card payments at retail stores, will launch on Monday.
Much of the emphasis at Thursday's product-launch event centered on how Apple's devices work well together because the company makes both its hardware and software.
"They're designed to be incredible products individually but they're also designed to work together seamlessly," CEO Tim Cook said. "This is our vision of personal technology, and we are just getting started."