Ahead of tomorrow’s official launch, some journalists and media influencers have reviewed the upcoming iPad mini 7. With Apple Intelligence support, this is the iPad mini Pro people have always asked for. Here’s what they think of this new tablet and whether it’s worth it for you.
With a better processor, Apple Intelligence and Apple Pencil Pro support, Engadget loved this new tablet. However, it’s still a secondary display for them:
“It’s definitely not meant to be a laptop replacement, like the much larger and more capable 13-inch iPad Air and iPad Pro I reviewed earlier this year. Instead, it’s an enjoyable secondary device that I mostly used after the workday was done, in place of my MacBook Pro or iPhone.”
Apple powers this tablet with the A17 Pro chip, almost the same used for the iPhone 15 Pro. However, MobileSyrup says it “barely” runs triple-A games:
The new chip runs most iPad games and heavy-duty apps with ease, but it struggles to play AAA games like Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Resident Evil 4. Admittedly, this is pretty niche, but if Apple is only going to upgrade the iPad mini every three years, it’s pretty disappointing that this model can barely play big-name games. When I was trying to play AC, it was freezing and dropping frames constantly, which mirrors my experience using the A17 Pro chip with my iPhone 15 Pro.
Mashable says double the storage and RAM are the key upgrades for this tablet:
The big takeaways here are the big RAM increase and 128GB of starting storage, which is a huge upgrade as 64GB (the starting storage on the previous generation) was just cutting it way too close for comfort if you have a couple of games installed.
MacStories says this tablet looks almost the same as the previous model, especially for the reviewer, who lives in Italy. Without Apple Intelligence, the iPad mini 7 feels like an important upgrade without an impressive change. Still, one issue with the previous model has been fixed with this generation:
I’m happy to report that, in the new iPad mini, the jelly scrolling issue has been fixed without the need to change the underlying display technology of the device. The new iPad mini has an optimized display controller that ensures the entire panel will refresh at the same rate and speed. For this reason, even though it’s the same display across two generations with the same refresh rate, color gamut, pixel density, and brightness, the new iPad mini does not have one side of the screen that refreshes more quickly than the other.
Wired review shows the iPad mini 7 is a “future-proof” iPad for anyone planning to upgrade:
For newcomers or anyone with an older Mini, this is otherwise a great tiny tablet. With a modern chip that supports the latest software smarts and accessories, the iPad Mini has been future-proofed for the next few years.
You can also read reviews by CNET, Trusted Reviews, and QG Magazine.
