Apple Unveils New iPads And Launches Apple Pay

Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) has launched two new iPads - featuring Touch ID fingerprint sensors and a camera 'burst mode'.

The iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 were unveiled by Apple hours after their details were apparently leaked by mistake on the technology giant's website.

But many online commentators speculated that the leak was deliberate, and designed to overshadow the launch of Google (Xetra: A0B7FY - news) 's new operating system called Lollipop.

The new features are relatively minor, however.

Touch ID has been a feature of new iPhones for more than a year, while burst mode - letting a user take multiple shots within a split second of each other on the Air model - is not a huge breakthrough.

The iPad Mini will also get an iSight camera - the front-facing camera used for selfies and FaceTime calls.

But Ernest Doku, from uSwitch.com, was underwhelmed, saying: "One problem Apple faces is that, without a finite network contract to concentrate their minds, tablet owners need more persuading to upgrade than phone users.

"Launching new tablets every year with minor improvements won't do it. Only giant leaps forward will provide the wow factor needed to drive new sales in an increasingly saturated market."

Extra features complement the boosted processor power and better camera optics which come with each new iDevice iteration.

The iPad Air range is Apple's main tablet and starts at $499 (£312) - while the iPad Mini has a reduced size and costs $399 (£249).

Pre-orders for the two new devices will begin on Friday.

The company also announced that its mobile payment service, Apple Pay, will begin rolling out on Monday - but only in the US.

Another 500 banks have apparently signed up to support a feature that competes with PayPal and other online systems.

Meanwhile, Apple confirmed that its desktop computer, the Mac, is also receiving an update to mark its 30th birthday.

The new iMac will have a Retina 5K display - which at 14.7 million pixels makes it the company's version of HD.

"This is the strongest product line-up we've ever had," said CEO Tim Cook.