Apple decided not to wait for another press event to launch a new member of the iPad tablet family. After a number of rumors, the folks in Cupertino issued a press release announcing it will launch a new version of its smaller iPad mini tablet later in October. This will be the first new iPad mini model since 2021
In its press release, Apple stated the new iPad mini will have an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display. It will also have Apple's in-house A17 Pro processor inside, which the company claims offers a 30 percent boost in CPU performance and a 25 percent increase in GPU performance compared to the 2021 iPad mini.
The tablet will ship with iPadOS 18 inside, and Apple says that, just like its recently launched iPhone 16 smartphones, the new iPad mini will get an OS update to iPadOS 18.1 that will add the first Apple Intelligence generative AI features later in October.
Other hardware features of the new iPad mini include a wireless hardware improvement to Wi-Fi 6E. The USB-C port on the tablet has also been improved and can handle up to 10Gbps for data transfers. The tablet will have a 12MP rear camera along with a 12MP ultrawide front-facing camera sensor.
The starting price for the 2024 edition of the iPad mini is $499 for the Wi-Fi version and 128GB of onboard storage, and $649 with the Wi-Fi and cellular wireless version with the same amount of storage. The tablet is also being offered with 256GB and 512GB storage options.
It's available in four colors, including blue, purple, starlight, and space gray and you can get a new Smart Folio cover for the tablet, in charcoal gray, light violet, denim, and sage color options, for $59. You can preorder the tablet now at the Apple Store website, and it will become generally available at Apple Stores and other retail stores on October 23.
4 Comments - Add comment