iPad mini iPad Mini 7 - Biggest Internal Upgrade Launched Quietly

[TigeRick]

Apple has released new iPad Mini 7; it seems no changes in outlook design but the real upgrades are the doubling of RAM and storage capacity at the same SRP. That's why Apple is not making any event for iPad Mini 7 cause the deal is too good for consumers not shareholders.

We have been waiting for Apple to upgrade the base 4+64 to 8+128 and finally.....

We should turn to upcoming iPad 11th gen, which SoC should/would Apple choose with AI capability? M1 or ?

 

[Pezimak]

FINALLY!! But why the hell did they wait sooo long to release it when it's just a spec bump??
Still makes it a decent iPad again. A17 Pro chip is very nice... it'll allow it to run all those high end games.

 

[Aka757]

Where are you seeing that the new mini has 8GB RAM? The comparison tool on their website doesn't show RAM for the new mini but it does for other models, which is odd

 

[sracer]

FINALLY!! But why the hell did they wait sooo long to release it when it's just a spec bump??
Still makes it a decent iPad again. A17 Pro chip is very nice... it'll allow it to run all those high end games.

Why?
Because people are still buying the Mini with the older specs. Why SHOULD Apple release upgrades sooner if they are satifisfied with sales of the current model?

 

[VineRider]

Where are you seeing that the new mini has 8GB RAM? The comparison tool on their website doesn't show RAM for the new mini but it does for other models, which is odd

View attachment 2437647

iOS devices have to have 8gb RAM to run Apple Intelligence.

 

[Pbwallstreet]

I just can’t use screens that don’t have ProMotion: 120 hz refresh rates. I hate that Apple doesn’t have it on all their screens. So the new iPad Mini still has the 60 hz refresh rate, and that is a no go for me. Otherwise decent upgrade.

 

[*~Kim~*]

It’s an easy pass for me with the SIM tray removed. Lack of storage bothers me more than the lack of RAM so if I was going to buy anything it would be a refurb 256GB.

My next iPad is likely to be a WiFi only OLED model.

Very odd that they have done it this way when there is no sign of the iPad 11 - so presumably iPad will feature on October 29.

 

[russell_314]

It’s an easy pass for me with the SIM tray removed. Lack of storage bothers me more than the lack of RAM so if I was going to buy anything it would be a refurb 256GB.

My next iPad is likely to be a WiFi only OLED model.

Very odd that they have done it this way when there is no sign of the iPad 11 - so presumably iPad will feature on October 29.

The iPad mini is a non pro iPad. Most people are not going to want over 512 GB of storage. I would bet my paycheck that the number one selling version is the 128 GB version.

The physical SIM is pretty much obsolete. At least in the USA. There are some countries that are a bit slow to adopt the technology.

 

[thadoggfather]

I just can’t use screens that don’t have ProMotion: 120 hz refresh rates. I hate that Apple doesn’t have it on all their screens. So the new iPad Mini still has the 60 hz refresh rate, and that is a no go for me. Otherwise decent upgrade.

I am not an apologist of 60hz displays for the prices apple is charging and the year it is but

I think apple spoiled people with promotion to make it a requirement moving forward which I get but that also has become a burden for a consumer Imo to be required to get something only for display at a great expense and additional weight

I’ve never had a Mac laptop with 120hz so good there with my 15 inch air

iPhone I had the 14 pro max but upgraded to an 60hz iPhone 13 mini before 16+ now and will probably rotate those two. It’s a nice to have but the weight reduction and battery life on 16+ is well worth it to me beyond insanely buttery animations that often are choppy cause iOS being weird or chonky. And taking some concessions on performance and battery with the iPhone mini but that’s understood for it’s age and form factor and lack of alternative comparables

I also think low power mode is do able on 60hz displays.
On iPhone pro max low power mode was atrocious visually and I was repelled from it and not because it was 60hz but 60hz ish with a lot of obvious Jank every time.

iPad I had 2017 12.9 and now 2021 11 inch M1. Its nice but I also have a mini 5 and 6 and can totally deal without promotion. Im glad I have a big and snappy display iPad laying around but I dunno. For my use case I guess I get over it so I’m not burdened being required to have that

From memory I can tell the difference but I do t really care and if im not side by side comparing for the sake of honing in on display responsiveness it doesn’t matter… to me. There are many other characteristics of displays that are important

That said I think iPad mini 6 display jelly scrolling aside is inferior to iPad mini 5 in contrast. Not crazy about that. And iPad Pro looks so much better my 11” led m1.

Then there’s added benefit of usually a less aggressive PWM than the faster displays for people whose eyes are sensitive to that.

 

[antiprotest]

Disappointing, but expected.

After so many years, I will give up waiting for a better iPad mini or one that has FaceID.

My next iPad will probably be an iPad Pro.

 

[hovscorpion12]

Where are you seeing that the new mini has 8GB RAM? The comparison tool on their website doesn't show RAM for the new mini but it does for other models, which is odd

View attachment 2437647

The A17 Pro [which ships on the iPhone 16 Pro] uses 8GB of RAM. Being that the A16 and A17 Pro are Apple Intelligence chips, 8GB of RAM is a requirement.

