Apple iPad mini A17 Pro (2024): a premium mini tablet experience that still captivates

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iPad Mini A17 Pro (2024): one-minute review

The assortment successful iPad sizes is impressive. You tin get everything from a 13-inch elephantine iPad Pro down to an 8.3-inch iPad mini. Most group astir apt unrecorded successful nan mediate pinch nan celebrated 10.9-inch iPad Air aliases nan caller 11-inch Air, but that small 1 pinch nan 8.3-inch Liquid Retina Display has its adherents.

It's an almost pocket-friendly instrumentality that's celebrated pinch pilots, artists, ardent notetakers, societal media scrollers, students, and readers. It's nan colour reference surface for those who don't want to publication comics connected a black-and-white Kindle (though that caller Colorsoft does alteration things, americium I right?). It's sometimes nan 2nd multipurpose slab successful your arsenal, mini and ray capable to subordinate you connected vacation, and it's sometimes nan cleanable back-porch streaming companion.

The iPad mini is besides a merchandise that's been connected nan bubble. Many worried that Apple mightiness simply cancel it. It was among nan past 2 iPad holdouts to not get an M-class Apple silicon chip, and besides nan past mobile instrumentality to still see nan 'mini' sanction (RIP iPhone mini) – nan only different Apple merchandise pinch that nickname is nan Mac mini.

Instead of sidesplitting it, Apple has fundamentally done a encephalon transplant, upgrading nan erstwhile model's A15 Bionic mobile CPU to nan overmuch much powerful A17 Pro. The prime is surprising, because Apple seems almost anxious to worldly its latest Apple silicon into each caller instrumentality (see nan M4-running iPad Pro); but this clip Apple tapped nan brakes a bit. There's thing incorrect pinch nan A17 Pro, which is nan aforesaid spot you'll find successful past year's iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. It's Apple Intelligence-capable, and has much than capable powerfulness for a surface of almost immoderate size.

If I person a vexation pinch nan latest iPad, alternatively known arsenic nan iPad mini 7th Generation aliases iPad Mini A17 Pro, it's that it's virtually identical successful each respect to nan three-year-old iPad mini 6th generation. Apple didn't fuss to upgrade nan design, nan screen, nan cameras, aliases nan speakers. The only hardware alteration that expresses itself connected nan extracurricular of nan tablet is 1 you tin only spot if you person an Apple Pencil.

The caller iPad mini supports conscionable 2 styluses: nan Apple Pencil USB-C and nan caller Apple Pencil Pro. I wouldn't expect it to support nan original Apple Pencil, but I americium a small amazed that there's nary support for nan Apple Pencil 2. You can't moreover decently spot that Pencil connected nan charging guidelines that sits connected 1 agelong separator of nan iPad, because Apple has reengineered nan hardware underneath.

It's a mini thing, really, and you will admit each nan cool worldly you tin do pinch a Pencil Pro, for illustration compression it aliases usage gestures to alteration devices and Scribble. And pinch 18.1 and Apple Intelligence, you tin moreover Scribble to Siri.

What mightiness matter astir to iPad mini fans, though, is its expertise to support Apple Intelligence. Only nan A17 Pro and supra (along pinch each M-class Apple chips) supports it, but you request to beryllium moving iPadOS 18.1. If you bargain this caller iPad, it will apt get pinch iPadOS 18 and, for illustration my trial unit, not yet support Apple Intelligence. That speaks to nan wide vexation galore of america person erstwhile it comes to Apple's ain marque of AI. It's dribbling retired slowly, and still lacks halfway features for illustration Siri pinch app access, personification activity knowledge, contextual awareness, and ChatGPT access.

Some of these features whitethorn get by nan extremity of October; others mightiness not get until 2025. It's a enigma to maine why Apple is moving truthful slow successful this regard. Eventually, I sewage a developer beta of iPadOS 18.1 onto nan iPad mini, and it performs conscionable arsenic good arsenic I hoped, enabling you, among different things, to quickly summarize notes aliases alteration nan reside of an email pinch Writing Tools, person your Notifications summarized, and moreover get a privilege look into your inbox. Hand-writing queries to Siri is beautiful overmuch tailor-made for nan iPad, and you tin beryllium much precise erstwhile cleaning up photos.

Even without Apple Intelligence, nan iPad mini is an fantabulous tablet. It's besides a premium device, and priced for illustration one, starting astatine $499 / £499 / AU$799 for 128GB of storage. At 9.7 inches, that iPad was larger and heavier (it weighed a lb and a half). The bully point astir nan modern iPad mini is that nan surface isn't overmuch smaller than nan 1 connected nan OG iPad, but it's a overmuch higher resolution, and nan instrumentality is truthful overmuch smaller and lighter.

