What to Expect From Apple's 2024 iPad Mini 7

Fine with a spec bump. Though I will be longing for the 2026 OLED version.

Since Apple’s policy is either/or, I hope they keep Touch ID since faceID sucks as it is too angle-sensitive.

A18 with Pencil Pro support and some measurement taken against jelly scroll is my guess. They don’t really need to move the camera module to support the new pencil, just move the magnets.
 
Moukee said:
Ironically, the rumored "fix" would make the problem shift from portrait to landscape mode, so if anything you'd notice it more when in landscape.
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True - the few times that I have used Portrait mode it's not been a bother to me either. And, people with iPad Air don't complain about it so must be something related to the wider display not showing the issue as strongly?
 
The A17 Pro or A18 chips with 8 GB RAM will be perfect for the Mini 7, which are more advanced than the M2 in the new iPad Air actually.
 
Abstract said:
this rumour is coming at the perfect time for me, because, very coincidentally, I was at the Apple Store today waiting for my wife to purchase an iPhone 15, and it was probably the first time I have ever played with an iPad Mini in store.

I used it for a good 15-20 minutes (my son was playing on the Mini next to it), and I only just realized how fantastic it is. I have an older 11” iPad Pro that I never use for casual browsing on the couch because so much of my casual use involves typing messages and apps like Reddit, or Internet forms of some sort. I can’t do that easily with my iPad unless I also use a physical keyboard, which doesn’t feel so “casual” to me. The iPad mini would allow me to browse, and type on the on-screen digital keyboard like I would on a phone!!
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A few years ago, I was considering a flip phone + cell iPadMini instead of an iPhone Max. Ended up with the Max because too many things requires a phone. (Apple Watch, Fitness et al.)
 
Neepman said:
Update it? I wouldn't be surprised if they just kill it. The newer iPhones rolling out are practically kissing up to it in size. Why not just force the screen size queens to buy one of those for over 1K?
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Let me illustrate:

1717253727091.png

Green: rumored 6.9” iPhone 16 Pro Max
Blue: iPad mini 6

The iPad mini has almost twice the screen area.
 
FreakinEurekan said:
And, people with iPad Air don't complain about it so must be something related to the wider display not showing the issue as strongly?
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Yes, exactly, the issue becomes more pronounced the narrower the display. The Air also has it in landscape, not in portrait. It would be more pronounced in portrait.
 
Silverlox said:
Agree on the above but for me the most compelling reason would be to go back to the original size. My mini 5 is ideal in width and height. Don't like the new taller and reduced width of the current one. I use it mainly for travelling and reading books and web access so it doesnt have to be quicker although that would be nice.
Hoping my mini 5 will keep going for a few more years yet.
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The taller part is fine in my opinion, but the reduced width has always been a bit ridiculous. They did that to align the bezel ratios with the Air in 2021, aka to not give it “Pro” thin bezels. The fact that the Mini 5 has smaller bezels on the sides shows that this is not an engineering problem, it is a marketing choice.

Having compared 5 and 6 side by side, there are certain websites where the reduction is problematic. An Apple decision I vehemently disagree with (there are multiple things about the 6 I have always disagreed with, though)
 
Fingers crossed that they don't kill the SIM card slot. There's a chance they'll keep it for this model. OLED model, no chance and that will finally get a M series chip to keep up with AI. But for now, if they keep the SIM card slot, then I'll pick one up for sure.
 
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I think in the end, the iPad mini 7 will likely be more-or-less a reduced size iPad Air 6, including possibly the M2 SoC. It will have an improved video controller to avoid the "jelly roll" issue of the current iPad mini.
 
Saturn1217 said:
I wish it was possible for just the higher end model to have OLED (a long shot I realize). $499 for OLED is pushing it but the higher tier model is $649. You could bump just that tier up to $699 easily and give people an actual reason to spend that much on a mini tablet without taking away the $499 option from those who are just looking for a cheap small tablet.

