Apple tells us why Scribble to Siri and Math Notes take the iPad mini to new heights

The new iPad mini 7 is the perfect showcase for Apple Intelligence

Features By Jacob Krol published 24 October 2024

Apple’s latest iPad mini – the seventh generation or, as the company dubbed it, the iPad mini (A17 Pro) – isn’t just the latest bit-sized, premium tablet; it’s now the entry point to Apple Intelligence. Yes, the Cupertino-based technology giant is ushering in AI features that focus on providing real benefits to folks with privacy in mind and are designed to fit right into the devices and platforms their customers already use.

Apple Intelligence is also a bet on the long game – which, to some degree, is similar to the story of the iPad mini A17 Pro. This variant arrives three years after the last generation, and Apple first unveiled its Apple Intelligence ambitions back in June 2024 at WWDC. Now, nearly four months later, we’re getting iPadOS 18.1 – alongside iOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1 – which is also the delivery vehicle for Apple’s latest suite.

Before the iPad mini, you had to spend at least $799 / £799 / AU$1,399 on an iPhone 16 to get in the Apple Intelligence game, but you can now spend just $499 / £499 / AU$799. For that, you get an 8.3-inch iPad with supercharged speed courtesy of Apple’s A17 Pro chip, and access to all the imminently available AI features – and you’re also futureproofing yourself for many years to come. You’ll get to see what makes the iPad mini such a compelling experience, too.

You can read our full verdict on Apple’s latest slate in our iPad mini (2024) review, but here I’m unpacking my conversation with Tom Boger, Apple’s Vice President of iPad Product Marketing, and Kurt Knight, Senior Director, Platform Product Marketing. The conversation covers everything from why now is the time for the iPad mini to the launch of Apple Intelligence, and also features an answer to what is, in my opinion, the burning question: how Math Notes works.

Boger believes that now is the perfect time for the iPad mini launch because of the A17 Pro chip, Apple Pencil Pro, and Apple Intelligence, noting that they “create what we think is a very compelling upgrade to the mini.” Further, it’s the right mixture for the many places an iPad mini might end up. Given that it’s more affordable than, say, an Air, but still delivers an on-par user experience, the iPad mini is used by a broad range of folks. Boger mentioned general consumers, as well as students, healthcare workers, architects, and even pilots… all types of people who opt for the iPad mini thanks to its range of features in a size that can really go anywhere.

In terms of the chip inside, the A17 Pro isn’t a brand-new one, as it first premiered on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Sure, it’s not the latest A18 or an M-series, which you’ll find inside the iPad Air and iPad Pro respectively, but it feels perfectly at home in the iPad mini. It’s also scalable, and when I asked Boger if the iPad mini was a pro tool, he summed up the device as “a product that spans all the way from the everyday consumer, all the way up to pro use cases, especially vertical use cases.” He specifically cited doctors who can fit it in a lab coat pocket, pilots who fly with it in the cockpit using apps like Foreflight, gate agents using it during the boarding process, and field service technicians.

That’s been the case for the iPad mini for a while, thanks to its winning combination of an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display in a sleek, aluminum build that doesn’t weigh you down, and which offers close to all-day battery life. The A17 Pro certainly speeds things up as it has a 30% faster CPU and 25% faster GPU compared to the A15 Bionic in the sixth generation, but there’is also a new accessory – the Apple Pencil Pro.

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