Few tablets are arsenic versatile and powerful arsenic nan iPad mini. I utilized it for each kinds of work, creative, and intermezo activities and was ne'er disappointed. It remains 1 of my favourite drafting devices.

If you ain an iPad mini 6th generation, clasp onto it and upgrade to iPadOS 18. Even without Apple intelligence, you'll beryllium happy. If you've ne'er owned an iPad and deliberation nan caller iPad Air 11-inch and 10.9-inch iPad 10th gen are excessively large, and a 6.9-inch iPhone 16 Pro Max is excessively small, possibly nan iPad mini is nan saccharine spot you've been looking for. Plus, it supports a stylus, and moreover though nan iPhone screens are getting mighty big, that's 1 point they still don't offer.

Apple iPad Mini A 17 Pro (2024) review: value and availability

• Pricey for its size
• Fresh caller colors

Apple unveiled nan iPad mini A 17 Pro connected October 15, 2025. It starts astatine $499 / £499 / AU$799 for 128GB of retention – that's nan aforesaid value arsenic nan 2021 iPad mini successful nan US, but a £20 summation successful nan UK and AU$50 much if you’re successful Australia. It costs $150 / £170 / AU$200 much than a 10th Gen iPad, which only has an A14 Bionic, and $100 / £100 / AU$200 little than nan guidelines iPad Air. There are cheaper mini-tablet options connected nan market, for illustration nan 8-inch Amazon Kindle Fire HD, which starts astatine $99.99 / £99.99 (it's not presently disposable successful Australia), though you're only getting 32GB of storage, a brace of not-so-great 2MP cameras, and a Hexa-core CPU. Apple is fundamentally asking you to salary a premium value for a well-equipped merchandise to execute premium and master tasks. The caller iPad mini is disposable successful 4 colors: Space Gray, Blue, Purple, and Starlight (somewhere betwixt metallic and roseate gold).

• Value score: 4 / 5

iPad Mini A17 Pro (2024) review: specs

iPad Mini A17 Pro (2024) review: display

• Still a superb and colorful screen
• 500 nits max

When Apple first introduced nan iPad mini 6th procreation successful 2021, it was a large woody not only because of nan wholesale redesign that brought nan mini much successful statement pinch nan iPad Air 4th Gen, which was released a twelvemonth earlier, but besides because was fitting a comparatively ample surface into a overmuch smaller body.

The caller mini besides came pinch caller show technologies, introducing nan 326ppi Liquid Retina Display and LED backlighting to nan mini line.

It's an fantabulous and responsive touchscreen that offers a wide colour gamut, and, of course, Apple Pencil support. It has an antireflective coating, and is somewhat resistant to fingerprints. I'm not thrilled that nan highest brightness is stuck astatine 500 nits erstwhile Apple's different mobile devices are pumping out, nether definite conditions 2,000 nits. Still, this is simply a three-year-old technology, truthful I should not expect 2024 show updates.

My acquisition pinch nan iPad Mini A 17 Pro was, successful galore ways, nary different than pinch nan 6th Gen model, and this is simply a bully thing. As before, everything looks awesome connected nan 8.3-inch display; games, photos, movies, apps, and web browsing are each awesome (I particularly enjoyed perusing photos of babe animals connected National Geographic – it tells maine we're each hardwired to emotion babe animals, and I wholly judge it).

The iPad mini genuinely shines, though, erstwhile you adhd an Apple Pencil. The mini now only supports nan Pencil Pro and Pencil USB-C, and only nan erstwhile tin magnetically complaint connected nan separator of nan iPad Mini. The pens are optional extras though, truthful you'll salary an further $129 for nan Pro aliases $79 for nan USB-C exemplary – I deliberation they're a worthwhile investment.

Apple Pencil Accessory

As an amateur artist, fewer things make maine happier than drafting connected an iPad, usually successful Procreate. I alternate betwixt drafting connected a ample 13-inch iPad Pro and nan pint-sized mini, and moreover though nan surface connected nan second is comparatively small, I ne'er find it constraining.

I tin understand really immoderate mightiness deliberation nan 8.3-inch surface is excessively mini a canvas aliases not ample capable to multitask, but I'd person to disagree. I spent hours drafting nan puppy you tin spot beneath successful Procreate, and I did astir of it connected a divided screen. I dragged nan Safari browser model pinch my reference images up to nan near and gave two-thirds of nan surface to Procreate. It's capable space, I committedness you.

One of nan reasons why sketching connected nan iPad mini useful is nan consciousness of drafting pinch an Apple Pencil connected nan screen. Even though nan surface is perfectly smooth, nan Pencil extremity provides conscionable capable clash to make it consciousness for illustration I'm drafting connected thing different than glass. In immoderate apps, I tin hover my pencil complete nan surface and spot nan cursor aliases drafting dot move pinch nan Pencil. I tin besides compression it to alteration tools.

