The new $799 iPad Mini is ready for Apple Intelligence
Apple has refreshed the iPad Mini with an A17 Pro chip and support for Apple Pencil Pro.
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I have a huge soft spot for the iPad Mini. I remember testing the first generation back in 2012, and found it a great size for gaming.
But I feel like Apple hasn't really kept the Mini as up to date as its other iPad models over the years. While the core iPad model and the iPad Air seem to get frequent updates, the Mini typically languishes behind.
Maybe that will change with the upcoming arrival of Apple Intelligence. Apple has just given the iPad Mini a fresh update, with the introduction of the A17 Pro chip inside to get the tablet ready for Cupertino's brand of AI.
The new version of the Mini supports Wi-Fi 6E for faster connectivity, plus introduces support for the Apple Pencil Pro.
It has a 12MP camera on the back, which isn't going to compete with the camera array on something like the iPhone 15 Plus, but should be good enough for scanning documents. It does support Smart HDR 4, so your photos will look okay in awkward lighting though.
Because of the A17 Pro chip, you also get the gaming benefits that brings, including hardware-accelerated ray tracing and dynamic caching.
Pricing and availability
The new iPad Mini is available to pre-order now, with delivery from 23 October.
It comes in four colours: Space Grey, Blue, Purple and Starlight, though it's more the muted colour design of previous iPhone generations rather than the bold colours found on the iPhone 16.
Like all iPads, you can pick up the tablet in either Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi and Cellular, with a choice of 128GB, 256GB or 512GB capacities.
Pricing looks like this:
| Connectivity | Capacity | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi | 128GB | $799 |
| Wi-Fi | 256GB | $979 |
| Wi-Fi | 512GB | $1,329 |
| Wi-Fi + Cellular | 128GB | $1,049 |
| Wi-Fi + Cellular | 256GB | $1,229 |
| Wi-Fi + Cellular | 512GB | $1,579 |
