Apple's new iPad mini is more exciting than it looks

iPad mini 7
(Image credit: Apple)

When Apple announces a new product via a simple press release, it's usually one of the company's less exciting launches. Indeed, the new iPad mini, revealed this afternoon, looks like a particularly iterative update. But the specs are impressive, and for fans of the mini's diminutive form factor, the very fact that Apple is keeping the tiny tablet in the race is cause for celebration.

iPad mini 7

(Image credit: Apple)

A white Apple Pencil Pro being used with an iPad Pro M4

The new iPad mini supports Apple Pencil Pro (Image credit: Glen Southern)

At a glance, internals aside, the new iPad mini looks pretty similar to the 6th generation. There are no major design changes save for the addition of new blue and purple shades, and that display, infamously prone to 'jelly-scrolling', remains the same. But with the addition of the much-improved chip, offering a faster CPU and 2x faster Neural Engine, and support for the impressive Apple Pencil Pro, this really does look like the full iPad experience for creatives.

And "full iPad experience" is the key here. Apple has had form when it comes to axing its smaller devices lately, with the iPhone mini facing the chop in 2022. But by upgrading both the chip and stylus support for the iPad mini, Apple is declaring the diminutive tablet a bonafide iPad.

Apple iPad mini 6 on a desk

We're fans of the iPad mini 6 (Image credit: Future)

From the from Adobe iPad suite to the full version of 3D software ZBrush, there's a plethora of iPad apps available for creatives, and to be able to access them in such a diminutive package is great news for creatives on-the-go. Screens might be getting bigger, but the iPad mini remains a delightful outlier, and the fact that Apple's timely update shows that the device has at least a few more years of life left is great news to me.

The new iPad mini is available to preorder now. It ships from 23 October and starts at £499. For the lowdown no the previous model, take a look at out iPad mini 6 review.

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Daniel John
Design Editor

Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles. He has interviewed leaders and designers at brands including Apple, Microsoft and Adobe. Daniel's debut book of short stories and poems was published in 2018, and his comedy newsletter is a Substack Bestseller.