Apple is depending on its new tablets to get the company's product out of a two consecutive quarters of declining sales, but their latest offering may not be the one to get it done.

Now that the iPad Air 2 and Mini 3 are unveiled and on their way to the shelves for holiday shopping, the verdicts on Apple's newest tablets are piling up. Edward Baig wrote for USA Today that Apple will have a "difficult time persuading folks to upgrade" to the new devices.

"Don't get me wrong. The Twiggy-thin iPad Air 2 that is the focus of this review is a stupendous tablet, the best out there, though the competition is more heated than ever," he wrote. "A strong case can be made for, among others, Samsung's striking Galaxy Tab S, Microsoft's Surface Pro 3, and perhaps the upcoming HTC Google Nexus 9 that will run the new Android Lollipop software. (I haven't reviewed it yet.)"

While Apple basically invented the tablet market when Steve Jobs unveiled the company's first tablet, other companies have made the market quite crowded. Baig called the iPad "the gold standard against which all other tablets are measured," but that does not mean the latest and greatest are worth spending all that money on.

Not when Amazon is selling its Kindle Fire HDX for less than half what the third iPad Mini costs. However, Engadget's Brad Molen agreed with Baig and said Apple is the team to beat in the tablet market.

"The iPad Air 2 is Apple's most powerful tablet yet, and is incredibly thin and light. It's a solid upgrade over last year's Air, and should definitely be one of your top tablet considerations," he wrote. "The iPad mini 3 is just as good as its predecessor, but its lack of feature upgrades doesn't justify its price and places it behind the Air 2 in specs. Unless you love Apple's fingerprint sensor and Apple Pay, you may want to opt for last year's model instead."

Reviewing just the iPad Mini 3, Mashable's Lance Ulanoff said the device is "easily" his favorite mid-size tablet, but there is no arguing with the value a customer gets by opting for his second-favorite, the HDX.

"I just wish Apple had acknowledged that its new iPad Mini 3 is really still last year's model and lowered the base price of the entire Mini line," he wrote. "Apple has a great product here, but I don't think it's fair to charge a premium price for what clearly isn't your premium tablet."