There was one thing people were expecting at Apple’s press event Tuesday - the highly anticipated iPad mini and not surprisingly, Apple delivered on that front. However, that was not the only blockbuster announcement Apple had in mind. At the press event, which was streamed online and on Apple TV, what we didn’t expect was Tim Cook announcing the 4th generation of iPads. The last generation of their premier tablet came out earlier this year and they are already going ahead with a 4th generation just months later. This new iPad has retina display, A6X chip that doubles the performance of previous models, a battery life up to ten hours, FaceTime HD, videos that can be recorded up to 1080p, and a 5-megapixel iSight camera. In addition, the Wi-Fi has improved dramatically and will have LTE support. It will also use the new Lightning connectors that were introduced when the iPhone 5 came out last month. The starting cost for these new iPads are at $499 for 16GB with Wi-Fi.  Then there’s the 32GB for $599 and the 64GB for $699. With cellular, the prices start at $629 for the 16GB, $729 for the 32GB, and $829 for the 64GB. Pre-orders will start this Friday and the 4th gen iPad will be out on November 2.

The iPad mini was the not-so-shocking announcement of Apple’s conference and as expected, it is a smaller version of the iPad. The 7.9 inch display is 23% thinner and 53% lighter than the regular iPad. It also an A5 chip with 10 hours of battery life. Other than that, it has most of the features of the 4th generation iPad I mentioned except the retina display, which is a big deal to the point it can make people wait for a future model next year. The pricing structure of $329 for an iPad mini with Wi-Fi and 16GB makes it the cheapest of all the iPad models. The comparisons here have more information on what the mini has compared to the other models.

Before the iPad-related announcements, Apple also announced new iMacs for release this holiday season. One of the big new features with these is Fusion Drive, which is a combination of a large hard drive and flash storage. There is a 21.5 inch version out next month and then 27-inch model out sometime in December. Another MacBook Pro is also coming out this holiday season with a retina display for those that prefer Apple’s laptops.

It was definitely a big day for Apple with numerous announcements of new products. The 4th gen iPad was the most surprising news while the mini wasn’t as much since it has been rumored for months. The lack of retina display for the iPad mini as mentioned earlier can be the dealbreaker for those that want to get it now, but it is still a good tablet at that size to get next month. There is definitely something for everyone when it comes to Apple products and it looks like its gonna be a busy couple of months for Apple stores worldwide. Are you satisfied with Apple’s new iMac and iPad announcements? Let us know in the comments below.