As far as why RAM is not shown, M-series iPads are high performance iPads which require the RAM to be specified. identical to M-series Macs

 

[*~Kim~*]

The iPad mini is a non pro iPad. Most people are not going to want over 512 GB of storage. I would bet my paycheck that the number one selling version is the 128 GB version.

The physical SIM is pretty much obsolete. At least in the USA. There are some countries that are a bit slow to adopt the technology.

Sorry, I should have been clearer. I meant I would be more likely to buy a 256GB Mini 6 than a Mini 7. eSim is indeed not great in the UK, and I have a no longer available to new customers tariff I want to keep.

A17 Pro is disappointing also, being last year’s chip. When released, the Mini 6 had the latest with the A15, albeit downclocked.

 

[rui no onna]

The physical SIM is pretty much obsolete. At least in the USA. There are some countries that are a bit slow to adopt the technology.

I have a Google Fi data-only SIM that’s available only as a physical SIM.

And yeah, the situation in other countries is problematic particularly since the iPad can’t receive SMS which may be required to receive OTPs for SIM registration in countries where there’s a KYC requirement.

 

[hovscorpion12]

A17 Pro is disappointing also, being last year’s chip. When released, the Mini 6 had the latest with the A15, albeit downclocked.

The A17 Pro is NOT last years chip. It is the latest and greatest. Your thinking of the A16 Pro which shipped in 2023.

 

[snipr125]

Its great and basically like a Semi Pro iPad now with its A17 ‘Pro’ SoC with 8GB RAM, and can use the new Pencil Pro, only thing missing is 120 hz VRR screen.

Interestingly it has also jumped over the iPad Air M2 now in terms of base level architecture with its M3 based A17 Pro, so is the second most advanced iPad after the M4 iPP.

 

[Digitalguy]

I have a Google Fi data-only SIM that’s available only as a physical SIM.

And yeah, the situation in other countries is problematic particularly since the iPad can’t receive SMS which may be required to receive OTPs for SIM registration in countries where there’s a KYC requirement.

In addition to that I use my data SIM also for some Windows laptops that do not support eSIM, so it's a deal breaker

 

[snipr125]

The A17 Pro is NOT last years chip. It is the latest and greatest. Your thinking of the A16 Pro which shipped in 2023.

A17 Pro is last years chip in the 15 Pro, the A18 Pro is the newest. There was no A16 Pro at all, only A16.

 

[hovscorpion12]

A17 Pro is last years chip in the 15 Pro, the A18 Pro is the newest. There was no A16 Pro at all, only A16.

I swear the numbers and naming scheme had me confused. On my life, I would have stuck with and swore the lasted chip is the A17. 😭.

Correct. The A18 launched this year.

 

[bodonnell202]

The A17 Pro is NOT last years chip. It is the latest and greatest. Your thinking of the A16 Pro which shipped in 2023.

The A17 Pro is last year's chip that powered the iPhone 15 Pro & Pro Max. Current gen chip is the A18 - with the A18 in the iPhone 16 & 16 Plus and the A18 Pro in the iPhone 16 Pro & Pro Max.

 

[TinaBelcher]

I’m so glad they finally put it out, so I can order one.
but seriously, what is THIS!? space grey gets black, blue gets blue, purple gets purple… but starlight gets a …. GREEN folio!? Why? i kinda like the color itself, but not for a folio! Why not make a stone colored folio? That would’ve looked nice and helped with the stains the white usually gets after a while… also, does the old folios not support the new mini? They’re externally the same iPad. But on apples website here branded as the “A17 Pro” folio…

 

[bodonnell202]

The A17 Pro [which ships on the iPhone 16 Pro] uses 8GB of RAM. Being that the A16 and A17 Pro are Apple Intelligence chips, 8GB of RAM is a requirement.

So much wrong with this statement... The chip in the iPhone 16 Pro is the A18 Pro, not the A17 Pro (that was in the iPhone 15 Pro). Also iPhones with the A16 (the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 15) come with 6 GB of RAM and do not support Apple Intelligence.

 

[bodonnell202]

I’m so glad they finally put it out, so I can order one.
but seriously, what is THIS!? space grey gets black, blue gets blue, purple gets purple… but starlight gets a …. GREEN folio!? Why? i kinda like the color itself, but not for a folio! Why not make a stone colored folio? That would’ve looked nice and helped with the stains the white usually gets after a while… also, does the old folios not support the new mini? They’re externally the same iPad. But on apples website here branded as the “A17 Pro” folio…

View attachment 2437786

I like it and may order one for my Space Grey iPad Mini 6... it's strange that it is made to coordinate with Starlight though...

 

[menist]

I got one. Sold my Mini 6th a while ago.

 

[rui no onna]

In addition to that I use my data SIM also for some Windows laptops that do not support eSIM, so it's a deal breaker

Yeah. eSIM is fine on phones. Unfortunately, support for other devices like mobile hotspots, tablets and laptops is still an afterthought.

I also swap physical SIMs between devices since I don’t want to pay for a separate plan for each of my data-only devices. eSIM only is going to make that either impossible or a lot more difficult than it used to be.

I’ve long been wanting an iPad mini with 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD but the move to eSIM only is making me rethink whether I should “upgrade”.

 

[klasma]

FINALLY!! But why the hell did they wait sooo long to release it when it's just a spec bump??

The mini has been on a 3-year update cycle since 2015. Next one will be 2027 with OLED.