I'd also argue that the iPad mini is not for budget conscious consumers anyway. They have the iPad 10 for that. People buying the iPad mini are spending extra (over the $349 ipad 10th gen) to get a small tablet specifically. They are willing to pay more.
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They might do this in 2026/27. It's too soon for them to do an OLED in 2024. The flagship needs to bask in the peak nit sunshine for a while. Also seems it wouldn't work with the Apple Pencil Pro to be compatible with this current model. They called it a Pro pencil for a reason, I assume, other than their usual marketing fluff.

I could see a Mini 8 and a Mini Pro coming once AI takes off. They have 48 sku for iPad, seems having more is possible.
 
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iAppleOrchard said:
Welp, I am not getting a new iPad ig.

An M series chip is the only way for me to upgrade my iPad mini just so I can be productive on my iPad with desktop class performance.
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Just curious what you mean by "An M series chip... ...so I can be productive on my iPad with desktop class performance." It seems to me that the OS is what is limiting performance rather than the chip.
 
I'm looking for a small and light tablet with a stylus that can fit in a large waist/belt/fanny bag so I can ride a city bicycle to my favourite coffee shops and parks, jot down notes, come up with ideas, and just have fun writing again, without having to carry a backpack/laptop bag.

I bought a paper notebook with a pen, and haven't found the perfect size yet, I also noticed the paper notebooks have a limit to how much I can input and refer back to, meaning, a digital note taking device can be searched with quick access to notes from weeks, months or years ago, versus a paper notebook from years ago might be sitting in a drawer somewhere.

Ideally the tablet would have a screen protector available that mimics writing on paper, the super slipper surface of writing on glass is difficult and I experience a little bit of hand fatigue which require me to take writing breaks a couple of minutes into writing.

Anyone the can relate and found the iPad mini can address the above?
 
MarkDeMoss said:
Fingers crossed that they don't kill the SIM card slot. There's a chance they'll keep it for this model. OLED model, no chance and that will finally get a M series chip to keep up with AI. But for now, if they keep the SIM card slot, then I'll pick one up for sure.
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What for? I have a SIM card slot in my 6 and it is utterly useless. There is no phone function, no sms function, so no Whatsapp (not even available in the store). All you can do is go online but that would work over any hotspot on any phone that you have to have with you anyway. All it does it costs you another mobile contract.
Now, WITH a phone function for your few phone calls a year but full Whatsapp working, it would fly of the shelf. Of course, there would be no more need for an 1800 Euro iPhone anymore, the mini fits in your back jeans pocket the same than in any jacket pocket where my iPhone sits now.
We have 82 iPhone 13pro here at work, I would change them in a heart beat to minis with phone function.The bigger screen would be worth a lot. Don´t care about the processor or camera, all overkill for years but the thing has to do something.

I got a Samsung Galaxy Tab 5 active for tests. iPad mini size but phone function, sd card memory extension, water and dust proof, loud, changeable battery!!!!!, 23 Euros a piece, Headphone jack, DEX desktop system build in, USB 3,1 Dual SIM, 5years support for 500Euros.Oh, and the S-pen, Pencil, comes with it in the box.

Now, I love Apple for 38years, but to castrate a communication device to the point, that you HAVE to spend thousands more to make a phone call, is getting ludicrous.It´s not even the money, it´s the fact that everything is there but blocked, so you buy more devices.Our iPhones stand on very shaky ground in October when they are being replaced. Since the Samsung tablets communicate seamless with our Macs, the reasons to keep iPhones are getting very few and far in between.

Apple has with the iPad mini a wonderful device, let it live up to its potential.
 
MacRumors said:
Apple is likely to go with the A17 Pro that was used in the iPhone 15 Pro models, or some other A17 variant.
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This is actually extremely unlikely as Apple and TSMC will be looking to wind down production of N3B chips now that N3E is ready for prime time. Since N3B isn’t compatible with N3E it’s also unlikely that the A17 would be ported to N3E. What’s more likely is that Apple may produce different variants of the A18 (most likely just through binning the chips to improve yields, but possibly producing variants with fewer GPU core) with the best A18 chips going to the iPhone 16 Pro, with A18 chips with slower clock speeds and/or disabled GPU cores showing up in iPhone 16 and iPad Mini 7.
 
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