Apple's October surprise: New iPad Mini 7 features, price, availability, and more

Apple/ZDNET

Apple just shocked iPad fanatics by launching a new iPad Mini generation, which opened for pre-orders today. Most of us expected Apple to hold a quick but elaborate October event, like last year, to announce the new and improved iPad Mini. Instead, Apple took a low-key approach, releasing an understated press release at the beginning of the workday. 

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The new iPad Mini features an A17 Pro chip, making it 30% faster in CPU tasks and 25% faster in graphics than the previous model. The more advanced processor, which also powers the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, improves efficiency and supports Apple Intelligence, the company's artificial intelligence features that provide personalized generative AI across apps. Though the iPad Mini can support Apple Intelligence features, including text generation, document analysis, deeper and improved Siri integrations, and image creation, most won't be available for months.

In addition to more advanced AI support than the previous generation, the 2024 iPad Mini's A17 Pro chip can handle more demanding tasks, including augmented reality (AR) applications, photo editing, and gaming with hardware-accelerated ray tracing. 

Apple also announced the iPad Mini features Wi-Fi 6E support for faster connections at "twice the performance than the previous generation," 5G support, 12MP cameras with Smart HDR 4, and improved USB-C for faster data transfers. 

The iPad Mini now also supports the Apple Pencil Pro, which has the newer squeeze functionality to switch tools, colors, and more without interrupting workflow, haptic feedback, barrel rolling, and the hover feature to preview strokes. The Apple Pencil Pro also supports the Find My network, letting you easily find your lost stylus through the Find My app, like you can with an AirTag or pair of AirPods. 

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The iPad Mini starts at $499 for the 128GB Wi-Fi model and $649 for the Wi-Fi+Cellular model. It is available for pre-order in four finishes: Blue, Starlight, Space Gray, and Purple, with orders shipping on October 23.