iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 3 Release Date Arrives, Specs and Price Review: Apple Launches New iPads But Fails to Draw 'Wows'

Apple Inc. launched its latest line-up of "faster, slimmer" iPads -- the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3 -- on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014, at its Cupertino, California, headquarters but failed to draw "wows" from analysts and others who attended the event.

Chief Executive Tim Cook boasted that Apple's new line-up is the company's best ever. But the analysts appeared unconvinced, saying that the new iPads sport only modest upgrades, including the new fingerprint sensor.

Some analysts say the iPads have only few features to attract consumers ahead of the holiday shopping season.

"I've got to be honest and say, the only impressive thing was the 5K retina display on the iMac," said Gartner analyst Van Baker, who attended the show.

Marketing chief Phil Schiller pointed out that the larger iPad Air 2 is the world's slimmest tablet and has anti-reflective screen. He also noted the inclusion of the "Touch ID" sensor. However, this is not really new since the latest iPhones already have this feature.

The iPad Air 2 is priced at $499 and up, with shipping beginning next week. The smaller iPad Mini 3 is about $100 cheaper.

To the disappointment of prospective buyers, Apple did not unveil its larger, 12-inch-plus iPad, the subject of industry speculation. "It is disappointing, particularly to enterprise buyers, that there wasn't a 12.9 inch iPad model," said Forrester Research analyst J.P. Gownder.

Apple earlier leaked the names and details of the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3 on Wednesday night. Both iPads will have Apple's Touch ID fingerprint sensor, which sits under the home button. This allows users to use a fingerprint to unlock the tablets and authorize purchases with an Apple ID in the App Store and iTunes.

The tablets come with larger storage capacities, and have a new burst-mode camera feature.

The iPad Mini 3 has an 8MP iSight camera.

Display-wise, there was little change. Apple stuck with the same 7.9-inch display with a 2048x1536 resolution that the iPad Mini 2 is based on.