New iPad Mini revealed by Apple, pre-orders open ahead of next week’s launch

Apple has quietly announced a new iPad Mini, the first update to its smallest tablet since 2021, through a press release. Starting at £499, the updated Mini is available for pre-order now and will be on sale from next Wednesday.

The latest model is mainly a performance upgrade, featuring Apple’s new A17 Pro chip, which boasts a 30% faster CPU, a 25% faster GPU, and a Neural Engine twice as fast as before. The base model now comes with 128GB of storage, up from 64GB. It also supports the new Apple Pencil Pro, appealing to artists who prefer the compact Mini. With faster Wi-Fi 6E and a faster USB-C port, the new Mini improves on many fronts while keeping the same design.

One noticeable design change is the colour options, with new purple and blue models. However, the colours are more muted than the vibrant hues seen on the iPhone 16. The last iPad Mini redesign in 2021 brought significant changes, and this latest version sticks closely to that design while offering a power boost to support Apple’s AI advancements. Apple also mentioned that the new device supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing for enhanced gaming visuals.

The iPad Mini has always been something of an outlier in Apple’s tablet range, similar to the iPhone SE. While it has a loyal fanbase, particularly among pilots, the larger iPad models tend to be more popular. Apple updated its other iPad models earlier this year, leaving some to wonder about the Mini’s future. However, the company appears content to keep the Mini on a different update cycle from the rest of its lineup.