Apple unveils A17 Pro-powered iPad mini with Apple Intelligence capabilities

The new iPad mini (7th Gen) also supports Apple's latest Pencil Pro stylus.

Apple on Tuesday (October 15) announced the launch of the new-generation iPad mini.

The latest iPad mini (7th Gen) sports an 8.33-inch LED backlit liquid retina (2266x1488p) display with IPS technology. It comes with a pixel density of 326 ppi (pixels per inch). The enclosure is made of recycled aluminium.

Under the hood, it houses an Apple A17 Pro chipset, which promises faster, more efficient CPU and GPU performance. It also comes with a new Neural Engine that can deliver 2X performance over the previous-generation iPad mini.

Also, it comes with hardware-accelerated ray tracing — which is said to be 4x faster than software-based ray tracing. It also supports Dynamic Caching and hardware-accelerated mesh shading, which ensures the gaming graphics come off as close as real and deliver an immersive gaming experience on the iPad mini's display panel.

The new iPad mini.

Yes, it also supports Apple Intelligence. It will work systemwide seamlessly, including native apps such as Siri digital assistant, Notes, iMessage, Mail, Photos app and even third-party apps installed on the iPad mini.

It will also come integrated with Image Playground. With this, the device can dish out synthetic images with text prompts. It will be available as a standalone app and will also baked into the iMessage app. Initially, it will offer three styles: Animation, Illustration, or Sketch.

On the back, it houses a 12MP wide camera. It supports Smart HDR 4 to deliver natural-looking photos with increased dynamic range. With machine learning technology, it can detect and scan documents right in the native Camera app.

On the front, it features a 12MP ultra-wide FaceTime camera in portrait orientation. With support for Center Stage, it ensures the user is centred in the frame, even if he/she moves.

With a full charge, it can deliver a full day of battery life.

Also, the new iPad mini supports Apple's latest Pencil Pro stylus. The latter comes with a new sensor that can sense a user’s squeeze, bringing up a tool palette to quickly switch tools, line weights, and colours.

The new Apple iPad mini.

It houses a new custom haptic engine that can detect finger squeeze and tap gestures to perform functions. A light tap or squeeze registers as confirmation of an operation.

The gyroscope sensor allows users to roll Apple Pencil Pro for precise control of the tool they’re using. Rotating the barrel changes the orientation of the shaped pen and brush tools, just like pen and paper. And with Apple Pencil hover, users can visualise the exact orientation of a tool before making a mark.

The new iPad mini will be available in three storages (Wi-Fi only)-- 128GB, 256GB and 512GB -- with prices of Rs 46,900, Rs 59,900 and Rs 79,900, respectively. For Wi-Fi+ Cellular models, the prices are Rs 64,900, Rs 74,900 and Rs 94,900, respectively.

It comes in four colours--space grey, blue, purple, and starlight. It is available for pre-order today and is slated to hit stores later this month on October 23.

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