So Apple finally refreshed the iPad mini. After three long years. However, put the old and new models side by side and you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference. Sure, 2024’s one brings us some new colors, but the main change is under the hood. This new iPad mini has an A17 Pro.
This is the same chip that powered last year’s flagship iPhones. And that’s a big deal for a tiny tablet, whether you fancy painting in Procreate, editing video in Final Cut, making music in Korg Gadget, or playing the most demanding iPad games. Although I imagine Apple’s main reason for this spec bump is to give this iPad mini enough grunt to cope with Apple Intelligence.
Regardless, you’d be churlish to suggest more power for the same price isn’t a good deal. Moreover, even if you don’t care about Apple Intelligence, the A17 Pro has its benefits. You get more RAM, which makes the iPad mini more suitable for larger, demanding projects. And if you’re a casual user, the specs of the A17 Pro ensure the device will be supported for many years to come – and several more than the mini it replaces.
But let’s be real: this iPad mini also feels like a least-possible upgrade – giving it the minimum spec that can work with Apple Intelligence and doing no more, bar adding support for the latest Apple Pencil. That’s a shame if you’d been hoping other aspects of ‘Pro’ might have come to the most portable of iPads, like I had.
There’s no Face ID, so you’re stuck using Touch ID on the power button. And while the iPad Pro has its swish ProMotion display, the iPad mini remains resolutely fixed to an inferior 60Hz. This means noticeable judder when you scroll. And while my initial tests suggest the latest mini doesn’t exhibit the same level of jelly scrolling as its predecessor (although, admittedly, I don’t have that model to compare it with), it’s still present.
I get it. Apple has its reasons for making these decisions. Cost. Battery life. Demand. Whatever. But from a company known for forging ahead, it’s a pity the new iPad mini merely does what is just enough, serving up an iPad Air mini rather than giving us the option of an iPad mini Pro.