Without fanfare, Apple has just launched the iPad mini 7 to replace the current aging model released in September 2021. With new features reduced to a minimum and a slightly increased price.
Did you blink? So you probably didn’t see that Apple had just announced the new iPad mini, the seventh of the name. Normal, because in reality there was no announcement, no presentation conference, but just a press release discreet, and a new photo on the home page of the Apple website with the words “A device like no other” – admire the rich rhyme! And we immediately want to take Apple on the wrong foot because the new model is so similar to the previous one.
Apple iPad mini 7: design and features
Perhaps Apple has relied on the adage “you don’t change a winning team” because externally the iPad mini 7 is perfectly identical to the iPad mini 6. Their dimensions height, width, thickness are identical : 195.4 x 134.8 x 6.3mm. And the screen hasn’t changed either: it’s a Liquid Retina LCD panel with a definition of 2266 x 1488 pixels with a high resolution of 326 dots per inch and a maximum brightness of 500. nits. The camera is also the same: a single 12MP sensor on the back and the same 12MP selfie camera too. If we look carefully for an external difference, we find… almost two. The iPad mini 7 offers a new green color, which replaces the pink of the previous model. And the other almost new color? The purple of the iPad mini 7 is slightly lighter than that of the iPad mini 6.
Under the hood, the differences are fortunately a little more remarkable. The A15 processor in the iPad mini 6 is replaced by an A17 Pro, i.e. that of last year’s iPhone 15 Pro. And it is in particular in this detail that we realize that Apple has done the minimum in terms of updating its small tablet. We remember that the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max were the only models in the 2023/2024 game to be compatible with the new Apple Intelligence functions. Apple therefore chose to do the bare minimum to be able to announce that the iPad mini was also compatible with the brand’s artificial intelligence tools. Frankly, we would have preferred to see an A18, that is to say the processor which equips the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus. Especially for a device which, obviously, is not updated every year.
Among other improvements, we note that the generation of wireless networks is moving to Wi-Fi 6E which above all ensures better connection stability. And we appreciate that the minimum storage goes from 64 to 128 GB, which makes the base model more interesting. Note also that the iPad mini 7 is compatible with the Apple Pencil Pro and the Apple Pencil USB-C, like the iPad mini 6.
Apple iPad mini 7: price and release date
The base model of the 7th generation iPad mini is priced at 609 euros, or 50 euros more than the iPad mini 6 when it was released. Fortunately, storage capacity has increased at the same time! If you need more space, the 256 GB model will cost you 739 euros and the 512 GB model, 989 euros. Finally, if you want to upgrade to the 5G compatible “cellular” model like the iPad mini 6, you will have to add 170 euros to the bill. It is possible to pre-order the iPad mini 7 now and deliveries will begin on October 23.
That said, if you already have an iPad mini 6, it’s urgent to wait, especially since Apple Intelligence tools will only be available sometime next year, with no specific date.