Apple just casually revealed a new iPad mini. It’s the first time the smallest iPad has seen an update since 2021, and, as expected, it’s bringing some serious firepower.

Available for preorder now for customers in the United States and 28 other countries and regions, with availability starting October 23, the seventh-generation iPad mini, or simply, iPad mini 7, starts at $499 (that’s roughly P28,826). Those who live in the Philippines, however, will have to wait a bit longer as local release hasn’t been announced yet.

In the Philippines, the Wi-Fi variant of the iPad mini 7 is priced from P34,990 ($605) for 128GB of storage, while the 256GB and 512GB configurations cost P41,990 ($727) and P55,990 ($969), respectively. The cellular model, on the other hand, starts from P44,990 ($779) and goes up to P65,990 ($1,142) if you opt for the 512GB kit.

So, what’s got Apple fans buzzing about this small-screened tablet? For starters, it boasts the A17 Pro chip, the same silicon that powers the iPhone 15 Pro. This translates to a 30% faster CPU, a 25% faster GPU, and a Neural Engine that’s twice as quick as its predecessor.

You also get advanced graphics features like hardware-accelerated ray tracing. Simply put, the Apple iPad mini 7 is ready to handle anything you throw at it — even console-quality games like Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil Village, and Assassin’s Creed Mirage, which are available on the App Store.

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But the upgrades don’t stop there. Apple Intelligence takes center stage, promising a wave of AI-powered features that could redefine how we interact with our tablets. Imagine a Siri that’s truly intuitive, writing tools that anticipate your needs, and perhaps even some impressive image-generation capabilities.

Apple has addressed a common gripe with the previous generation: storage. The iPad mini 7 now starts with a 128GB configuration, doubling the base storage without a price hike. Digital artists will also be thrilled to know that this mini now supports the Apple Pencil Pro, priced at P8,690 ($150), unlocking a whole new level of precision and creative control.

And while the overall design remains largely unchanged — and that’s to be expected considering the last-gen mini introduced a big hardware overhaul — Apple has introduced a couple of fresh color options: Purple and Blue, alongside the classic Space Gray and Starlight.

Apple iPad mini 7 specs

• 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display, 2,266 x 1,488 resolution, 500 nits brightness, Apple Pencil and Apple Pencil Pro support
• 3nm A17 Pro CPU
• 5-core GPU
• 16-core NPU with Apple Intelligence support
• 128GB/256GB/512GB storage
• 12-megapixel rear camera
• 12-megapixel front camera
• Button-mounted fingerprint reader
• Stereo speakers
• Up to 10 hours (Wi-Fi model) or 9 hours (cellular model) battery life with 20-watt USB-C wired charging
• iPadOS 18
• Colors: Blue, Purple, Space Gray, Starlight

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