Apple Unveils iPad Air

It's here! On Tuesday afternoon, at 1 p.m. EST, Apple will kick off its iPad launch event in San Francisco, Cali. — and we're live-blogging it to you straight from Bustle. We already know that the refreshed iPad line will get faster, thinner, and sharper, and that the invitation’s tagline — “We still have a lot to cover” — implies that the iPads will come with a brand-new keyboard cover, turning your tablet into a tiny computer at a moment’s notice. Whispers have been flying that Apple will also unveil one or more of: OS X Maverick, a “smartwatch,” and/or a reconstructed Apple TV. Tim Cook and co tend to launch their big-deal products in the fall, meaning that we can expect pretty much anything from Tuesday's event.

2.23: "Other companies would be incredibly proud to have just one of these products."

Looks like that's the final word...

2.20: New covers are getting into the game, "because customers love to protect their iPads." Well. Customers have a deathly fear of breaking or scratching a tiny one-pound machine.

They're really getting into this "rainbow" thing, eh?

2:18: Aaand, there's an iPad Mini with Retina display. It also comes in four shades, and it'll start at $299.

2:17: They're playing a classic iPad video: white screen, developer explanation.

2:15:

And as one commentator has noted:

2:14: The iPad Air will start shipping Nov. 1. China is one of the first countries to get it; Apple's certainly not messing around with the heavy share of its market that is China-based.

2:13:

It comes in FOUR COLORS: silver, white, gray, and black. It's $499, and $629 with cellular technology.

2:11:

The above is a prankster. We highly doubt this is the case, but fingers crossed.

2.09: Good Lord. It's named the iPad Air. It's 43 percent thinner than the previous version. It also has a Retina screen.

It's 7.5mm thin. OK, that's pretty thin.

It's also very light: one pound heavy. That's the "lightest full-size tablet in the world," apparently.

2.07: "We've taken the biggest step yet in the vision that is iPad."

2.04: Not to get on its high horse or anything, but...

2.02:

"We now have over 475,000 iPad apps on the App Store. These have been customized for the iPad, not these stretched out smartphone apps that our competitors are doing.” Burn.

1.58: "We are turning the industry on its ear." Does he mean its head? "Next up: iPad!"

"Earlier this month, we sold our 170 millionth iPad."

1.57: "The biggest updates ever. And all free. I hope you can see why today is the biggest day ever for apps."

1.55: It's easier to share documents with people via iCloud in iWork. The developers are sending documents to one another on-screen.

1.53: MORE ORGANIZATIONAL FUN.

1.52: Apple throws around the phrase "rewritten from the ground up" a lot.

Also, spreadsheets have "gotten even better." Fun!

1.51: All of those updates are free, and available today.

1.50: "Drummer is powered by performances of some of the best drummers in the world." There's also Aiden and Gavin. (Where's, say, Amy?)

1.48: Garage Band has also been rebuilt, with the inclusion of a drummer track.

You also have your own drummer who plays at will, named "Kyle." Huh. OK.

1.46: There's a new feature called iMovie Theater. It's available across all of your devices, and organizes your homemade video.

1.44: iPhoto has been completely rebuilt, says Cue. You can now print your photos from any device. iMovie has also been redesigned — "cleaner, simpler, for iOS 7" — with the aim of making it simpler to shoot and share your videos, whether you're on an iPhone, an iPad, or your laptop or desktop computer.

1.42: After a cutesy little "how it was made" video, we're back with Schiller.

He hands the reins over to app-man extraordinaire Eddie Cue.

1.39: Apple used engineers across 20 states to build the Mac Pro, which may slightly justify the price tag. Slightly.

1.36: They've put the Mac Pro in the hands of videographers and music producers, who are saying:

"It cuts my editing time exponentially."

"It will change the way I make movies."

"It's blazing fast, and shockingly quiet. You have to not hear it to believe it."

It will cost $2999.

"You'll be super impressed with this pricing," Schiller maintains. Um. Sure.

1.35: "It's ten times faster than a hard drive, if we put one in." Hard drives are so 2008 for Apple.

It still looks a bit like a glossy car part.

1.34: "People have been blown away by this incredible new design." Again, Apple is not known for its modesty.

It's one-eighth the size of its previous model. Woah.

It has the fastest processor Apple has ever put in a Mac, says Schiller. It also has the fastest memory.

1.33: "And that's our news for MacBook today," concludes Phil Schiller.

And it's time for Mac Pro.

1.31: The 15-inch MacBook Pro is here, too. It has 8 hours of battery life, faster WiFi, Thunderbolt storage, you name it. Its old edition started at $2199; this one starts at $1999. It, too, starts shipping today.

1.30: The new 13-inch MacBook Pro is here. It has up to 9 hours of battery life, and you could, hypothetically, watch the "Dark Knight" trilogy without having to charge. It starts shipping today, and it's $200 cheaper than its old incarnation, at $1299. It has 4 GB of memory.

1.29: Of the MacBook Air, Apple is not modest:

"The greatest laptop ever made," appears on the screen. It's a review.

"Mine. Blown," reads another.

It's time for the MacBook Pro.

1.27: Maverick is available today. "Go out and get it."

1.26: "Free is good," he adds, after applause.

Yes. Yes, it is.

1.25: "For the last several years, we've been on a mission," Federighi says. "Upgrading your OS is as easy as downloading an app from the Mac App Store. Today, we announce a new era for the Mac. Today, we announce that Maverick is free."

Hear that? Free!

1.23: The Maps app is smoother, cleaner, and syncs to all your devices. It looks pretty awesome.

1.21: Federighi just showed his credit card number to the Internet. "You don't have my security code," he added, without ever breaking stride. Right.

1.20: Federighi demonstrates how you can message, say, your wife (HAIR FORCE TWO?) in Maverick without ever having to leave the application, or click through to a different screen.

Hair Force Two?

1.18: You can put all your content under different tags, meaning that all your "Mars content" — because who doesn't have Mars content, Federighi?! — can be in the same place.

1.16: Mavericks doesn't have a different interface, but it does make moving from notification to applications far smoother, and can handle more memory. Cook hands over it to the software developer, Craig Federighi, for a demo.

1.12: Finally: OS 10 Mavericks, the successor to Mountain Lion, is Cook's next talking point. "You can run more applications, and never slow down," he declares.

1.11: Cook's impression of his competitors. Ouch. Sorry, Microsoft.

1.10: Commentators on CNET are wondering where on earth these new products are.

1.09: Cook moves on to iTunes Radio, one of the most competitive features of iOS 7 and the successor to Pandora.

1.08: Now, Cook is lauding the success of iOS 7: 64% of compatible devices are running iOS 7, he claims. “It blows away the other guys.” Cough. Android. Cough.

1.05: Cook kicks off the talk by discussing the iPhone. "It was the biggest iPhone launch ever," he said, citing the oft-quoted statistic of 9 million iPhone sales during the first weekend.

12.51: To rev up for today's event, here's Bloomberg's take on why the iPad is Apple's most important product to date.

12.43: Apple is live-streaming today's event, which is unusual for the company. You can watch live video here.

12:32: People are filing into San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater, where Apple is holding today's event.