The New iPad Mini Will Please Newbies, Irk Super Fans and Confuse Analysts

Most people who follow Apple closely expected the tech giant to release an update to the iPad Mini sometime this year. But that wasn’t exactly a bold take.

The previous generation launched in September 2021, meaning it stayed as is for a whopping 1127 days, which is by far the longest the tablet has gone between updates since its launch in 2013, according to Mac Rumors‘ handy Apple release cycle tracker. It had also essentially been permanently marked down on major retail sites like Amazon, indicating that lingering stock needed to go.

Now, Apple has finally unveiled the seventh generation of the iPad Mini model via a press release. It’s a refined version of the tiny tablet that’ll please most general consumers, even if it ignores the biggest gripes of fanboys and potentially muddles Apple’s future product roadmap.

The iPad Mini 7 Gains Several Nice Touches

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The overall design of the iPad Mini 7 is virtually identical to that of the previous Mini 6 generation, outside of the introduction of a few new colors and the addition of the word “mini” next to the iPad label that appears etched into the back of the device.

As such, the cynical take on the iPad Mini 7 is that it’s mostly a spec bump. However, a few seemingly minor changes will make the iPad Mini 7 a better tablet for daily use than the previous generation, especially over the long run.

The iPad Mini 7’s baseline storage has doubled to 128GB, which is a meaningful change. 128GB of storage wasn’t even an option for the previous generation. If users wanted more than 64GB, they had to pay an extra $150 for a 256GB option.

The Wi-Fi chip has also been updated to support Wi-Fi 6E, which can provide faster wireless speeds when paired with more modern routers that support the standard. The USB-C port is now twice as fast too for quicker file transfer at up to 10Gbps.

Other improvements include a new True Tone flash for the rear camera and support for Smart HDR 4 processing. The seven also gains support for Apple’s most advanced stylus, the Apple Pencil Pro, which boasts a variety of new gesture-based controls, improved haptics, and enhanced pressure sensitivity.

But Support for Apple Intelligence Is the Biggest Win for the Mini’s Longevity

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The most significant change Apple will tout is the update to the A17 Pro processor.

As usual, a newer chip means the iPad Mini 7 is generally faster and better equipped to handle more intense graphical loads than the iPad Mini 6. But the upgrade to this particular chip also means the iPad Mini 7 will join a newly formed class of Apple Hardware devices capable of supporting Apple Intelligence.

That’s the blanket label Apple has given to all of its AI-powered software enhancements slated to roll out over the next 18 months, although no firm timeline for specific features has been revealed by Apple.

These AI features are supposed to make Apple devices more capable and intuitive than ever. However, support for Apple Intelligence is also quickly becoming a clear line of demarcation between current and legacy Apple devices. And while Apple has an outstanding track record of delivering software updates to aging devices, no one knows how this track record might change as Apple works to introduce and support increasingly powerful AI capabilities.

As such, buyers can at least take comfort that Apple’s future software ambitions shouldn’t leave the iPad Mini 7 behind prematurely.

The Chip Choice Will Inspire Speculation Though

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While the average user won’t blink an eye at Apple’s choice of the A17 Pro processor in the Mini 7, the move will inspire plenty of articles and podcast chatter among those who closely track Apple’s Silicon design and future product roadmap.

That’s because the A17 Pro chip is a design and manufacturing oddity compared to the latest A18 line of processors found in the iPhone 16 lineup.

Specifically, the A17 Pro was the first chip made by Apple’s chip manufacturing partner TSMC to use a 3nm process. While revolutionary, this process turned out to be impractical for long-term manufacturing, and TSMC has since pivoted away from it in favor of a more efficient process.

Given this context, many expected Apple to eliminate employing this chip in devices as quickly as possible to streamline the company’s chip supply chain.

The fact that it’s now in the latest iPad Mini, though, seems to contradict this assumption, at least on the surface.

However, as Apple expert Jason Snell at Six Colors calls out, it could also imply that Apple’s just sitting on a backlog of chips that must go somewhere until supplies run out.

If that is true, the 8th generation iPad Mini might be released sooner than the 3+ years Apple has typically waited, depending on the size of Apple’s hypothetical legacy chip stockpile.

Display Nerds Might Also Still Have Beef With It

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Despite the bevy of enhancements coming to the iPad Mini 7, some segments of the Apple fan base will also grumble that Apple hasn’t addressed the biggest shortcoming of the iPad 6—at least until official reviews of the device prove their suspicions are misplaced.

That’s because the biggest controversy—if you can even call it that—about the previous iPad Mini revolved around the so-called “jelly scroll.” This term describes an effect common to LCD screens due to their construction, where one side of a screen can appear to refresh/move slightly slower than the other side when scrolling.

Many eagle-eyed users, including prominent tech reviewers at the time like The Verge’s Dieter Bohn, commented that the effect was very noticeable on the iPad Mini 6—to the point of being off-putting—while using it in portrait mode, or at least much more so than on other Apple devices. However, plenty of other iPad Mini 6 users never really noticed the effect, or at least encountered it so infrequently that it wasn’t worth getting worked up over.

Apple also went on record to share that it didn’t see it as a problem, stating that the effect was “normal behavior for LCD screens” in a statement to Arc Technica in 2021.

The famous gadget tear-down experts at iFixit added intrigue to the observation by noting that the critical internal components driving the iPad Mini 6’s screen were oriented vertically instead of horizontally as in other iPad models, which potentially explained why the effect was more noticeable.

Since then, rumors have circulated that Apple would improve the issue in new versions by rotating the orientation of the iPad Mini’s display components.

Whether Apple fixed the main issue with the iPad Mini 7 will remain a mystery until reviews of the device are conducted. But rest assured, it’s a matter that certain corners of the internet will be intensely focused on.

What About Pricing and Availability?

The iPad Mini 7 is now available for pre-order at the same starting price point of $499 as the iPad Mini 6. Units will ship starting October 23, 2024.

The lack of a price drop will irk some, given the nature of the Mini 7’s updates, but it’s also technically a price drop if you consider that the previous version offered less storage.

Versions with 256 and 512GB of storage and options with a cellular data connection are also available.

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Apple iPad Mini (7th Generation)

Apple’s seventh-generation iPad Mini is a refined update that, while not revolutionary, brings several noteworthy enhancements. Under the hood, the iPad Mini 7 now boasts the A17 Pro processor, delivering a 30% boost in CPU performance and a 25% increase in GPU capabilities over its predecessor. Additionally, Apple has doubled the base storage to 128GB, addressing previous concerns about limited space. The new model also supports the advanced Apple Pencil Pro, enhancing productivity for note-takers and creatives alike.

• $399 at Amazon
  $499 (20% off)
• $499 at Apple

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