A new iPad mini has been predicted for a while, and most analysts expected it to arrive much later (I’m happy to say I was mostly right). Here are the complete details we know about the new iPad mini.
iPad mini with A17 Pro processor
iPad mini 2024 design changes
The 7th generation iPad mini looks exactly the same as its predecessor, except for the color. There are four of these: Blue, Purple, Starlight, and Space Grey. Purple and blue are different from previous similar colors, but space gray and starlight are consistent with the previous one.
iPad mini is compatible with the new Apple Pencil Pro, which was released earlier this year. This means all iPads except entry-level will work with this latest Pencil. This tablet also works with Apple Pencil with USB-C.
iPad mini that supports Apple Pencil Pro.
iPad mini 2024 new processor
The previous iPad mini used the A15 Bionic chip. It was fast, but didn’t support Apple Intelligence, so Apple upgraded the chip to the A17 Pro, which was first introduced in last year’s iPhone 15 Pro. Apple is touting this as a big upgrade in many ways, and support for Apple Intelligence is a big one.
It also means that the entry-level iPad is currently the only current product that is not Apple Intelligence compliant. I thought it might have needed a chip upgrade to do that, but with the iPad getting a huge price cut in May, I guess it’ll have to do something about it.
iPad mini 2024 storage
The new iPad mini comes with 128GB of storage in its most affordable configuration, which is twice as much as the previous model. Like the previous generation version, there is also a model with 256GB of storage, and for the first time there is also an iPad mini with 512GB of storage.
iPad mini 2024 Other differences
In reality, these are few and far between. The display remains 8.3 inches, and the specs are exactly the same as the last iPad mini. What will become clear once review units are released is whether the “jelly scrolling” issue previously found in some has been resolved. This may have been achieved through software changes.
By the way, this display has the highest pixel density of any iPad, at 326 pixels per inch compared to 264ppi on other tablets. And of course, it’s still arguably the most portable iPad around.
Pre-orders are now available and will be released on Wednesday, October 23rd starting at $499.
