Apple has already upgraded two tablets in its iPad lineup this year, the iPad Air and the iPad Pro. That leaves the iPad mini and legacy iPad needing upgrades, with some rumors saying it’ll happen before the end of the year. Will Apple launch the iPad mini 7 and iPad 11 at the iPhone 16 event?
Until now, there has been no indication that an iPad refresh was in the cards for the September 9th event. An insider claims that the iPad mini 6 supply is running out at Apple stores, suggesting an upgrade may be imminent.
Apple will unveil several products in a couple of weeks in addition to the iPhone 16 series. We’re expecting the Apple Watch SE 3, Apple Watch Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 3 at the event. Also, Apple should unveil two AirPods 4 models. Add all the expected talk about Apple Intelligence features, and the event should be pretty packed.
Could Apple Intelligence be why Apple might want to upgrade the iPad mini 7 and iPad 11 as soon as possible? These are the only iPads in Apple’s inventory that can’t run Apple’s AI once iPadOS 18.1 hits. You need an M1 chip or later to do it. The iPad mini 6 runs on the A15 processor, while the iPad 10 has an A14 inside.
Considering Apple just cut the price of the latter, it seems likelier for the iPad mini 7 to get hardware that can run Apple Intelligence. That means an A17 Pro chip or later bundled with 8GB of RAM. I don’t think the iPad 11 can match the iPhone 15 Pro hardware, but I might be wrong.
I only say that because Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman posted an update on X regarding the iPad mini 6 situation. The tablet is low on stock at Apple stores, and this signals an upgrade is in the works:
Many Apple stores are low on stock of the iPad mini in several configs, while the device is considered “constrained” internally within Apple, I’m told. That *could* be a sign a new one is coming. It hasn’t been updated since 2021. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it updated for AI.
Gurman also speculates that the iPad mini will be updated for Apple Intelligence, which makes complete sense. In the coming months, Apple will want to update as many products as possible to run Apple Intelligence. The iPhone is the priority, as only the iPhone 15 Pros can run Apple’s AI right now. The iPhone 16 series will fix that problem for Apple.
But when it comes to tablets, the more affordable ones do not support Apple Intelligence. That’s why an iPad mini 7 upgrade might come in handy. Aside from AI support, the iPad mini 7 might get new display tech to fix the refresh issues some users complained about in the tablet’s early days.
However, there’s no guarantee Apple will launch the iPad mini 7 on September 9th. But we could still see the tablet arrive later this year. As a reminder, Apple is also said to launch new M4 MacBooks in the coming months.
