Apple launches thinner and lighter Macs and iPads - but no blockbuster new products

No iWatch or Apple TV, but A7 64-bit microprocessor appears in more products, while the iPad Mini will take on the Google Nexus 7

Apple has launched a number of new desktop, laptop and tablet computers at its much-hyped launch event in Cupertino, California today.

The event, which started with a overview of the new OSX Mavericks operating system, culminated in the revelation that the company would give it away to Mac users running machines up to seven year's old - still running the Snow Leopard operating system.

With the incorporation of more integration with new apps and the Apple iCloud, the aim is arguably to bring the app ecosystem world closer to the desktop, enabling Apple to make money from sales of apps and media rather than retail sales of the operating system.

However, Mavericks had been unveiled earlier in the year and there was little new to say about it. Of greater interest were the launches of the new MacBook laptops and Mac Pro desktop computers - especially in view of the ageing hardware within Apple's current range.

The new MacBooks will feature the more energy-efficient new Intel Haswell generation of microprocessors and will be thinner and weigh less than Apple's current 13-inch and 15-inch MacBooks.

For workstations, the Xeon-based Mac Pros will be updated with the latest Xeon E5 microprocessors and will feature up to 1TB of all-flash storage. Prices, though, will start at $2,999, which will mean spending well north of £2,000 to buyers in the UK.

The highlight of the event, though, was reserved for the new iPads - also thinner and lighter than ever, with the Apple iPad Air weighing in at just 1lb, or 455 grams to those au fait with the new fangled metric system (established 1799), and the new iPad Mini.

Both of these devices will have the 64-bit ARM-based A7 microprocessor inside, as well as the M7 motion processor, and feature improved LTE/4G support in their respective mobile versions. The new iPad Mini will also now sport a "retina" display and FaceTime high-definition camera.

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Apple launches thinner and lighter Macs and iPads - but no blockbuster new products

No iWatch or Apple TV, but A7 64-bit microprocessor appears in more products, while the iPad Mini will take on the Google Nexus 7

Naturally, neither of them come cheap. Americans will be expected to pay $499 for the iPad Air, while buyers of the new iPad Mini will have to find $399. The old iPad Mini, meanwhile, which remains a popular device, will be cut in price from $399 in the US to $299.

In the UK, we would guestimate a cut in price from the current £269 to £229.

Analyst group Ovum was first off the mark with some canned comment. Jan Dawson, chief telecoms analyst at Ovum, said that the launch indicated that Apple is only interested in competing in the "premium segment" of the tablet computer market.

"As expected, Apple took some cues from the iPad Mini in launching the new iPad Air, which is thinner and lighter, while adopting many of the internal improvements first seen in the iPhone 5S. This represents a good enough boost to the previous version to trigger good upgrade sales and get iPad shipments growing again, which was a key objective for this launch," said Dawson.

She added: "However, the company also took a step back from the strategy it adopted when it launched the first iPad Mini. When that device launched, it was with a sub-par display and specs that matched the older iPad 2. The new iPad Mini and iPad Air both have top-of-the-line specs, and start at $399, meaning that the minimum price for a high-performance iPad has actually gone up.

"Meanwhile, the iPad 2 and iPad Mini will remain on sale at lower prices, but with significantly less appeal given the gap in specs between them and the new iPads. It seems as though Apple is trying to push average selling prices for iPads back up again after they dropped steadily over the past year.

The pricing model, though, left a "huge chunk" of the market for Google, Amazon and others to target with their keenly priced devices. As a result, Apple's share of the market will continue to fall, she said. Perhaps most interesting, though, was the pitching of the new OSX operating system, she added.

"Though the iPad news will generate the headlines, the changes to Apple's software licensing for Mac OS X, iLife and iWork is also important, not least for Microsoft. Microsoft generates 96 per cent of its operating margins from operating system and productivity software licensing, and Apple is now teaching people to expect both of those things to be free.

"While this won't disrupt Microsoft's business overnight, it will create further pressure on Microsoft to bring down prices for its productivity software and especially for Windows."

Although the launch was generally well-received, there were no blockbuster new products or revelations.

Pre-launch, rumours had included the incorporation of a Microsoft Surface-style "touch" keyboard, the possibility of a iWatch smartwatch to rival Samsung, and the expectation of a new Apple TV that would do much more than the current Apple TV set-top box.