iPad mini 7 vs iPad mini 6: What has changed?

Apple announced the new iPad mini last night, finally refreshing the series after about three years, and bringing some much-needed changes to the compact tablet. If you have the older iPad mini or are planning to buy one and are confused between the two, here’s a neat comparison between all aspects of the two tablets.

iPad mini 7 vs iPad mini 6 – What’s different?

The new iPad mini 7 comes with several new features and abilities which set it apart from the older iPad mini 6. Here’s a quick look at them.

Performance

The iPad mini 7 is powered by the new Apple A17 Pro, the same chip that powered the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The A17 Pro is two generations ahead of the A15 Bionic chip that powers the older iPad mini.

What this means is better performance in apps as well as games, and faster app loading times. The A17 Pro is also built on a 3nm architecture vs a 5nm architecture, and will offer better comparative battery efficiency while running the same apps.

For gaming especially, the A17 Pro should support all the console-level games available on iOS and iPadOS like Death Stranding, Assassin’s Creed Mirage and the upcoming Resident Evil 2 Remake.

Lastly, the new chip also brings support for Wi-Fi 6E networks and Bluetooth 5.3, which means faster Wi-Fi upload and download speeds if you have a compatible Wi-Fi 6E or higher router, and more reliable range with Bluetooth 5.3 supporting accessories.

Apple Intelligence

The newer A17 Pro also enables Apple’s fancy new Apple Intelligence suite and once the update comes to iPadOS, will allow you to use system-wide AI-powered features like Writing Tools, Image Wand, and Genmoji.

ALSO READ: What is Apple Intelligence, Apple’s very own take on AI?

The suite will also include a more powerful ChatGPT-powered Siri, which will be better natural conversations and more personal with responses. All of this will also be delivered with Apple’s promise of privacy.

Storage

The iPad mini 7 will also offer twice the storage as the iPad mini 6 in the base variant (128GB vs 64GB) and will also be available in 256GB and 512GB variants. That’s more storage and more options than the iPad mini 6, which is offered in only 64GB and 128GB variants.

Apple Pencil Pro

The new iPad mini 7 also supports the Apple Pencil Pro, while the older iPad only supported the Apple Pencil Gen-2. This means in addition to the regular Apple Pencil features, the new iPad mini also allows you to use gestures like squeeze, barrel roll, and haptic feedback.

The Apple Pencil Pro will also support Find My tracking, allowing you to quickly find it when it’s lost. Do note that both the Apple Pencil Gen-2 and the Apple Pencil Pro will be separate purchases.

iPad mini 7 vs iPad mini 6 – What’s not different?

A lot of other elements have not changed between the two iPad mini offerings. These include the design, which is exactly the same for both the iPad mini variants. The only difference here is the colour variants, with the new iPad mini’s blue colour replacing the pink variant.

Both iPads also have the exact same display – an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display with 326 pixels per inch and 500 nits max brightness. The similarity also extends to the cameras, with both tablets offering a 12MP rear and 12MP front camera with identical video recording capabilities. The only difference here is Apple’s Smart HDR 4 computation model replacing the older Smart HDR 3 model.

Those were the similarities and differences between the Apple iPad mini 7 and the iPad mini 6. In a nutshell, the larger improvements on offer are with performance and AI features, as well as better accessory support with the Apple Pencil Pro.