Apple upgrades the iPad mini with more processing power, AI features

Three years after the iPad mini 6's launch, Apple has unveiled the new iPad mini 7, the smallest of the iPad lineup, equipped with Apple Intelligence.

While the dimensions remain the same, the improvements are mostly inside the brains of the device. The new A17 Pro chip marks a significant upgrade over the A15 chip — a 30% jump over its predecessor with a two times boost in AI performance.

And the new A17 Pro chip unlocks new Apple Intelligence features, some of which include Writing Tools, new and improved Siri voice assistant, Image Playground, Image Wand etc.

Writing tools will allow writers to refine, rewrite, or summarise texts based on any given context, within the system apps or third-party apps. Image Playground is a space where users can create images based on the prompts, while Image Wand can turn sketches into images.

Both the base variant and highest storage variant's capacities have been doubled. With a jump from iPad mini 6's 64 GB, the base storage variant now starts at 128 GB, while the top variant goes up to 512 GB from iPad mini 6's 256 GB.

It retains the 8.3-inch Liquid Retina IPS LCD screen from its predecessor along with 12-megapixel front and back cameras. The battery size is also the same as the iPad mini 6, at 5078 mAh.

Starting at $499, the new iPad mini is now available for pre-order.