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The new Apple iPad mini is here, and it’s available to pre-order from Wednesday, 16 October 2024, before it’s available in your local Apple Store and major retailers from Wednesday, 23 October 2024.
Prices for the new line-up start at AUD$799 and increase to AUD$1,579 for the iPad mini with 512GB of storage and a cellular connection. Despite having 128GB of storage as standard now, these new iPad minis are $28 cheaper than we’ve been able to find the 6th generation device for at major retailers (AUD$827). This is impressive, considering they’ve added more power, Apple Intelligence, Pencil Pro support, USB-C, and more. Let’s check out the complete line-up.
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What Does the New iPad Mini Cost?
The new iPad mini (7th generation) is priced between AUD$799 and AUD$1,579 (USD$499.00 to USD$949.00), depending on specification. That makes it $28 cheaper than the outgoing 6th generation iPad mini costs at most major Australian retailers right now, despite having twice the storage and up to twice the power.
Here’s a complete list of pricing for every make and model in the line-up:
- iPad mini 128GB WiFi: AUD$799
- iPad mini 256GB WiFi: AUD$979
- iPad mini 512GB WiFi: AUD$1,329
- iPad mini 128GB WiFi + Cellular: AUD$1,049
- iPad mini 256GB WiFi + Cellular: AUD$1,229
- iPad mini 512GB WiFi + Cellular: AUD$1,579
That compares the rest of the iPad line-up, which we’ve listed below:
- iPad Air 11-inch 128GB WiFi: AUD$999
- iPad Air 11-inch 256GB WiFi: AUD$1,179
- iPad Air 11-inch 512GB WiFi: AUD$1,529
- iPad Air 11-inch 1TB WiFi: AUD$1,879
- iPad Air 11-inch 128GB WiFi + Cellular: AUD$1,249
- iPad Air 11-inch 256GB WiFi + Cellular: AUD$1,429
- iPad Air 11-inch 512GB WiFi + Cellular: AUD$1,779
- iPad Air 11-inch 1TB WiFi + Cellular: AUD$2,129
- iPad Air 13-inch 128GB WiFi: AUD$1,299
- iPad Air 13-inch 256GB WiFi: AUD$1,479
- iPad Air 13-inch 512GB WiFi: AUD$1,829
- iPad Air 13-inch 1TB WiFi: AUD$2,179
- iPad Air 13-inch 128GB WiFi + Cellular: AUD$1,549
- iPad Air 13-inch 256GB WiFi + Cellular: AUD$1,729
- iPad Air 13-inch 512GB WiFi + Cellular: AUD$2,079
- iPad Air 13-inch 1TB WiFi + Cellular: AUD$2,429
The iPad mini (7th generation) is, without a doubt, the cheapest way to get into Apple Intelligence, especially in tablet form. Still, the 11-inch iPad Air represents a significant step up in power with the M2 chip, and for a $200 price premium, it might be a worthy choice for those who plan to edit photos, draw, and design on their tablet and want an extra few inches of screen space to do so.

Mini But Meaningful Upgrades to Hardware
- 30% boost in CPU performance
- 25% boost in GPU performance
- Hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which is 4x faster than software-based ray tracing
- Apple Pencil Pro (AUD$219) support
- USB-C port replaces lightning port
- Wi-Fi 6E and eSIM enabled
While the most significant changes to the new device involve artificial intelligence, a powerful array of hardware is needed to support this demanding software.
As such, the new iPad mini uses an A17 Pro chip previously found in the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. It comes with a faster CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine—which is twice as fast as the one found in the previous-generation device. Still, we’re talking about an A-series chip, and it would have been nice to see Apple add an M-series chip like the M2 found in the new iPad Air to this budget-friendly model.
However, Apple says that the A17 Pro chip is still a great performer when gaming with hardware-accelerated ray tracing—which the brand says is 4x faster than software-based ray tracing—and arrives alongside support for Dynamic Caching and hardware-accelerated mesh shading. Essentially, games will be smoother, faster, and better-looking. The jury is still out on how many people use an iPad to play graphics-intensive AAA games because we certainly haven’t.
Support for the Pencil Pro has arrived, too, which will be exciting news for those who use it with apps like ProCreate but fairly useless for those who simply use their iPad to read the newspaper and watch YouTube videos. Finally, there’s also support for Wi-Fi 6E, cellular-enabled models now come with an eSIM, and a USB-C port replaces the outdated lightning port on the bottom and transfers files at twice the speed (up to 10Gbps).





This is the Cheapest Way to Get Apple Intelligence
Excitingly, the new iPad mini comes with Apple Intelligence, which is enabled with iPadOS 18.1 and is due to arrive to customers in late November 2024.
This software runs mostly on-device, which is why the hardware upgrades had to be made, but also between your iPad and the dedicated Apple silicon servers for larger, more intensive requests. We’re yet to receive Apple Intelligence in Australia, but here’s a list of the most important features:
- Writing Tools: Re-write, proofread, and summarise text almost everywhere you write, including Mail, Notes, Pages, and third-party apps.
- Siri: This is “more deeply integrated into the system experience” and is distinguished in this update by a glowing light that wraps around the edge of the screen. It understands you better, can converse more naturally, and you can even type to Siri, which works like ChatGPT. It also understands what is happening on the screen and can react and action accordingly.
- ChatGPT integration: This works within Siri and Writing Tools. You get free access to ChatGPT without an account, and the brand says privacy protections are built-in, so your IP address is obscured. More importantly, OpenAI won’t store your requests. Of course, ChatGPT’s data-use policies apply to those who choose to connect their account.
- Genmoji: Type or select a photo of a friend or family member to create a custom Genmoji.
- Image Wand: New tool in the Apple Pencil tool palette that transforms a sketch into an image.
- Image Playground: Pictured above, you can create playful images in moments.
- Clean Up: This tool within the Photos app can identify and remove distracting objects.
Based on the brand’s demonstrations, Apple Intelligence is shaping to be the most deeply integrated and useful AI tool on the market. It will surely reach the most people once it’s released to every iPhone, iPad, MacBook, etc., shortly. The brand has made sure this AI does not do the work for you but instead works alongside you to tailor any of the App experiences to meet your needs and requests.

Plenty Has Stayed the Same With the New iPad Mini
The same 12MP back camera is carried over from the previous model, but it’s capable of HDR 4 in this application, so images will at least appear more vibrant. Not many people take photos using their iPads, so this isn’t a big deal.
What’s more important is the screen, and the iPad Mini appears to have the largest bezels of any current Apple product. That’s probably because they’ve kept the same 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display with P3 wide colour, True Tone, and an anti-reflective coating for this generation of devices. It still looks great, but it would have been nice to see an improved screen here for the new model.
You can check out the full iPad mini line-up on the Apple website, which is linked below.
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