Apple unveiled its fifth-generation iPad, called the iPad Air, and Sprint announced that it will offer the Wi-Fi + Cellular version of the slate starting on Friday, Nov. 1.

Moreover, Sprint has also announced that it will be offering the new iPad Mini with Retina display as well. The second-generation iPad Mini will join the carrier's lineup sometime in November, but no exact launch date is available at this point. Apple itself mentioned only "November" as the launch timeframe for its Retina iPad Mini.

The fifth-generation, meanwhile, comes as the thinnest and lightest iPad yet, hence the renaming to iPad Air instead of the iPad 5, as it was widely referred to before the big unveiling.

"iPad Air combines with Sprint's powerful 4G LTE network and our aggressively priced rate plans to bring customers an outstanding tablet experience," touted Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. "Sprint currently provides 4G LTE in 185 markets and we expect to extend that to more than 200 million people by the end of the year. With tablet plans starting at just $5 per month, our customers will appreciate the exciting features available on this new device beginning on November 1."

"iPad created an entirely new mobile computing experience, and the new iPad Air is another big leap ahead. It is so thin, light and powerful, once you hold one in your hand you will understand what a tremendous advancement it is," said Philip Schiller, Apple SVP of Worldwide Marketing. "iPad Air with its 9.7-inch Retina display weighs just one pound and packs the incredible performance of iOS 7 running on a 64-bit desktop-class Apple A7 chip, and delivers all-day battery life in the lightest full-sized tablet in the world."

The newly-unveiled iPad Air sports a 9.7-inch high-resolution Retina display wih a 2048 x 1536 resolution and a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch (ppi). The tablet also packs Apple's 64-bit A7 processor with M7 motion coprocessor, a 5-megapixel iSight camera with 1080p video recording capabilities, iOS 7 and a claimed battery life of nearly 10 hours.

The Wi-Fi + Cellular version of the iPad Air, i.e. the one Sprint will be offering, starts at $629 for the 16GB model and goes up to $929 for the 128GB version. There are also 32GB and 64GB models in between. Come next week, Sprint customers will be able to get the brand new iPad Air on the carrier's network.