Apple Announces the 7th Generation iPad mini

Today, Apple announced the 7th generation iPad mini. This is the first update of the iPad mini since 2021, when the 6th generation iPad mini was released. The 7th generation iPad mini is a modest update, but it includes a number of improvements. The 7th generation iPad mini comes in four colors: Space Gray, Starlight, Purple, and Blue. The Blue replaces the previous Pink option, but the other three are the same.

The first change is the processor, which is an A17 Pro. This is the same chip as the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, which means that it can run Apple Intelligence.

The second big change is the Apple Pencil support. The 6th generation supported the 2nd generation Apple Pencil, but the 7th generation iPad mini supports the Apple Pencil Pro. This means that it also supports Apple Pencil Hover, much like the iPad Pro and iPad Air. The iPad mini also supports the Apple Pencil with USB-C.

The 6th generation iPad mini included USB-C, as does the 7th generation, but the maximum speed has changed. Now, the 7th generation iPad mini is capable of transferring up to 10 Gigabits per second, which is double that of the 6th generation iPad mini; this is a great improvement.

The next big change is the storage sizes available. The 6th generation iPad mini was available in 64GB and 256GB models. The 7th generation iPad mini now starts at 128GB, but also comes in 256GB and 512GB models. The Wi-Fi version of these costs $499, $599, and $799 respectively. The Wi-Fi + Cellular models are $150 more, so $649 for the 128GB, $749 for the 256GB, and $949 for the 512GB.

The last set of changes include Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, while the previous iPad mini supported Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0. The last change is that the cellular models no longer have a physical SIM slot; instead, they only support eSIM.

You can pre-order the 7th generation iPad mini today and it will start arriving on October 23rd.

Source: Apple Newsroom.