New iPad mini 7 gets A17 Pro, Apple Intelligence

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPad edited 9:39AM

The iPad mini 7 is here, equipped with the A17 Pro chip, Apple Pencil Pro support, and Apple Intelligence.

Hand holding a tablet with a colorful gradient design on the screen set against a plain white background.
The new iPad mini with A17 Pro



When Apple redesigned the iPad miniin 2021 with flat sides and no Home Button, it changed the tiny-device game. That diminutive tablet is back with a host of upgrades aiming to make the best iPad-as-a-tablet even better.

For its seventh iteration, Apple has gone with the A17 Pro. This was the chip Apple used in the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models last year, and is one generation behind the current-gen iPhone 16.

This gives the iPad mini a better CPU and GPU and a twice-as-fast Neural Engine, allowing it to support Apple Intelligence. The chip offers a 30% CPU performance boost over the previous generation.

The 5-core GPU is also better, providing a 25% performance improvement according to Apple. It also includes hardware-accelerated ray tracing, Dynamic Cachine support, and hardware-accelerated mesh shading.

This time, the 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display has been given support for the Apple Pencil Pro, adding its more advanced stylus features to the company's smallest tablet.

Storage is another big change, with the new model starting at 128GB with 256GB and 512GB upgrades available. Previously, the capacities were 64GB and 256GB.

The rest of the specifications are largely identical to the previous generation, including the 12MP rear and front cameras, landscape stereo speakers, Touch ID, and USB-C usage.

There are some other differences, including upgrades to Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and the removal of the Nano-SIM.

The new iPad mini will be shipping on October 23, priced at $499 for the 128GB model.







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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    charlesncharlesn Posts: 1,085member
    Thank you, Apple--I guess--for saving me money again with another mediocre upgrade. STILL with the dated looking fat bezels? A bump to the near useless 6E when Wifi 7 is already here and supported by Apple in other products? No landscape camera? 
    jbirdiikunwilliamlondon
  • Reply 2 of 11
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,534member
    I’m more interested in new Macs….
    williamlondon
  • Reply 3 of 11
    raymondairaymondai Posts: 62member
    looks like it will be the biggest flop of iPad mini series…
    williamlondon
  • Reply 4 of 11
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 13,072member
    charlesn said:
    Thank you, Apple--I guess--for saving me money again with another mediocre upgrade. STILL with the dated looking fat bezels? A bump to the near useless 6E when Wifi 7 is already here and supported by Apple in other products? No landscape camera? 
    What on earth are you talking about? It's got the same processor as the iPhone 15 Pro, is 25-30% faster, will run Apple Intelligence, support for Pencil Pro, and double the storage. Plus TouchID and USB-C. It's a solid mini tablet. So what if it's not running Wifi 7? 
    williamlondonronntht
  • Reply 5 of 11
    apple4thewinapple4thewin Posts: 241member
    Also saw listed anti reflective coating i guess that might be defaulted? I was hoping it was going to be A18 Pro so base iPad can get A18. So I guess if base iPad gets updated this year or by March it would be getting A16 so no gaming performance or AI. there is an off chance base iPad gets updated in March or May and they just match chips with the mini for the first time in a while.
  • Reply 6 of 11
    fred1fred1 Posts: 1,131member
    The Mini is by far my favorite Apple product. I upgraded to the 6 for all the improvements and mainly so I could use the Apple Pencil with it, but I don’t see a reason to upgrade again. 
    I guess this speaks to Apple’s high standards. (?). 
    williamlondon
  • Reply 7 of 11
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,507member
    StrangeDays said:
    charlesn said:
    Thank you, Apple--I guess--for saving me money again with another mediocre upgrade. STILL with the dated looking fat bezels? A bump to the near useless 6E when Wifi 7 is already here and supported by Apple in other products? No landscape camera? 
    What on earth are you talking about? It's got the same processor as the iPhone 15 Pro, is 25-30% faster, will run Apple Intelligence, support for Pencil Pro, and double the storage. Plus TouchID and USB-C. It's a solid mini tablet. So what if it's not running Wifi 7? 
    We don't know how long it will take for the A17 to become outdated in an iPad since the Air uses an M2. I for one was eagerly waiting for a new mini mainly because of SmartScript, but did not expect Apple to use an older gen iPhone processor, an M2 would've been ideal.
    I'll try it at an Apple store but will likely end up with a reMarkable Pro this year.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 8 of 11
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,388member
    charlesn said:
    Thank you, Apple--I guess--for saving me money again with another mediocre upgrade. STILL with the dated looking fat bezels? A bump to the near useless 6E when Wifi 7 is already here and supported by Apple in other products? No landscape camera? 

