As expected, an updated iPad Mini has entered the fray and is set to be released in India on October 23. Prospective buyers can note that the smaller tablet will be sold at a base price of Rs 49,900, which will fetch them 128GB of storage instead of 64GB. More importantly, the new Mini has many hardware and software improvements.
This time around, the ultra-portable design of the tablet is being paired with the A17 Pro chip that was introduced with the iPhone 15 Pro and Max models. Like those devices, this one too is eligible for Apple Intelligence additions, which are supposed to be released soon.
The A17 Pro is a big upgrade over the A15 Bionic chip that was found in the old iPad Mini. Its 6-core processor is able to deliver a 30 percent boost in CPU performance and its 5-core GPU offers a 25 percent jump in graphical capabilities. Moreover, there’s hardware-accelerated ray tracing as well as support for Dynamic Caching and hardware-accelerated mesh shading.
However, the main draw here is the 16-core Neural Engine present on the A17 Pro, which allows the tablet to enable Apple Intelligence features. A deeply integrated Siri experience, Image Playground (pictured below), Genmoji, and a number of other AI-based traits are set to enter the Apple realm soon, and buyers of the new iPad Mini will get to take full advantage of them.
There’s no upgrade in the display department, though. You still get an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina IPS panel with 500 nits of brightness. The cameras remain unchanged as well. A 12MP f/1.8 shooter sits on its rear surface, while another 12MP f/2.4 camera can be found on the front, supporting Apple’s Center Stage functionality.
The 2024 model of the iPad Mini supports the Apple Pencil Pro, opening up newer functions to aid your creative endeavours. Lastly, Apple claims the tablet to feature all-day battery life but the actual numbers remain to be seen.
As I said, the 128GB model of the new iPad Mini retails for Rs 49,900. Those opting for the 256GB variant will need to fork out Rs 59,900, while those going for the 512GB model will need to pay Rs 79,900. All models are available for pre-order right now.
