New iPad Mini To be Cheapest Apple Device To Support AI Features

With Australia set to receive the first set of the new iPad Minis on Wednesday, Apple has already confirmed that it will have the A17 Pro chip, the same one used in the iPhone 15 Pro lineup.

That means the new iPad Mini will be capable of running the set of Apple Intelligence features – which are confirmed to arrive in Oz in December.

With retailers such as JB Hi-Fi offering the Mini at a starting price point of A$799, it would also make this the cheapest Apple device to feature the upcoming Apple Intelligence features.

Early buyers of the device will need to install the software upgrade at home once the features are launched. However, while Apple has chosen to highlight that the device will support its new AI features, the company’s marketing website highlights four of them; although three aren’t launching until between December and March.

At the start, the signature AI feature will be notification summaries, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

However, Apple’s offering is coming up against some stiff competition from Google, OpenAI and Meta.

Gurman suggests that internal studies at Apple too have found that OpenAI’s ChatGPT was 25 per cent more accurate than Apple’s Siri, and able to answer 30 per cent more questions. Some believe Apple’s generative AI technology in its current state is more than two years behind the industry leaders.

Apart from its vast resources, as Apple tried to catch up, is its ability to roll out features to a large base of devices. As it has demonstrated with the iPad mini, Apple can quickly equip its current products with the technology needed to run new software.

When Apple announced its AI features in June, the software was only compatible with two iPhone models. By 2026, nearly every new Apple device with a screen is expected to be able to run it.

While not many will be convinced that Apple is winning the AI race for smartphones, the iPad Mini could be the product with which the company– at an affordable price point – locks in customers to the idea and allure of Apple Intelligence on which it is banking heavily for the future.