"As someone who bought [the iPad 3] just days after its launch, I'm a little disappointed," Gottheil said.

Among other announcements today, Apple launched a refreshed 13-in. MacBook Pro with a Retina screen that starts at $1,699 and tops out at $1,999. Like its , which appeared last June, the new notebook ditches the optical drive and packs an SSD (sold-state drive) for storage. The 13-in MacBook Pro ships today.

The company also rolled out a revamped Mac Mini that starts at the older price of $599, with a server-configured model beginning at $999.

Finally, Apple introduced new iMac desktops that are thinner, 80% thinner at the edges, in 21.5-in. and 27-in. models. The all-in-ones come sans an optical drive, the first time the line has dumped them.

Schiller highlighted what he called the "Fusion Drive," which combines 128GB of flash storage with a standard platter-based hard drive. OS X and its bundled applications are stored on the flash drive for better performance, but other often-used applications are automatically shifted by OS X Mountain Lion to the faster flash drive.