Apple has quietly announced a new iPad Mini via a press release, marking its first upgrade since 2021.
The new Mini starts at £499 in the UK, €599 in Europe, $499 in the US, AU$799 in Australia, and CA$699 in Canada. It’s now available for pre-order, and sales will start next Wednesday.
The update primarily focuses on performance. The Mini is now powered by Apple’s A17 Pro chip, offering a 30% faster CPU, 25% faster GPU, and a Neural Engine that’s twice as fast as the previous model.
The base model now includes 128GB of storage, up from 64GB, providing more room for AI-heavy tasks. The device supports the new Apple Pencil Pro, a welcome addition for artists, and features faster Wi-Fi 6E and an improved USB-C port, making everything about the Mini faster.
The only visible change in design is in the colour options. Apple has introduced new purple and blue versions, although these hues are more muted than the bold ones on the iPhone 16.
The previous iPad Mini was a significant overhaul, featuring a new design and the introduction of a USB-C port alongside several performance upgrades.
That redesign was the first since the original Mini was released in 2012, so it’s not surprising that the new version closely resembles its predecessor.
The substantial performance increase makes sense as Apple focuses heavily on AI and advanced computing and needs more power across its device range.
Apple also noted that the new Mini can handle hardware-accelerated ray tracing, improving the quality of high-end games, though the main focus seems to be on AI.
Like the iPhone SE, the iPad Mini is an outlier in Apple’s product line. It has a small but dedicated fanbase, including pilots and users who prefer a more compact tablet.
However, Apple has hinted that this group is relatively limited. Despite this, the Mini remains part of the iPad family on a different upgrade schedule than the rest of the range.
Earlier this year, Apple updated the rest of the iPad line, introducing the M2 chip to the iPad Air, redesigning the iPad Pro, and lowering the base model’s price to £349, €429, $349, AU$549, and CA$449.
The iPad Mini seemed left out, leading some to question whether Apple intended to continue producing it. This latest release suggests that Apple is happy to keep the Mini on its distinct update timeline.
Pre-order Links by Region:
- United States: Pre-order the iPad Mini
- United Kingdom: Pre-order the iPad Mini
- Australia: Pre-order the iPad Mini
- Canada: Pre-order the iPad Mini
- Ireland: Pre-order the iPad Mini