The Pencil is not conscionable for drawing. For those who don't want to type, you tin scribble words successful various fields and, depending connected nan value of your writing, nan iPad will person them to text. In Notes, I utilized nan caller Math Notes to constitute equations and had nan iPad lick them for maine successful thing that looked for illustration my ain handwriting. I wrote '200+36=' and nan iPad quickly returned '236'. When I added a statement nether my original equation and nan number 2 nether that, Math Notes automatically knew to disagreement by 2 and updated my sum to '118'. Impressive – and fun.

With Apple Intelligence you'll beryllium capable to double pat adjacent nan bottommost of nan surface to unfastened nan Siri Text window, but alternatively of typing you'll constitute successful your query pinch nan Apple Pencil.

• Display score: 4.5 / 5

iPad Mini A17 Pro (2024) review: design

• This looks familiar

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

I've spent rather a spot of clip examining nan caller iPad mini 7th gen from each angle, and there's virtually nary quality betwixt it and nan erstwhile model. I'm good pinch that – this is simply a bully and coagulated design. The 100% recycled aluminum chassis is thin, 6.5mm, and light, conscionable 293 grams. To put that successful perspective, nan iPhone 16 Pro Max weighs 227 grams, truthful Apple's smallest iPad is conscionable 66g heavier. I person large hands, and I tin comfortably clasp nan 7.69in x 5.3-inch tablet successful 1 hand; I usually person nan Apple Pencil successful nan other.

The bezel astir nan surface is possibly a spot heavy by modern iPad standards, and I'm amazed that nan FaceTime camera still lives connected nan constrictive broadside of nan show (Apple moved it for nan iPad Pro). This intends that if you want to make oculus interaction during a telephone you request to look astatine nan near broadside of nan iPad mini.

On 1 short separator is nan very effective Touch ID (also powerfulness and sleep) fastener that I usage not only to unlock nan instrumentality but to motion into myriad accounts. Opposite it are nan 2 measurement buttons, and successful betwixt are a brace of speaker grilles; nan different half of nan stereo speaker strategy is connected nan different broadside of nan iPad, which besides houses nan USB-C port.

The iPad mini offers nary h2o guidance and doesn't person a particulate rating. If you scheme to return it to nan beach, bargain a case. There are still 4 colors to travel from, but joining Starlight and Space Gray are caller Purple and Blue shades. At first, I was very drawn to nan Blue, a benignant of ray anodized return connected nan colour that tin alteration depending connected really nan ray hits it, but Apple's latest return connected Purple is amazingly airy successful little ray and tin really popular erstwhile nether nonstop light. These 2 caller shades and Starlight – perfectly lucifer nan caller AirPods Max.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

iPad Mini A17 Pro (2024) review: cameras

• Decent 12MP cameras
• Centerstage
• No telephoto

The iPad mini is conscionable mini capable that I could ideate group carrying it and taking pictures wherever they go. With a azygous 12MP wide-angle camera connected nan back, it will get nan occupation done, and nan photos it produces are rich | successful item and color. However, they don't clasp up to adjacent scrutiny arsenic good arsenic photos from nan iPhone 16 Pro Max's 48MP main camera.

The beforehand camera takes bully selfies, but not portrait-mode shots. It's acold much useful arsenic a FaceTime camera and, erstwhile I utilized Centerstage, nan ultrawide camera auto-cropped nan framework to travel maine around. It's a bully feature, particularly if you for illustration to locomotion and talk while conducting Facetime calls.

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

• Camera score: 3.5 / 5

iPad Mini A17 Pro (2024) review: software

• Control Center customization
• Home surface and widgets are much customizable
• Calculator
• New Photos app

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

The iPad mini A17 Pro ships pinch iPadOS 18, which brings pinch it galore of nan aforesaid features you'll find connected iOS 18, including a customizable Control Center, nan Photos app redesign, nan caller Passwords app, updated Messages, and nan aforementioned Math Notes (one of my favorites).

Apple Intelligence is coming, too, bringing penning devices to thief you trade amended prose successful almost immoderate situation, Siri pinch a wholly caller look, and, eventually, amended insights into really you usage your iPad.

Aside from what's coming pinch Apple Intelligence, nary of these changes will radically change your iPad experience, though I do deliberation astir of them will make it better. I'm still connected nan obstruction astir nan Photos app, which is truthful different that I can't look to find anything. At slightest it now includes earthy connection hunt queries that should make uncovering photos crossed immense libraries acold easier.

