The A17 Pro upgrade that Apple introduced to the iPad mini 7 gives the compact slate some impressive gaming capabilities, despite the fact that the chipset features one GPU core less than the part running in the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. In a short gameplay footage showcasing Resident Evil 4 Remake, the compact slate can run the AAA title at more than 50FPS, with the game often touching 60FPS in some areas. Unfortunately, as you would have guessed, achieving this framerate comes at the cost of image quality, with the iPad mini 7 also having to resort to some upscaling to increase performance.
Notable downgraded image quality can be seen on the iPad mini 7 when running Resident Evil 4 Remake, as the game is running upscaled at 840p
Before we begin, it is important to note that Resident Evil 4 Remake was developed on Capcom’s proprietary RE Engine, which is one of the most optimized platforms out there to deliver incredible gameplay fluidity and visual improvements, even when running on low-power machines. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the game performs as well as it does on the iPad mini 7, with YouTuber Dame Tech showing Capcom’s latest survival-horror entry to be running at the 1,280 x 840 resolution, with Apple’s MetalFX upscaling method set to quality.
It is understandable why Resident Evil 4 Remake was forced to run at a lower resolution, as some users may prioritize the fluid gameplay and sacrifice some image quality. Additionally, on a small 8.3-inch display like the iPad mini 7, you may not find some notable differences since the pixels are closely packed, but one specific area in which we did notice extreme image degradation was Leon Kennedy’s hair. These visual imperfections can be spotted when enabling upscalers such as AMD’s FSR, so it is likely the result of MetalFX upscaling to 840p that is causing pixelation.
Apart from the hair being a distraction, we are confident that anyone wanting something highly portable and able to run AAA games would have no trouble compromising a little when using the iPad mini 7. Of course, with the tablet currently listed for $484 on Amazon for the Wi-Fi-only model and 128GB storage, potential buyers will be banking on the fact that more games like this will make their way to iPadOS and in a playable state.
News Source: Dame Tech
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