Just like iPhone 16 models, the new iPad mini is likely to launch without Apple Intelligence, but the features should be available on the

Apple just announced, in a somewhat understated fashion via a press release, a new iPad Mini. It’s the first upgrade for Apple’s smallest tablet since 2021. The new Mini starts at $499. It’s up for pre-order now and goes on sale next Wednesday.

The new iPad Mini packs more power and storage — as well as a slew of Apple Intelligence features — into the same great ultra-portable design.

Inside, however, a lot has changed. The new iPad mini is powered by Apple's A17 Pro chip (that's the one from Apple's iPhone 15 Pro), and comes with 128/256/512GB of storage memory, doubling the starting storage from previous generation.

Apple has launched the seventh generation of the iPad Mini, with the A17 Pro processor, making it the cheapest device for Apple Intelligence.

Apple announces a faster iPad mini for $499. It comes with Apple Intelligence and supports the Apple Pencil Pro.

The new iPad mini is powered by Apple's A17 Pro chip, which is used in the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models. With a six-core central processing unit, the A17 Pro would boost CPU performance by 30% compared to the current generation iPad minis and is central to running Apple Intelligence, Apple's AI software.

We marked October 22 on the calendar and canceled our appointments. We were almost certain that Apple would hold its second fall keynote on that day and unveil new Macs and iPads. But then, just when we were expecting an invitation, Cupertino sent us instead a press release with details of the 7th-gen iPad mini… and nothing else.

After being long tipped for an imminent refresh, last week the iPad mini 7 became the third Apple-branded tablet out the gate in 2024, with a low-key announcement outlining a handful of small but welcome hardware improvements.