Apple iPad Air

The iPad Air is the first major redesign of the full-sized iPad since the iPad 2.

Despite shrinking down the iPad Air, the 9.7-inch 2,048-by-1,536 Retina display remains the same.

The previous iPad weighed 1.4 pounds, but the iPad Air comes in at just 1 pound. Like its predecessor, it includes a Retina display.

The iPad Air is available in Space Gray or Silver (shown here).

The iPad Air and new iPad mini run the new A7 chip currently found in the iPhone 5s, which brings 64-bit architecture to Apple's tablet.

The iPad Air keeps the front-facing FaceTime HD camera found on the last generation iPad.

According to Apple's Phil Schiller, the new iPad Air (right) is 20 percent thinner than the previous iPad (left), from 9.4mm to 7.5mm. The bezel is also 43 percent thinner than the previous version.

Both new iPads get faster Wi-Fi via Multiple-In-Multiple-Out (MIMO) technology, and expanded LTE support.

One of the surprising omissions to the iPad Air is its lack of the Touch ID fingerprint reader introduced with the iPhone 5s.

Both new iPads now feature the same resolution display, though the mini's is smaller at 7.9 inches.

The iPad has come a long way since the first generation (pictured right) to the iPad Air (bottom, center).