Apple Unveils New iPad Mini With A17 Pro Chip and Apple Intelligence

[headlessmike]

First time the mini does not get the latest generation chip?

Yeah. What surprises me the most though is that Apple is keeping the A17 around. I would have thought that they would migrate away from the more costly N3B node as soon as possible.

This update should bring Apple Intelligence to the mini too unless they crippled it somehow. The product page doesn't mention it though. Edit: I see that the press release does say it's supported.

 

[Mistletoe66]

So basically utilizing existing unwanted A17 pro chips for iPad mini 7. Genius and good for the environment. So basically we’re buying e-waste

 

[ItsASpider]

Sad to see the iPad mini revert back to last generation chips instead of using the latest as the 6 did.

 

[spaxxedout]

Pretty much solidifies that October event invites will go out next week for 10/28 or 10/29 event date, with new Macs out that Friday (11/1).

Solid release. Agree that 120hz would have been nice, but not as egregious as APM refresh shipping with H1.

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

Let me know if they fixed the "jelly scroll".

No but it is 30% jellier

 

[deckard666]

No 120 Hz is instant pass for

Apple will release at least 10 more iterations before they offer 120hz on the mini.

Lucky for them literally 99.99999% of people really don’t care or even notice ….

 

[Bungobungo]

The pencil pro doesn’t “introduce” pressure sensitivity, the last mini already had it with the pencil 2.

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

Ah yes, the Wi-Fi 6 that is faster than 7.....
View attachment 2437639

Actually, Apple is correct. Although its specification is essentially complete, Wi-Fi 7 isn't fully ratified yet, and isn't expected to be until likely the end of this year, or early next year.

(Edit: before anyone mentions that Wi-Fi 7 devices are already available - which I am well aware of - device makers can (and do) release products that are based on unfinished, but very close to being finished, standards.)

 

[Macalway]

I'll take the upgrade. So it's it not earth shattering. It is what is is though, so.....

The best news is it's available for pre-order today, and pickup in a week.

 

[Zorn]

Solid release. Agree that 120hz would have been nice, but not as egregious as APM refresh shipping with H1.

ProMotion has always been a "Pro only" feature, so unless or until the regular lineup receives it, I wouldn't think the Mini would get it either.

 

[boak]

Yeah. What surprises me the most though is that Apple is keeping the A17 around. I would have thought that they would have migrated away from the more costly N3B node as as soon as possible.

Maybe it's a production capacity constraint, as Apple has to shift a large volume of products to A18/M4?

 

[Gengar]

Well, I'll be buying a cellular model. Sucks that there's no silver option. Guess I'll go for the blue one.

EDIT: Order placed.

 

[boak]

Wonder what are the clock frequencies for those cores

 

[ignatius345]

I like the Mini form factor, but I really don't need the high-end features. I wish there was a scaled down basic iPad that wasn't so expensive.

 

[SactoGuy18]

I think Apple would have went with the A18 SoC but the ready availability of the A17 Pro SoC was the reason why the new iPad mini went with the older SoC.

 

[greenbreadmmm]

I would have lost a hefty bet that Apple would keep A17 around in this fashion.

Figured they would have left that node in the past with how quickly they moved to A18/M4

 

[Lepton]

Wanted an upgrade for so long… I gave up and got a spiffy 11” a few months ago. I’m getting it, of course.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I just got the M4 11” iPad Pro and was considering upgrading my mini 6 for the bedroom but, glad I got the M4. For $300 extra, I got a nicer upgraded iPad. I don’t see a reason to upgrade my mini 6.

 

[Orange Bat]

That price….

They need a cheap mini that costs less than the $350 the current low-end iPad goes for. A $199 mini would sell well, but even $250 would be a good price.

 

[ralph_sws]

Gruman! eat this! 😂😂😂

 

[ps3zocker]

Was this a thing before? The current iPad Pro got the new flash for better scans without shadows. Does the iPhone even do the same?

"...uses machine learning to detect and scan documents right in the Camera app"

 

[pksv]

2) using last year’s “first gen 3nm” is also mildly surpassing. Was thinking Apple doesn’t want to use that stop-gap chip anymore.

It is quite surprising but I think this is Apple's way of using up the remaining stock of A17 SOCs they produced for the iPhone 15.

 

[headlessmike]

Maybe it's a production capacity constraint, as Apple has to shift a large volume of products to A18/M4?

Probably. Either that or they had more A17Pro's than they needed for iPhones.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

I wonder if this A17 Pro is different than the previous A17 Pro. iPad mini got a slightly slower version of the A15, so it wouldn't surprise me if this new model had a binned chip.

 

[alphaswift]

Jelly-scrolling got fixed?