Three years after the last update to this device, Apple today is launching its seventh generation iPad Mini. The device starts at $499 and is not a major rethinking of Apple’s smallest tablet. However, it does provide badly needed updates to some key aspects of the device, while frustratingly skipping a few others.
What’s the Same on the New iPad Mini?
As far as design goes, you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between this new 2024 iPad Mini and the 2021 version. The new device retains the 8.3-inch LCD of the previous model. If you’re an owner of that previous model, you may be curious as to whether Apple was able to resolve the “jelly scrolling” issue that plagued that iPad. As Jason Snell of Six Colors explains, the “jelly scrolling” effect that many users complained about in the previous generation is an effect “where scrolling content in portrait orientation could lead to a visual artifact where one side of the screen updated before the other side,” leading to a wobbly look as you scrolled. Snell and other reviewers, say that from their use of the device the issue appears to be fixed in this new model. Though, David Pierce of The Verge disagrees.
The device also retains the dimensions and external hardware features of the previous Mini as well. The rear camera is the same 12MP camera present on the previous generation and the volume and Touch ID/sleep/Siri button are all in the same position as they were previously. That means there’s still no FaceID unfortunately, as Apple continues to make that an iPad Pro exclusive.
Another interesting choice on this new iPad Mini is that while Apple has updated the base model iPad, the iPad Air, and the iPad Pro models with front facing cameras located on the landscape or long edge of the display, the new iPad Mini’s front facing camera remains on the short or portrait edge of the device. Maybe that’s because Apple feels most people still actually use this device in portrait orientation, or maybe it’s because they just didn’t want to. Something to be aware of either way.
What’s Different on the New iPad Mini?
The first major difference with the new iPad Mini is that Apple has swapped out the A15 Bionic chip at the heart of the 2021 model for the A17 Pro. The A17 Pro is the chip that powered the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max released last year. That means that the new iPad Mini supports the new Apple Intelligence features.
The A17 Pro has a 6-core CPU with two performance cores and four efficiency cores, delivering a 30% boost to CPU performance over the previous Mini. The A17 Pro also features a 5-core GPU delivering a 25% jump in performance over the previous Mini.
Faster connections!
Apple has also updated the iPad Mini with Wi-Fi 6E for faster connectivity. Plus, the new device also supports the new Apple Pencil Pro. Another nice upgrade comes to the iPad Mini’s USB-C port. The 2021 model only supported USB 3.1 Gen 1 data transfer. The new iPad Mini supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 data transfer of up to 10GBps, just like the Pro model iPhones.
That means getting data on and off your iPad Mini will be easier than ever, especially with a drive like OWC’s Envoy, Envoy Pro Elektron, and Envoy Pro Mini. Each of these drives make a perfect portable pal for quickly accessing the data you need, when you need it—and all without taking up precious space on your iPad Mini!
Another welcome change is a boost to storage capacity in the base model of the iPad Mini. The previous generation’s base storage was 64GB. With the new iPad Mini, Apple has boosted base storage to 128GB with 256GB and 512GB options available as well.
Pricing and availability
The seventh-gen iPad Mini is available today, October 23, and starts at $499 for the 128GB Wi-Fi model. The iPad Mini is available in Space Gray, Blue, Purple, and Starlight.
