Hardware16.10.2024

New Apple iPad Mini launched

Apple has introduced a new iPad Mini featuring Apple Intelligence and fitted with the A17 Pro chip.

The 8.3-inch device boasts a Liquid Retina display and comes in four colours: blue, purple, starlight, and space grey.

Its A17 processor has a 6-core CPU — two performance cores and four efficiency cores — and a Neural Engine twice as fast as the previous generation of the iPad Mini.

The chip is also equipped with a 5-core GPU, delivering a 25% increase in graphics performance over the previous generation.

Apple promises all-day battery life and said the table will ship with its latest operating system, iPadOS 18.

The iPad Mini has storage options of 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB.

As with the release of the iPhone 16, the much-anticipated Apple Intelligence features are not available at launch.

Apple said Apple Intelligence for iPad Mini will launch to customers in US English this month — October 2024.

These features include writing tools that allow users to summarise, proofread, and rewrite their work.

Siri will also be more integrated into the functioning of the device, with increased language processing capabilities.

Multiple image enhancement tools and ChatGPT, which users can use for its image and document processing capabilities, are also available to users.

Regarding connectivity, the iPad comes equipped with an eSIM and the ability to connect to Wi-Fi 6E.

On the back of the device is a 12MP camera that can employ Apple Intelligence to remove shadows when scanning documents.

Apple said support for the Pencil Pro, released earlier this year, adds to its work and study-centric functionality.

Apple’s latest version of the iPad operating system also includes several apps that are enhanced when used in conjunction with the Apple Pencil, such as the calculator, Math Notes, Smart Script, and the Notes app.

The iPad starts at $499 (R8,797) for the Wi-Fi+ model and $649 (R11,442) for the Wi-Fi+ and cellular model. There is also an education model available for $449 (R7,915).

Pre-orders for the new iPad went live on 15 October in 29 countries, and Apple-authorised resellers will have stock by 23 October.

Show comments

Latest news

More news

Trending news

Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter