While we have expected Apple to make the announcement of the refreshed iPad mini in its upcoming November event, the company has sent out a press release announcing the 2024 iPad mini, which looks identical to the previous model with a 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display but with changes internally.
Interestingly, Apple has decided to equip the iPad mini with the A17 Pro processor, which is the same chip that powers last year’s iPhone 15 Pro Max that offers superior graphics performance and ray tracing support, hence capable of running AAA game titles like Resident Evil: Village, this would also mean that the iPad mini would be equipped with more RAM than usual as it is built for Apple Intelligence, which is expected to debut on supported Apple devices next month onwards.
With the A17 Pro chip, performance is greatly improved from the A15 Bionic chip that powers the previous iPad mini, Apple claims over 30% boost in CPU performance and 25% improvement in graphics performance, the chip also enables faster WiFi 6E connectivity and faster 10Gbps transfer speeds on the USB-C port, which is overall a significant perfomance boost over the previous model.
Camera wise, the iPad mini retains 12MP cameras on the front and rear, though Apple has utilized artificial intelligence (not Apple Intelligence) to take better document shots with the new True Tone flash to remove shadows, while the front facing camera has support for Center Stage for keeping you at the center frame in video calls.
Similar to higher end iPads, the iPad mini supports Apple Pencil Pro, which offers more precise control in artwork and can sense a user’s squeeze, while offering a haptic feedback when users interact with the stylus, it also supports Find My and charges with the new magnetic interface on the new iPad mini.
The new iPad mini’s storage capacity is available in 128GB, 256GB and 512GB options, while prices start at RM2,199 for the WiFi model and RM2899 for the Cellular model, colors are available in Space Grey, Blue, Purple and Starlight, availability in Malaysia will be announced later.