Apple has revealed a refreshed iPad mini, powered by A17 Pro to support Apple Intelligence. Yes, it has the same background wallpaper style in marketing as three years ago.
The A17 Pro chip brings up to 30% faster CPU performance and a 25% boost in GPU power compared to the previous generation from 2021, with the Neural Engine now twice as fast. Previously, the iPad mini was powered by the A15 Bionic.
The iPad mini still has the same 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display and design. This time around, the iPad mini now supports Apple Pencil Pro.
“There is no other device in the world like iPad mini, beloved for its combination of powerful performance and versatility in our most ultraportable design. iPad mini appeals to a wide range of users and has been built for Apple Intelligence, delivering intelligent new features that are powerful, personal, and private,” said Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, in a statement on Tuesday. “With the powerful A17 Pro chip, faster connectivity, and support for Apple Pencil Pro, the new iPad mini delivers the full iPad experience in our most portable design at an incredible value.”
On the camera front, the iPad mini comes with a 12MP wide back camera and 12MP Ultra Wide front camera that supports Center Stage during video calls (it keeps your face centred).
Also new is Wi-Fi 6E and 5G connectivity to go with its same USB-C port.
There are new colours this year with blue and purple joining starlight, and space gray.
Storage has also been upgraded, with the base model now offering 128GB, instead of 64GB, which is a big “finally”.
2024 iPad mini pricing in Canada is as follows…
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi and Cellular
There’s a mini price increase compared to the previous 2021 iPad mini refresh. Prices started at $649 for the 64GB, but the 256GB version did see a $20 price drop. As for the cellular version, entry prices are up $30, while the 256GB storage did drop by $20.
Click here to pre-order the new iPad mini on Apple.ca with a launch on October 23, 2024.
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At this absurd price point, just pay the extra $120 and get superior everything.
Only Apple can smoke this much and decide that selling a smaller tablet at such an ridiculous price point makes sense. I miss the days when the iPad mini was actually that. Now we have to pay for an iPad mini pro.
The iPad mini is ok. I used one for a few years. I liked the bigger screen over an iPhone and with all kinds of phone apps on the app store it worked great. I could take and make calls no problem. I had a phone number. Had access to 911. But now though, I think the iPad Air is better but everyone is different. iPhones suck. Hate them. For real. You can do so much more with an iPad mini or air over and iPhone.
Still no Face ID! No thanks, I'll stick with my 6th Gen.
The most interesting part is that it will only have eSIM everywhere it’s sold, instead of US only, does that mean iPhone 17 next year will only have eSIM everywhere as well
I was thinking the same. No more SIM trays for new iPhones?
I love the mini, but the same jelly-scrolling issue as the previous generation, too? And more expensive? No thanks.