It was with surprisingly little fanfare that Apple announced last week the updated iPad mini, which brings the A17 Bionic chip and Apple Pencil Pro support to its smallest tablet. At first glance, this is a minor upgrade, with no visual changes aside from the addition of some new colors. but, many The processing is done internally, making it an attractive (and portable) option for creatives on the go.
Over the past few days, we’ve been getting used to the iPad mini. Read on for our first hands-on impressions of the tiny device. Not sure which iPad model is right for you? Check out our guide to the different generations of iPad.
iPad mini 7th generation: Design
(Image credit: Future)
If you’ve ever been around a 6th generation iPad mini, there’s not much to see here. Design-wise, the iPad mini 7 is the same as its predecessor except for the addition of two new shades: purple and blue (these are very subtle). It’s essentially a smaller iPad Air, with USB-C, quad speakers, and an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display. It’s the perfect size to throw in your tote, and at 293 grams, it’s the lightest iPad yet.
If there’s a big disappointment here, it’s the display. Apple may have quietly improved the infamous jelly scrolling problem, but you’re still seeing the same 60Hz display. It would have been great to see Apple’s ultra-smooth 120hz ProMotion technology come to the iPad mini. It may have been too much to ask for OLED, but a brighter, smoother display would have helped turn this into the ultimate “full” mini iPad experience that Apple touts as such. That said, it’s still an improvement over the basic 10th generation iPad, as the display is fully laminated and has an anti-reflective coating.
iPad mini 7th generation: specs
(Image credit: Future)
Externally it looks the same as before, but inside it’s a different story. One of the standout features of the 7th generation iPad mini is the powerful A17 Pro chip. This provides a 30% faster CPU and 2x faster Neural Engine. You’ll also feel performance improvements across your device, from your UI to your creative apps.
iPad mini with A17 makes it easy to edit photos across the Adobe Suite and create 3D models with ZBrush. In our initial tests, we couldn’t find any creative tasks that the iPad mini struggled with, such as exporting 4K video footage. Final Cut Pro iPad version.
The performance improvements are especially obvious when it comes to gaming as well. Hardware-accelerated ray tracing (4x faster than software-based ray tracing) means graphics-intensive AAA games like Zenless Zone Zero look great even on smaller displays.
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iPad mini 7th generation: Apple Pencil Pro compatible
(Image credit: Future)
Another major update to the iPad mini is support for the Apple Pencil Pro. This opens up a host of new writing and drawing tools, which may be worth the update alone for digital artists.
Barrel rolls are one of the most impressive new features. Thanks to modern gyroscopes, rotating the pencil barrel changes the orientation of shaped pen and brush tools, just like pen and paper. Pencil hover also allows users to preview the rotating brush direction in real time before touching the display. .
And then there’s the haptic engine. Just like with AirPods Pro 2, you can now hold your Apple Pencil to access tools and settings. A new sensor in the barrel allows users to display a tool palette to quickly switch between tools, line weight colors, and more. As with the best features for artists, this is basically a huge time saver. Users simply squeeze the screen instead of tapping it, making the creative process much less disruptive.
iPad Mini 7th generation: Should you buy it?
(Image credit: Future)
For iPad mini 6 owners, the decision to upgrade to 7th generation ultimately comes down to two things: the chip and Apple Pencil Pro support. The latter is an exciting development for digital artists, bringing the full iPad digital sketching experience to the mini, with features like barrel roll and haptic feedback available in a small form factor. Meanwhile, the chip unlocks Apple Intelligence capabilities to boost performance across everything from creative apps to games. But this is more of an evolution than a revolution, and if you’re happy with the performance of the iPad mini 6 and Apple Pencil 2, you might be happy to stick with what you have.
(Image credit: Future)
But if this is your first entry into the iPad mini product line, it’s a no-brainer. It’s refreshing to see an update to the iPad mini, as “mini” Apple products have become obsolete in recent years, especially the iPhone mini. It’s also future-proofed with a powerful new chip and support for the latest Apple Pencil.
