It’s been a while since Apple released a new iPad Mini, but that might not be the case for much longer. It seems that during the final Apple event of the year, we might get the big reveal of the latest little iPad. Better still, it might pack some serious performance power.
According to a report from Tom’s Guide, we can expect the iPad Mini 7 to utilize either the A17 chipset, the same as the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, or the A18 of the new iPhone 16 smartphone. Considering these are the processors behind some of the best gaming iPhones out there, we can anticipate a stellar gaming experience on the new tablet. Not only that, but either of these chips would make the new iPad Mini capable of running Apple’s new AI features under the umbrella of Apple Intelligence.
In terms of the launch date, Apple’s final event of the year usually comes around the end of October. Apple analyst Mark Gurman has floated either October 28 or November 4 as potential reveal dates, so I’d mark both dates in your diary if you’re hoping to tune into the reveal. While much of the presentation is likely to focus on Mac, including the launch of a new Mac Mini, we should also get some iPad updates.
While the news of an upgraded chipset is welcome, it doesn’t look like we’re getting all the upgrades we want with the iPad Mini 7. The biggest disappointment is that there’s no suggestion of an OLED display for the pint-sized tablet. Given that you can get something like the Honor MagicPad2 with an OLED display for around the same anticipated $499 price point as the iPad Mini 7, it makes Apple’s tablet less of a tempting prospect for streaming video and playing games. There’s no cleaner operating system than Apple’s, though, and we’re also expecting boosted RAM and storage with the new iPad mini, so it’s still not an easy decision.
It’s worth noting that the original leak from which we’ve taken some of this information wasn’t entirely correct, as it predicted the launch of the iPad Mini 7 during Apple’s September event. However, other sources have since seemingly corroborated some of the rumored specs, including the use of either of Apple’s AI-ready mobile chipsets, so it seems more likely to expect our list of the best iPads to have at least one new contender by the second week of November.