At 5.4mm thick, iPad Mini is thinner and lighter than its predecessor. It also has 24% thinner bezels. This allows the device to maintain the same small form factor with a slightly larger screen than the previous generation’s 8.3-inch display. The iPad Mini offers a maximum brightness of up to 1,200 nits, as well as a minimum brightness of 1 nit that could make it easier on the eyes in dimly lit areas.
The new device still doesn’t feature Apple’s ProMotion technology for smoother scrolling, as the tech specs say it supports up to 4K resolution at a 60Hz refresh rate.
Besides an OLED display, the new iPad Mini has an improved A20 Pro chip capable of running AI models on the device. This enables support for some of Apple’s new Siri AI features, including the ability to change the expressiveness and rhythm of the assistant’s voice. Although models with 128 GB or 256 GB of storage come with a 5-core processor with 2 super cores and 3 efficiency cores, the 512 GB model offers a 6-core processor with 2 super cores and 4 efficiency cores. All models come with a 16-core Neural Engine.
Additionally, Apple says the iPad Mini comes with a new “acoustic display,” which it describes as including “specially designed woofers” that are “coupled through the display to produce punchier bass and more volume.” It also features custom tweeters between the glass and aluminum housing of the device “for clearer highs.”
Some other updates include a 12 MP front camera that now sits on the long edge of the iPad Mini, making video calls in landscape orientation easier. It has an IP67 rating against water and dust, in addition to Apple’s next-generation C2 cellular modem and internal N1 networking chip. Apple promises up to 10 hours of battery life when watching videos or browsing the web over Wi-Fi.
This new iPad Mini follows Apple’s 7th generation version released in 2024, arriving three years after the 6th generation model in 2021. This 7th generation iPad Mini, which started at $499, was primarily a spec upgrade, with the A17 Pro chip, Apple Pencil Pro support, and an upgrade to 128GB base storage. In his review, David Pierce called it “new low point for the product” which “looks like an iPad designed by a supply chain, not by someone who actually wants you to like the product.”
Pre-orders for the new iPad Mini start on Wednesday, October 28 and will be available on November 6. The iPad Mini is available in “midnight” and “starlight” colors, as well as 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB configurations. There’s also an option for a glare-reducing nano-texture display.
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