Apple has announced its fifth-generation iPad called the iPad Air. It may also be commonly known as the iPad 5 and here are the details on the release date, specs and new features. Updated on 22/10/13. See also: New Apple iPad Air review: hands on with Apple's thinner, faster iPad.

See Apple event live: iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 launch.

iPad Air 5th generation: Release date

Now Apple's announcement has finished, we can reveal that the iPad Air will be available online and in Apple stores on 1 November starting with a price of £399 as usual. You can't pre-order the device as yet but we'll let you know if and when this is an option.

iPad Air 5th generation: Specs

Here are the full specifications for the iPad Air:

Colours: Silver/white or Space grey/black.

OS: iOS 7.

Dimensions: 169.5 x 240 x 7.5 mm, 469 g.

Storage: 16, 32, 64, 126 GB.

Screen: 9.7 in Retina display (2048 x 1536, 264 ppi).

Processor: A7 64-bit chip and M7 motion coprocessor.

Cameras: 5 Mp iSight rear camera, FaceTime HD front camera.

Connectivity: Wi?Fi (802.11a/b/g/n); dual channel (2.4GHz and 5GHz) and MIMO, Bluetooth 4.0, optional cellular data.

Battery life: 10 hours.

iPad Air 5th generation: New features

Many of the new features of the iPad Air are found in the design as well as the specifications. The tablet is 28 percent lighter, 20 percent thinner and has 43 percent smaller bezels. All this makes it much easier to handle compared to previous generations.

We thought a new feature would be the Touch ID fingerprint scanner found on the iPhone 5S but this isn't the case. However, the iPad Air does have the same A7 processor which makes it twice as fast as the iPad 4 for processing and graphics.

Connectivity has improved with up to two times faster Wi-Fi, according to Apple. That's thanks to two antennas instead of one and MIMO technology. 4G LTE support has also been improved for better roaming capabilities.

In terms of software, iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, Pages, Numbers and Keynote are now available for free. That can only be a good thing.

New colours aren't exactly a new feauture but are worth noting. The iPad Air is available in sliver/white or space grey/black.