Apple gave the iPad mini a surprise refresh with faster internals and other minor upgrades. The highlight is Apple Intelligence support, bringing Apple’s AI suite of tools to its smallest iPad.
So, should you ditch your iPad mini 6 for these upgrades? Or hold on to it for another year or two? Find out in our iPad mini 7 vs. iPad mini 6 comparison.
iPad mini 7 vs iPad mini 6 comparison
The iPad mini 7 looks just like the model it is replacing. There are hardly any visible design differences. Internally, though, Apple’s latest iPad mini packs some key upgrades, including the switch to a faster and more efficient A17 Pro chip. This new SoC enables Apple Intelligence support, putting the new iPad mini in the same league as Apple’s M-series iPad Air and iPad Pro.
But should you upgrade to iPad mini 7 just for Apple Intelligence and a faster chip?
Table of contents: iPad mini 7 vs. iPad mini 6 comparison
Design and Display
Photo: Apple
- iPad mini 7: 195.4 x 134.8 x 6.3mm, 293 gms; 8.3-inch Liquid Retina Display, 500 nits SDR brightness, Apple Pencil hover
- iPad mini 6: 195.4 x 134.8 x 6.3mm, 293 gms; 8.3-inch Liquid Retina Display, 500 nits SDR brightness
The iPad mini 7 and mini 6 have the same dimensions and weight. There’s no difference here. So, you get a Touch ID-integrated power button, a USB-C port at the bottom, and landscape-oriented stereo speakers.
Even the display size and peak brightness remain unchanged, with Apple using an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina panel on the new iPad. There were rumors that Apple would use a 120Hz ProMotion panel on its next iPad mini, but sadly, that’s not the case.
It’s not confirmed, but presumably Apple is using a newer-gen panel to ensure the iPad mini 7’s display does not suffer from jelly scrolling issues like its predecessor. We’ll find out when the first reviews are published.
The only notable display upgrade is support for Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil hover. This means you can use Apple’s newest Apple Pencil with the iPad mini 7 and enjoy all its benefits, including haptic feedback. It also supports Apple Pencil (USB-C). The iPad mini 6 supports Apple Pencil (2nd gen) and the USB-C variant.
iPad mini 7 processor and storage
Photo: Apple
- iPad mini 7: A17 Pro (3nm fab), 6-core CPU, 6-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, dedicated AV1 decoder, USB-C controller, second-gen Ultra Wideband chip, up to 1TB storage
- iPad mini 6: A15 Bionic (5nm fab), 6-core CPU, 4-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, up to 512GB storage
The biggest upgrade on the iPad mini 7 is the new and more efficient A17 Pro chip. It’s a notable step up from the iPad mini 6’s A15 Bionic chip. Apple claims the new SoC brings a 30% boost in CPU and a 25% uplift in GPU performance. The Neural Engine is also twice as fast, greatly speeding up AI and machine learning tasks.
Thanks to the faster chip, the iPad mini 7 supports Apple Intelligence. Once iPadOS 18.1 lands, the new iPad mini will gain access to features like Writing Tools, natural language photo search, suggested replies to Messages and more. You can check out our hands-on with the first 10 Apple Intelligence features to know what we think about them.
Besides the new A17 Pro SoC, the new iPad mini ships with twice the base storage as its predecessor. The entry-level model ships with 128GB, with the other two options being 256GB and 512GB. For comparison, the iPad mini 6 shipped with 64GB base storage, with 256GB being the only other variant.
Unlike the iPad Pros, the iPad mini does not have a dedicated AV1, ProRes, or video encode/decode engine for faster video file processing. But gamers can be pleased that it supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing — which is 4x faster than software-based ray tracing — as well as support for Dynamic Caching and hardware-accelerated mesh shading.
Front and rear cameras
Photo: Apple
- iPad mini 7: 12MP Wide camera, f/1.8 aperture, True Tone flash, Smart HDR 4; 4K 60fps video recording, 1080p@240fps slow motion; 12MP Ultra Wide camera, f/2.4 aperture, Center Stage, Smart HDR 4
- iPad mini 6: 12MP Wide camera, f/1.8 aperture, True Tone flash, Smart HDR 3; 4K 60fps video recording, 1080p@240fps slow motion; 12MP Ultra Wide camera, f/2.4 aperture, Center Stage, Smart HDR 3
Despite launching three years later, the iPad mini 7 packs the same camera as its predecessor. You get a 12MP shooter at the rear and another 12MP camera at the front. The only notable upgrade is Smart HDR 4 support, which should improve dynamic range and help improve the overall image quality.
Connectivity
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac
- iPad mini 7: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, 5G, Gigabit LTE, eSIM, USB-C
- iPad mini 6: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, 5G, Gigabit LTE, nano-SIM, eSIM, USB-C
The iPad mini 7 brings two significant connectivity upgrades, supporting the faster Wi-Fi 6E standard and Bluetooth 5.3. Compared to the iPad mini 6’s Wi-Fi 6, the new Wi-Fi standard delivers higher bandwidth and improved throughput. Other iPads in Apple’s lineup also support Wi-Fi 6E, with only the iPhone 16 series featuring Wi-Fi 7 compatibility.
Another minor change is that the iPad mini 7 does not have a dedicated nanoSIM slot. Instead, it only works with eSIM.
Price
- iPad mini 7: Starts from $499; $649 for cellular variant
- iPad mini 6: Started from $499; $649 for cellular variant
Even with a faster processor, twice the base storage, and faster connectivity, the iPad mini 7 retains the same price as its predecessor. So, Apple’s newest iPad mini provides a lot more bang for the buck than the iPad mini 6. You can now also configure the machine with up to 512GB of storage, which might be useful if you use the iPad mini as a laptop replacement.
iPad mini 7 vs iPad mini 6 conclusion: Not an upgrade you should make
Barring the above changes, the iPad mini 7 is very similar to the iPad mini 6. You get the same array of sensors, color options, landscape stereo speakers, etc. The upgrade to a faster A17 Pro chip is a big one, especially since it brings Apple Intelligence support.
But this alone is not a good enough reason to ditch your iPad mini 6 and upgrade to the newer model. The changes are too minor otherwise to warrant an upgrade. Unless you feel Apple Intelligence can significantly improve your iPad workflow, wait for the next iPad mini refresh.
Buy now
iPad mini 7: Apple
