Apple yesterday introduced its latest gadgets, including new iPads and a new iMac, and announced the launch date for Apple Pay during a media event at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California.

“It’s been tremendously busy already, but we have a few more things to show you to close out the year,” chief executive Tim Cook teased at the beginning of the event.

Apple Pay, the company’s new mobile payments system will debut on Monday. Apple has signed up 500 banks and many more retailers to support Apple Pay, Cook said.

The system uses a near-field communication (NFC) chip that lets users pay with their smartphones instead of credit cards. A feature called TouchID, which lets users pay for items and apps using a single touch on the fingerprint sensor, also works with Apple Pay.

The company also released its latest desktop operating system, OS X Yosemite, yesterday as a free upgrade. The operating system has added features like better search and notification functions and an improved Safari browser, Apple said. Yosemite allows users to make and receive iPhone calls or texts from their Mac.

Apple’s new iPad Mini 3 and iPad Air 2 now include the Touch ID fingerprint sensor which was only available in last year's iPhone 5S and in the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. It allows users to unlock their devices and purchase items in iTunes with the touch of a finger.

The devices look similar to the previous models and feature upgraded cameras. Both come in new colours: gold, silver and space grey.

Cook aired a video emphasising the thinness of the new iPad Air 2, which is 6.1 millimetres, or about 18 per cent thinner than the current model.

The gadget is the “world’s thinnest tablet”, according to Apple’s senior vice-president of worldwide marketing.

It comes with a new and faster A8X processor, while the iPad Mini is still powered with the A7 chip.

The iPad Mini 3 starts at US$399 while the iPad Air 2 has a starting price of US$499.

Apple’s latest desktop computer is the iMac with a 68.6 centimetre, high-resolution display, which has seven times more pixels on the Retina and HD television, the company said. The update also includes a faster processor. The price of the new iMac is US$2,499.

The company updated the Mac Mini, which has a faster fourth-generation Intel Core processor and faster wireless connectivity than the previous model. It has a starting price of US$499.

Cook said the new iPhones, which were launched in September, were the fastest-selling in Apple's history, adding it is the “strongest lineup of products Apple has ever had”.

- dpa