The Morning After: Apple’s surprise iPad mini

Apple just announced the seventh-gen iPad mini, three years after its sixth-gen model. It has a faster A17 Pro chip, originally found in the iPhone 15 Pro, which means it’ll be able to handle Apple’s incoming AI features — although it’s not Apple's most powerful mobile chip. There’s more RAM too.

Power aside, it has the same 8.3-inch screen as the previous model and an identical 2,266 x 1,488 resolution at 326 ppi. The refresh rate remains a modest 60Hz, in an era of 90Hz or higher. It’s not any bigger, wider or slimmer than its predecessor either.

It’s been a while since a new iPad mini, so we were overdue an update. However, this is a very mild update with no design changes. Also, while the size is smaller, no M-series chip. The new iPad mini arrives on October ...