Apple has launched the new iPad mini which is powered by the A17 Pro chip and Apple Intelligence.
The new device which is available in four different finishes, including blue, purple, starlight and space gray, features a 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display.
The A17 Pro has faster CPU and GPU, plus the Neural Engine is two times faster on this new iPad than the previous-generation iPad mini.
The capabilities of the new iPad mini are taken to a whole new level with support for Apple Pencil Pro which can turn the device into a sketchbook that can be taken anywhere.
The Apple Pencil Pro can sense a user’s squeeze to bringing up a tool palette. Users can roll the Apple Pencil Pro for precise control of the tool.
Rotating the barrel changes the orientation of the shaped pen and brush tools, just like pen and paper, and with Apple Pencil hover, users can visualise the exact orientation of a tool before making a mark.
Apple Pencil Pro pairs, charges, and is stored through a new magnetic interface on the new iPad mini. The new device also supports Apple Pencil (USB-C) which can be used for note taking, sketching, annotating, and journalling.
The new iPad mini features all-day battery life and brand-new experiences with iPadOS 18.
The new iPad mini houses the A17 Pro, a powerful chip that can unlock a number of improvements over A15 Bionic in the previous-generation iPad mini.
With a 6-core CPU including two performance cores and four efficiency cores, the A17 Pro delivers a 30% boost in CPU performance.
A17 Pro also brings a boost in graphics performance with a 5-core GPU which allows for faster editing of photos and immersive AR applications.
The new iPad mini has a hardware-accelerated tray racing which is four times faster than software-based ray tracing plus there is support for Dynamic Caching and hardware-accelerated mesh shading.
Apple Intelligence will use the power of Apple silicon and Apple-built generative models to understand as well as create language and images, take action across apps, and draw from personal context to simplify and accelerate everyday tasks.
With Writing Tools, users can refine their words by rewriting, proofreading, and summarising text in Mail, Notes, Pages, and third-party apps. The Writing Tools that are available with the first set of Apple Intelligence feature on the iPadOS 18.
Siri has a new design with a glowing light that wraps around the edge of the screen when it is active on the iPad. The digital assistant has richer language-understanding capabilities.
Siri can follow along when users stumble over their words, can maintain context from one request to the next, and now, users can type to Siri. Plus it can answer questions about features on iPad and other Apple devices.
In Photos, the Memories feature will let users create movies they want to see by simply typing a description. With the new Clean Up tool, distracting objects in the background of a photo can be identified and removed.
Other Apple Intelligence features will be rolling out over the next several months:
– Image Playground lets users can create playful images in apps
– Image Wand is a new tool in the Apple Pencil tool palette that can turn a rough sketch into a polished image.
– With Emoji users can create an original Genmoji by simply typing a description, or by selecting a photo of a friend or family member.
– Siri can draw on a user’s personal context to deliver intelligence that is tailored to them. It will also gain onscreen awareness to understand and take action with users’ content, plus it can take new actions in Apple and third-party apps.
– With ChatGPT integrated into experiences within iPadOS 18, users have access image- and document-understanding capabilities, within Siri and Writing Tools without having to jump between tools.
– Privacy protections are built in so the user’s IP address is obscured, and OpenAI won’t store requests. Users can access ChatGPT for free without creating an account while data-use policies apply for those who want to connect their account.
The new iPad mini supports Wi-Fi 6E, which delivers up to twice the performance than the previous generation, so users can download files, play games online, and stream movies even faster.
Cellular models of the new iPad mini are activated with eSIM. This will allow users to quickly connect and transfer their existing plans digitally, and store multiple cellular plans on a single device.
Customers can easily get connected to wireless data plans on the new iPad mini in more than 190 countries and regions around the world without having to get a physical SIM card from a local carrier.
The USB-C port is now up to two times faster than the previous generation, with data transfers up to 10Gbps, making the importing of large photos and videos faster.
The iPad mini has a 12MP wide back camera and the Smart HDR 4 that allows for more detailed and vivid images.
With the powerful 16-core Neural Engine, the new iPad mini uses AI to identify documents in the Camera app and can use the new True Tone flash to remove shadows from documents.
The 12MP Ultra Wide front-facing camera in portrait orientation, has support for Center Stage.
The iPadOS has advanced frameworks like Core ML to make it easy for developers to tap into the Neural Engine to deliver powerful AI features right on device.
The Calculator has new way to use Apple Pencil to solve expressions, as well as basic and scientific calculators with a new history function and unit conversions.
With Math Notes, users are now able to type mathematical expressions or write them out to see them instantly solved in handwriting like their own. They can also create and use variables, and add an equation to insert a graph.
Users can also access their Math Notes in the Notes app, and use all of the math functionality in any of their other notes.
In the Notes app, handwritten notes are easier to read with Smart Script and the power of Apple Pencil.
Smart Script allows users to edit handwritten text or paste typed text in their own handwriting. As users write with Apple Pencil, their handwriting will be automatically refined in real time to be smoother, straighter, and more legible.
With new Audio Recording and Transcription, iPad can capture a lecture or conversation, and transcripts are synced with the audio, so users can search for an exact moment in the recording.
App icons and widgets can have a dark or tinted effect, and users can make them appear larger to find a size that suits them.
The new tools for the Photos app makes it easier for users to find what they are looking for with a simplified and customisable app. Users browse by themes without having to organise content into albums.
Messages has new animated text effects, redesigned Tapbacks, and the ability to schedule messages to send at a later time.
Bob Borchers, Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing, Apple said: “iPad mini appeals to a wide range of users and has been built for Apple Intelligence, delivering intelligent new features that are powerful, personal, and private.”
“With the powerful A17 Pro chip, faster connectivity, and support for Apple Pencil Pro, the new iPad mini delivers the full iPad experience in our most portable design at an incredible value.”
IOL Technology