Thinking of buying a new iPad for you and/or your children this Christmas? Apple took the wrappers off its new models tonight: the iPad Air and new iPad mini.

The iPad Air is a new, much thinner and lighter version of Apple’s full-size iPad, weighing in at a mere one pound, but keeping the existing model’s sharp screen. It also uses Apple’s new A7 processor, which is faster and more powerful for everything from games to children’s apps.

We had a brief go on one tonight, at Apple’s press event in London. The slimness and lighter weight is immediately noticeable, although it did make us want to slip the device straight into a chunky case before letting our children’s hands on it.

The iPad Air goes on sale on 1 November, costing £399, £479, £559 or £639 for the Wi-Fi-only 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB models, and £499, £579, £659 or £739 for the 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB-sized models with Wi-Fi and mobile broadband.

The new iPad mini’s main addition is a Retina display, so it’s as sharp as its bigger sibling. It will also have the A7 processor with all its power, with decent cameras on the front and back for video calls and photos.

It’ll go on sale “later in November” (no firm release date yet) for between £319 and £559 for the Wi-Fi models in 16GB to 128GB versions, and between £419 and £659 for the comparable Wi-Fi + mobile models.

Also worth noting: Apple will still be selling its full-sized iPad 2 for £329 or £429 for the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + mobile models respectively – both come with 16GB of memory – while the original iPad mini will still be on sale, but at a lower price of £249 or £349 for similar configurations. We suspect these models will appeal to plenty of parents.