There was buzz that a new iPad Mini was coming soon. And today it is here. Apple has launched the new iPad Mini globally as well as in India, its price in India starts from Rs 49,900. Unlike the Air and Pro variants of the iPad that use the M series chipset, the new iPad mini is powered by the A17 Pro, the same chipset that Apple previously used in the iPhone 15 Pro. Apple says the iPad mini is AI ready and also supports the Apple Pencil.

Given that the iPad mini was launched in 2021, a refresh for the iPad mini was long overdue. As a result, the new iPad Mini also seems to be a major upgrade over its predecessor. Not only does it have a much faster chipset but it now starts with double the storage – 128GB – in its base variant.

“With the powerful A17 Pro chip, fast connectivity, and support for Apple Pencil Pro, the new iPad mini delivers the full iPad experience at an incredible value in our most portable design ever,” said Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.

iPad Mini with A17 Pro chipset price and availability in India

Apple has launched its new iPad Mini with A17 Pro chip in India at a starting price of Rs 49900 for the Wi-Fi model and Rs 64900 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. Users will be able to purchase the new generation iPad Mini in a variety of storage options ranging from 128GB to 512GB, with special pricing available for students and teachers. As for color options, the iPad Mini will be available in blue, purple, starlight, and space gray.

Pre-orders for the iPad Mini are starting now. The sale will go live from October 23 via stores and authorized resellers.

iPad mini specifications and features

Given that the iPad mini was quite popular due to its convenient size and low weight, it’s possible that with the new model Apple wants more of its customers to join its AI – aka Apple Intelligence – bandwagon. The AI ​​features are going to be part of iPadOS 18.1, which should debut later this month.

The iPad mini is powered by the A17 Pro chip and features an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display. The new iPad weighs just around 290 grams, which is just 50 grams more than the weight of the iPhone 16 Pro Max. In terms of its design, Apple is following the flat edges and cleaner lines that it previously introduced with the iPad Pro and iPad Air.

Apple says the A17 Pro chipset will allow the latest iPad mini to handle tasks that require high computing power, such as photo editing and immersive augmented reality (AR) applications, more seamlessly. The iPad mini with the A17 Pro now also supports ray tracing in games, which enables more realistic lighting and reflections during gameplay.

As far as the camera is concerned, the new iPad Mini sports a 12-megapixel wide rear camera. The front camera also uses a 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensor that supports Center Stage, a feature that automatically adjusts the camera during a video call to place the subject in the center of the frame.