Apple has introduced the iPad mini 7, its first small tablet in three years — and it’s built from the start with Apple Intelligence in mind.
The 8.3-inch iPad uses the same A17 Pro chip as last year’s iPhone 15 Pro. While that puts it behind the iPhone 16 Pro and iPad Air M2 in performance, it’s billed as up to 30% faster in raw CPU power than the iPad mini 6 with 25% faster graphics.
More importantly, the newer, 16-core Neural Engine in the iPad mini 7 provides up to twice the performance than that of the A15 Bionic from the 2021 model. That makes it ready for the first wave of Apple Intelligence features arriving this month with iOS 18.1, including writing tools like summarization, a context-aware Siri that allows typing and mistakes, and a Clean Up tool in Photos that removes objects much like Google’s Magic Eraser.
The refreshed tablet also introduces support for Apple Pencil Pro features, including squeeze recognition, advanced haptic feedback, and rolling. USB-C support was already present before, so you can also use the entry-level Pencil.
Other upgrades are comparatively modest. You now get Wi-Fi 6E support, and the lineup starts with 128GB of storage (versus 64GB) in addition to getting a new 512GB option. Blue and purple color options join the existing space gray and starlight choices, and you can get a $59 Smart Folio in complementary colors that include charcoal gray, denim, light violet, and sage.
The 12-megapixel rear and front cameras are still around, as is the Touch ID fingerprint reader in the sleep/wake button.
The iPad mini 7 is available to pre-order today ahead of an October 23rd release date. It starts at the same $499 price, or $449 for education customers. The Pencil Pro sells for $129 ($119 education), while the USB-C Pencil costs $79 ($69 education).
The high starting price for the 7th-generation tablet reflects a continuation of Apple’s focus for the iPad mini. It’s a relatively high-end slate aimed at creatives, gamers, and professionals who want a quick mobile device that’s larger than an iPhone but smaller than even the 10.9-inch entry-level iPad. While there’s a market for this, it might face critics in a year when the iPhone 16 Pro Max is just 1.4 inches smaller and is only really missing Pencil support.
The iPad mini 7 might give Apple a distinct edge over the Android-based competition, however. Most competitors either don’t have any small tablets (the Samsung Galaxy Tab line starts at 10.9 inches) or make serious compromises, such as Amazon’s low-powered Fire HD 8. This iPad is one of the few readily available compact tablets in North America and Europe that can handle heavy-duty tasks.