Apple announces new iPad mini with A17 Pro chip, Apple Intelligence support

[Drag88]

https://9to5mac.com/2024/10/15/apple-announces-new-ipad-mini/

[Harley90]

I thought Apple wanted to get rid of all their devices with an N3B (A17 Pro, M3) based chip, and move everything over to N3E (A18, M4), since it's so much cheaper with higher yields. Why is Apple then using an A17 Pro instead of an A18?

At least it comes with 128GB of storage as standard

EDIT: Apparently the A17 Pro in this iPad has 1 fewer GPU core than what's in the iPhone 15 Pro. Maybe this is just them getting rid of the chips with a defective GPU core?

[AnnieS1]

Yeah I assume this is just them clearing the stock of chips already produced. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw the same in an Apple TV eventually with the 17 Pro or 18 Pro.

[Brake31]

As someone who uses my mini only as an e-reader for the most part, I'm curious what other folks use them for. I found the screen too small to be productive and wanted 120 Hz to consume media, so it's become my insanely overpowered Kindle. It's a fantastic little device that I don't know what to use it for other than reading books.

Edit: Seems like they have a very cool niche in aviation, and lots of people prefer the small form factor over 120 Hz for media consumption. I also like the idea of it being an EDC sketchbook. Will have to pick up a Paperlike for it and give that a shot.

[Carlmase]

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So great for travel too. Use my mini 5 for looking up stuff in the hotel room, planning stuff in Maps, entertainment in the evenings. Much better that a phone in many ways.

[Dwaynepolt]

Apple Pencil Pro support, Double RAM (8GB RAM), Better Processor, Wifi 6E, and Double Base Storage (128GB)

Not a bad deal considering that pricing remains similar to the previous generation

Oh yes, the screen is still 60 Hz and doesn't have face ID. Peak brightness is still 500-600 nits.

As someone who purchased an iPad Air M2 (2024), these 3 are definitely a let down but other things about the iPad are damn good.

If you can live with these 3 things, then go ahead.

[Ellie24]

I think iPadOS is the biggest thing holding iPad back, at least in my opinion. Considering they are getting thinner and thinner, I’d rather get a MacBook Air which can do a lot more. That's exactly the point why they don't wanna change ipadOS. If they start giving macOS on iPad, they will probably loose a big amount of sale on MacBooks