In my little clip pinch Apple Intelligence connected nan iPad mini, courtesy of a developer beta of iPadOS 18.1, I was mostly impressed. Similar to nan Apple Intelligence acquisition connected nan iPad Air, iPad Pro, Mac, aliases iPhone, it's presently a well-rounded group of firsts.

You tin summarize notifications automatically, which makes it easier to triage them aft your instrumentality has been successful slumber mode overnight, aliases while you person 'Do Not Disturb' engaged during a agelong meeting. I particularly for illustration really it summarizes Slack and Group messages, mostly providing a bully gist and summary. The aforesaid goes for Mail successful Apple's ain app aliases third-party ones successful Gmail.

The Apple Pencil Pro (or nan Pencil USB-C) really shines erstwhile it comes taking notes, and while it's not an Apple Intelligence feature, Smart Script is still really awesome successful use, arsenic it cleans up your handwriting successful a measurement that matches your style. I besides still desperately wish I had Math Notes erstwhile I was increasing up.

Maybe nan astir purpose-built portion of Apple Intelligence for nan iPad is Scribble to Siri, though, and it's useful for those times erstwhile you're taking notes aliases conscionable utilizing nan Apple Pencil. You tin double-tap connected nan bottommost of nan surface and commencement penning successful nan Siri container that appears to get answers – it could beryllium a mobility astir your calendar, nan weather, a sports score, aliases moreover a smart location command.

Of course, location are still galore Apple Intelligence features we're still waiting for, from nan wholly redesigned Siri pinch individual discourse and nan expertise to activity wrong apps deeply, to Genmoji, Image Playground, and ChatGPT integration. When those do arrive, nan iPad mini will beryllium capable to grip them all, and will beryllium nan cheapest measurement to get immoderate of these aliases early Apple Intelligence features.

• Software score: 4.5 / 5

iPad Mini A17 Pro (2024) review: performance

• A17 Pro is simply a procreation back
• Still has ample power
• Double nan RAM

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

While I'm amazed nan iPad mini 7th procreation is not moving connected top-of-M-class Apple silicon (not moreover a now last-gen M3), nan A17 Pro is nary slouch. Plus, it's nan first A-class spot that could support Apple Intelligence.

Adding a Pro-level spot to nan mini is almost a nickname of nan iPad's mini spot successful nan imaginative and master world. Pilots tally apps for illustration ForeFlight connected it to scheme trips. It's a analyzable and rich | app that's not for nan faint of bosom (me) aliases a lightweight CPU. The iPad is besides a celebrated drafting and image editing platform, and moving pro-level image editing app Adobe Lightroom connected it is nary problem.

Similarly, I edited 4 streams of 4K videos astatine erstwhile successful Adobe Premiere Rush. And erstwhile it came clip to unwind, I played Asphalt Legends Unite, Madden NFL 25 Mobile, and Fallout Shelter.

The capacity boost you'll spot successful nan caller iPad mini is borne retired successful its Geekbench 6 numbers. The CPU scores are each measurably higher.

It's not conscionable nan CPU that's powering each this capacity – Apple has doubled nan RAM from 4GB to 8GB. Most group judge this has to do pinch Apple Intelligence support, which appears to require astatine slightest that overmuch RAM to execute Apple Intelligence's generative AI tasks locally (some tasks will still person to beryllium done successful Apple's encrypted Private Cloud Compute).

• Performance score: 4.5 / 5

iPad Mini A17 Pro (2024) review: battery

• A agelong activity aliases play day

Apple rates nan iPad Mini 7th Gen astatine astir 10 hours of battery, and successful my anecdotal tests that's astir right. It's not awesome artillery life, and I wonderment if we mightiness person gotten much had Apple made nan move from nan A17 Pro to a much businesslike M2.

In our Future Labs tests, nan caller iPad mini managed astir 10 hours and 36 minutes.

There's nary wireless charging, which is simply a shame since this iPad seems for illustration nan cleanable size to remainder connected a Qi MagSafe charger. At slightest nan iPad ships pinch a woven USB-C cablegram and a bully 20W adapter.

• Battery score: 4 / 5

Should you bargain nan iPad Mini A17 Pro (2024)?

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iPad Mini A17 Pro (2024): Also consider

How I tested nan iPad Mini A17 Pro (2024)

• Drew
• Watched TV
• Played Games
• Browsed nan web
• Edited movies
• Edited photos

I utilized nan Apple iPad mini A17 Pro arsenic I would immoderate different iPad, for each activity I do passim nan day, including Slack, email, conducting video meetings, drawing, editing, videos, and photos, playing games, and watching nan Mets suffer done nan my favourite streaming platform.

I besides spent respective hours pinch nan iPadOS 18.1 developer beta installed connected nan iPad mini seventh-generation, testing nan presently disposable Apple Intelligence features, to get a consciousness of really they execute here.

Read much astir how we test.