A new iPad mini has been predicted for some time, but most analysts were predicting it would come later (happy to say I got it more or less right). Here are full details of we know about what the new iPad mini.
iPad mini with A17 Pro processor
iPad mini 2024 Design Changes
The seventh-generation iPad mini looks identical to the last model—except for the colors. There are four of these and they are blue, purple, starlight and space gray. The purple and blue are different from previous similar colors, though the space gray and starlight match the last ones.
The iPad mini is compatible with the new Apple Pencil Pro which launched earlier in the year. This means every iPad apart from the entry-level works with this latest Pencil. This tablet also works with Apple Pencil with USB-C.
iPad mini with support for Apple Pencil Pro.
iPad mini 2024 New Processor
The previous iPad mini used the A15 Bionic chip. That was fast, but it isn’t capable of Apple Intelligence, so Apple has upgraded the chip here to the A17 Pro, first seen in the iPhone 15 Pro last year. Apple is selling this as a big upgrade in lots of ways, but support for Apple Intelligence is a big one.
It also means that right now, in the current range only the entry-level iPad is not Apple Intelligence-compliant. I thought there might have been a chip upgrade to make it so, but I guess we’ll have to make do with the significant price cut the iPad got back in May.
iPad mini 2024 Storage
The new iPad mini has 128GB storage in its most affordable configuration, which is twice what the last model had. There’s also a model with 256GB storage, like the previous-gen version and, for the first time, an iPad mini with 512GB storage, too.
iPad mini 2024 Other Differences
Actually, these are few and far between. The display remains at 8.3 inches, and the specifications exactly match the last iPad mini. What will become clear when review units are out is whether the “jelly scrolling” issue some found before has been banished, which may have been achieved through software changes.
That display, by the way, has the highest pixel density of any iPad, 326 pixels per inch against the 264ppi of the other tablets. And, of course, it remains the hands-down most portable iPad.
Pre-orders are now open and it goes on sale for $499 and up on Wednesday, Oct. 23.