    So Wifi 6E is now suddenly "useless" cause 7 exists? What % of users will actually be able to tell the difference? 0.001%? Has almost zero bearing on vast majority of people, so your comment is utterly absurd in its extremism.  As for bezels, thinner ones can negatively affect the user experience considering the size of the screen and how you hold it. As for the camera, again, most people won't give a damn what orientation it's in. Love how you ignore the mountain of other actual meaningful improvements in order to proclaim its mediocrity and make your big statement. Sounds like you have zero reason to upgrade, if those are your nitpicks. 
    ronn
  • Reply 9 of 11
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,388member

    bloggerblog said:
    StrangeDays said:
    charlesn said:
    Thank you, Apple--I guess--for saving me money again with another mediocre upgrade. STILL with the dated looking fat bezels? A bump to the near useless 6E when Wifi 7 is already here and supported by Apple in other products? No landscape camera? 
    What on earth are you talking about? It's got the same processor as the iPhone 15 Pro, is 25-30% faster, will run Apple Intelligence, support for Pencil Pro, and double the storage. Plus TouchID and USB-C. It's a solid mini tablet. So what if it's not running Wifi 7? 
    We don't know how long it will take for the A17 to become outdated in an iPad since the Air uses an M2. I for one was eagerly waiting for a new mini mainly because of SmartScript, but did not expect Apple to use an older gen iPhone processor, an M2 would've been ideal.
    I'll try it at an Apple store but will likely end up with a reMarkable Pro this year.

    The iPad and remarkable pro are completely different products. The A17 Pro likely completely wipes the floor with whatever CPU the remarkable is using, and basing your decision on the CPU alone seems pretty insane considering the other massive differences between the 2 products and their functionality. 
    ronn
  • Reply 10 of 11
    raymondairaymondai Posts: 62member
    Please, make a iPad mini pro/air/slim/xyz..etc, with M-CPU, FaceID, higher speed port, Spatial Video, may be a Fancy Screen for marketing.
    Not a stylus compatible bigger iPhone…for the technology and component available by now, as Apple can squeeze most advance function into the iPhone Pro (Max), iPad mini must has more potential and real estate to step up to another level, a more portable “Computer” than M4 iPad Pro, and far beyond a iPhone Pro (Max).
    This New iPad mini with Apple Intelligence is a basic model for future proof, any user with the 5th gen. or before is good enough, but not for “New Customer”.

  • Reply 11 of 11
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,507member
    slurpy said:

    charlesn said:
    Thank you, Apple--I guess--for saving me money again with another mediocre upgrade. STILL with the dated looking fat bezels? A bump to the near useless 6E when Wifi 7 is already here and supported by Apple in other products? No landscape camera? 
    What on earth are you talking about? It's got the same processor as the iPhone 15 Pro, is 25-30% faster, will run Apple Intelligence, support for Pencil Pro, and double the storage. Plus TouchID and USB-C. It's a solid mini tablet. So what if it's not running Wifi 7? 
    We don't know how long it will take for the A17 to become outdated in an iPad since the Air uses an M2. I for one was eagerly waiting for a new mini mainly because of SmartScript, but did not expect Apple to use an older gen iPhone processor, an M2 would've been ideal.
    I'll try it at an Apple store but will likely end up with a reMarkable Pro this year.

    The iPad and remarkable pro are completely different products. The A17 Pro likely completely wipes the floor with whatever CPU the remarkable is using, and basing your decision on the CPU alone seems pretty insane considering the other massive differences between the 2 products and their functionality. 
    Obviously but speed is not my requirement, I don't play games or run process intensive tasks. I want a Mini but not one with a soon to be obsolete processor. Example, I have an iPhone 14 Pro I bought in 2022 and it's already not compatible with AI, just two years later. So for note taking I will go with reMarkable unless Apple decides to align the mini processor with Air, if they don't then I'll just stick with a reMarkable.
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