Apple introduced a slimmer, faster iPad Air 2 on Thursday, adding modest improvements like fingerprint sensor to its mainstay tablet in time for what should be an exciting holiday season for mobile devices.

Pre-orders for the larger iPad Air 2 start Friday, priced at $499 and up, with shipping expected to begin next week. Gently

The smaller iPad mini 3 will be about $100 cheaper, according to marketing chief Phil Schiller.

Schiller, calling the larger tablet the world's slimmest, described a number of new features at Apple's event, like an anti-reflective screen, while also confirming the inclusion of the "Touch ID" sensor,

Touch ID is already available on the latest iPhones.

Apple may have a hard time, however, getting the same passion for tablets as it has in past years, among consumers faced with an abundance of hand-held, touch-screen devices.

Tablet sales are set to rise just 11 percent in 2014, according to according to tech research firm Gartner, compared to 55 percent last year.

Smartphone sales continue to soar however and personal computers are "waning" according to Reuters.

Tablet sales for Apple, which defined the category with the iPad in 2010, have dropped for two consecutive quarters.

A prolonged downturn in iPad sales could threaten around 15 percent of the company's revenue.

The iPads will compete against new tablets from Google and Amazon.com within the next couple of months.

Apple also announced a new iMac with a "retina" or high-end display and that it will launch its new electronic payments service on Oct. 20, after the iPhone maker signed up another 500 banks to support a feature,

The feature will compete with eBay Inc's PayPal and other online systems.

Chief Executive Tim Cook said developers were starting to design apps for its Watch device as well during the event.

Apple introduced the Watch, its first new device since the iPad in 2010, last month.

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