Tonight in San Francisco, Apple talked about its latest laptops (Lighter! Thinner! Faster! Cheaper!) and the all-new iPad air. It was a complete refresh of much of its product line.
One eye-catching development was that the Mac OSX software is now completely free for anyone who's bought an Apple computer since 2007. Other software - iMovie, Garageband and the productivity suite iWork which is a rival to Microsoft's Office - were also updated and will now be free with a new Apple Mac. This is a remarkable change, and means that Apple's operating software, like Google's, is now free. But beyond that, all eyes were on the iPad.
The first iPad was released three and a half years ago but the fifth generation model will be crucial to Apple. Rivals like Samsung, Google and Amazon have been eating into Apple's market share. Budget tablets abound, from Tesco, Argos and elsewhere. The iPad is still a big seller (170 million sold and counting) but to attract new users, the company needs to innovate.
Apple CEO Tim Cook and colleagues revealed the new models - full-size and mini - to an audience at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and to journalists in simultaneous broadcasts elsewhere, including London. At first he made jokes about rival companies not knowing where they were heading, which sounded defensive. But he quickly found his stride as the products and updates were announced.
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