Apple Just Announced the New IPad Mini
It’s been three years since Apple updated the iPad mini, although you might not realize it based on aesthetics alone. The sixth-generation Mini essentially looks like any other modern iPad, albeit much smaller. But fans of this form factor are tired of paying full price for a tablet with outdated hardware and have been waiting for some time for Apple to update this new product.
Today is the day, guys. After many rumors, including the possibility of a full October event, Apple has quietly announced the latest seventh-generation iPad mini. This is the update many of us have been waiting for, but ironically, it could make the iPad mini 6 a better buy than ever.
A17 Pro chip
Anyone concerned about aging hardware can relax with the iPad mini 7: while this tablet doesn’t feature an M-series chip like the iPad Pro or iPad Air, it does come with the A17 Pro chip, the same chip found in the iPad Pro or iPad Air. iPhone 15 pro. Apple has a newer A-series chip, the A18, which is used in the iPhone 16 series. However, the A17 Pro is quite powerful for a mini tablet and is only one year old, so Apple will likely support it for many years to come.
However, Apple claims that the A17 Pro processor is 30% faster than the A15 Bionic iPad mini 6, and the graphics are 25% faster. Biggest for 2024, the A17 Pro features a Neural Engine that’s twice as fast as the iPad mini 6. The new Neural Engine means iPad mini 7 can be powered by Apple Intelligence , including new AI features such as notification summary , writing tools based on artificial intelligence and updated Siri. The initial Apple Intelligence features will be included in iPadOS 18.1 , but future features such as Apple’s AI generator, ChatGPT integration, and additional AI-powered Siri features will only appear in future versions of iPadOS .
Apple Pencil Pro
The new Mini also supports Apple’s latest Apple Pencil: Apple Pencil Pro . This pencil features a sensor that allows you to squeeze the stylus to access the new palette tool on iPad. When you squeeze it, the new haptic mechanism creates a slight vibration, so it feels like you’ve clicked something in a pencil. I’m a fan of haptic feedback because it provides a tactile experience for devices without dedicated buttons.
Apple Pencil Pro also supports tilt, which previous Apple styluses lacked, and offers Find My capabilities, so you can use the Find My app to find your pencil if it goes missing (as thin cylinders tend to do).
Communication Updates
The new iPad mini 7 also supports Wi-Fi 6E, which Apple says is two times faster than Wi-Fi 6 on the iPad mini 6. It also supports Bluetooth 5.3, which should provide better and more reliable wireless connections. devices.
If you’ve ever used a wired connection with your iPad, the Mini 7’s USB-C port will also be twice as fast as the Mini 6’s as this USB-C port supports data transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps. Just make sure you buy the right USB-C cable .
New colors
This time, Apple is replacing two iPad mini 6 colors with new options. While Space Gray and Starlight are still here, the pink and purple have been replaced by blue and a lighter purple.
New base storage size
Apple’s iPad mini 6 launched with a measly 64GB of internal storage. If you don’t store all your data in the cloud, it will be too few GB for 2024, let alone 2021. With the mini 7, Apple is rectifying that and offering 128GB of storage on the base model for the same starting price of $499. .
We don’t know if they fixed the jelly scrolling.
The 64GB of internal storage has always been a joke for this tablet, but by far the biggest drawback of the iPad mini 6 was the ” jelly-like scrolling “. One half of this tablet’s display refreshes faster than the other, resulting in a slight wobble effect when scrolling in portrait orientation. It’s not the most obvious thing in the world, but it’s noticeable, and if things like that bother you, you’ll never unsee it.
It’s unclear whether this issue has been resolved in the iPad mini 7 since the device was only announced today. It appears to use the exact same display with a refresh rate of just 60Hz, so it’s possible that this iPad will also have scrolling issues. However, we won’t know until testers get their hands on it.
That’s it guys
Other than the above changes, that’s really all that’s new here. The A17 processor is where you’ll really notice the biggest difference, unless you frequently download huge files over Wi-Fi, transfer data over USB-C, or want to use the Apple Pencil “Pro.”
Everything else about these iPads is pretty much the same: they’re both identical in form factor and weight, so you’ll never be able to tell the difference between the Space Gray mini 6 and the Space Gray mini 7 in the lineup. The cameras are the same on both models, although the Mini 7 uses some AI features to improve the experience. They both use Touch ID and have the same dual speakers. In fact, the Mini 6 offers a physical SIM card slot in addition to the eSIM, while the Mini 7 only offers an eSIM.
Objectively, the iPad mini 7 is the best mini tablet Apple has to offer. However, for most tasks at the moment both tablets are quite capable. If you don’t care about AI features and can make do with 64GB of storage, you can save $120 right now by purchasing the iPad mini 6 from Amazon . If you have $500 to spare but would rather have more memory than an upgraded processor, you can get the iPad mini 6 with 256GB of storage .
When will the iPad mini 7 be released?
If you prefer the latest and greatest, the seventh generation iPad mini will be released on Wednesday, October 23rd. However, you can pre-order the tablet now from Apple’s website .
You can buy the iPad mini 7 for $499 (128GB), $599 (256GB), and 512GB ($799). If you want a cellular model that allows you to connect your iPad to a paid cellular plan, add an additional $150 to each price.