Apple has updated its tablet range by announcing the new iPad Air, a thinner and lighter device with a much faster processor.

The first significant redesign of the 9.7in Apple tablet since its launch in 2010, the iPad Air mimics the exterior design of the iPad mini, which was launched in 2012.

It is being 20% thinner, with with a slimmer bezel around the high-resolution screen, and a 64-bit processor with M7 co-processor.

Starting at £399 ($499) and available from 1 November in silver with white and grey with black, the iPad Air runs a 64-bit Apple A7 processor from the iPhone 5S.

The relative benefits of 64-bit processors are unknown on the mobile platform at this stage, but the iPad Air is 8x faster than the first generation iPad, with web browsing and app loading twice as fast as the iPad 4 it is replacing, while still maintaining 10 hours of battery life.

Tim Cook told an Apple launch event that the iPad has sold 170m units to date, while the App Store offers 475,000 iPad apps.