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

[pksv]

No but it is 30% jellier

Jellier and jollier!®

 

[Lepton]

I’m still thinking they minimize the mini because either they have a phone that opens up to about this size, or an iPad that folds down to about this size. They’re saving the form factor.

 

[revfife]

Such a meh update.

 

[mikebenton]

Let the complaints begin.

No FaceID

 

[secretanchitman]

Am I the only one that caught the line in their release that basically says iOS 18.1 is only going to be available for iPads that run A17 Pro or M1+? If that's the case it seems they are cutting off quite a few iPad models with 18.1, previously it was just the Apple Intelligence features themselves which required M1 or later:

"The first set of Apple Intelligence features will be available in U.S. English this month through a free software update with iPadOS 18.1, and available for iPad with A17 Pro or M1 and later."

The rest of the iPads can vary in RAM with 3GB, 4GB, 6GB, etc. A17 Pro/M1 or higher guarantees 8GB of RAM (or 16GB if you got a 1TB in the recent iPad Pros) which Apple Intelligence needs.

Surprised the Mini didn't get an M1 or M2, but this is probably due to size/heat dissipation and to not cannibalize the Air and Pro!

 

[vertsix]

A17 Pro is a housefire and it is unfortunate that it's featured on the new iPad mini. Also the price is high. And 60 Hz.

 

[deaglecat]

Guess there is also no update to the base iPad then...

FWIW, this iPad Mini update seems a bit "meh"

 

[Cheesehead Dave]

Am I the only one that caught the line in their release that basically says iOS 18.1 is only going to be available for iPads that run A17 Pro or M1+? If that's the case it seems they are cutting off quite a few iPad models with 18.1, previously it was just the Apple Intelligence features themselves which required M1 or later:

"The first set of Apple Intelligence features will be available in U.S. English this month through a free software update with iPadOS 18.1, and available for iPad with A17 Pro or M1 and later."

iPadOS 18.1 runs on the previous mini, but you don't get the Apple Intelligence features.

 

[pksv]

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.

Just buy previous gen.

 

[thadoggfather]

Very mid update IMO

+ still $499 (hooray?)
+ 128GB base
+ maybe a jelly scroll fix
- Colors bleak
- no 120hz or OLED delight (expected)
- A17 Pro .. why not A18?

Mini 6 is still an excellent buy at the right price. I guess Mini 8 will be the one that wows

 

[WB2Colorado]

Am I the only one that caught the line in their release that basically says iOS 18.1 is only going to be available for iPads that run A17 Pro or M1+? If that's the case it seems they are cutting off quite a few iPad models with 18.1, previously it was just the Apple Intelligence features themselves which required M1 or later:

"The first set of Apple Intelligence features will be available in U.S. English this month through a free software update with iPadOS 18.1, and available for iPad with A17 Pro or M1 and later."

They’re talking specifically about Apple Intelligence. 18.1 will be available for all devices that support iOS 18.

 

[vertsix]

Let the complaints begin.

It's OK to praise and criticize the good and bad aspects of products released by our beloved company.

 

[Sherry Livingston]

10% more expensive than my mini 6 was. And no real improvements. Hard pass.

 

[Saturn1217]

Wow. I was not expecting that this morning. I’m a little surprised they’re going to continue using the A17 Pro. Kind of a mistake in my opinion not to use the A18 (in some form) which benefits from increased efficiency. It will kind of suck if we have heating issues on this iPad (since we’ll be stuck with this for a while). But maybe this means we’ll get the faster usb-c? Cause that would be nice.

Everything else seems about what I expected. 128gb on the base model is nice.

I’ll be waiting for reviews. I expect this to see some kind of discounts for Black Friday so that’s when I’ll be buying.

 

[TheAppleGuySL]

The A17 Pro? Strange choice, I thought Apple was unwilling to use any chips made from TSMC's N3B Process for longer than they needed to.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Surprised the Mini didn't get an M1 or M2, but this is probably due to size/heat dissipation and to not cannibalize the Air and Pro!

I'm surprised they're keeping the Mini name around at all though. If it were me, I'd have made it a size option for the Air. iPad Air Small, Medium or Large

 

[Wiesenlooser]

No better display? The current ipad mini display is quite grim.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

I'm waiting for the budget iPad, come on Apple !

 

[Tyler O'Bannon]

I wonder if this means no event? Still. My mini 6 is just fine.

Maybe a release every day this week? They did that a couple years ago. Fingers crossed 🤞🏻

 

[boak]

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.

It has 5 GPU-cores. iPhone A17 Pro had 6. Looks like a binned chip. Probably down-clocked as well.

 

[Macalway]

I'm looking forward to the very first jelly test next week. Should be fun,

 

[boak]

So this iPad mini potentially has a higher SC score than M2 iPad Air.

 

[Steve J0bs]

Apple's lineup is very simple, Pro or underwelming

the Tim Cook theme

 

[Tenz1225]

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

The specs of new iPad mini reads Wi-Fi 6E. The screenshot here should be of the older gen.

 

[Orange Bat]

So this seems all about them making sure to get their Apple Intelligence in as many hands as possible. Apple knows a fair number of people are on old iPhones and won’t be able to exploit AI. This is just another way to try and get AI out to people who aren’t looking to upgrade iPhones.