Apple has just confirmed that it will be holding a special event on September 9, and the company is expected to announce the new iPhone 16 and Apple Watch Series 10, as well as new AirPods 4 models. However, it seems that the company may also have plans to announce an updated version of the iPad mini soon.
iPad mini might get an upgrade soon
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, many Apple Stores are running out of stock of the current iPad mini 6. The journalist reports that the device is internally considered “constrained” by the company, which might hint at a new model coming soon.
“Many Apple stores are low on stock of the iPad mini in several configs, while the device is considered “constrained” internally within Apple, I’m told. That could be a sign a new one is coming. It hasn’t been updated since 2021,” the journalist said in a post on X.
The iPad mini 6 was introduced in September 2021. At the time, Apple introduced a new design with reduced bezels and a larger 8.3-inch LCD screen. The iPad mini 6 is powered by the A15 Bionic chip, the same as the iPhone 13, and has just 4GB of RAM. Because of this, the current mini won’t have support for the Apple Intelligence features coming this fall with iPadOS 18.1.
Rumors about the iPad mini 7 suggest that the device won’t get a major upgrade. The design will remain the same, but Apple will adopt a new LCD panel that will fix the “jelly scrolling” problems. When it comes to connectivity, the new mini is also expected to feature support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. There’s also a rumor about better cameras.
Perhaps the most exciting upgrade will be in terms of performance. That’s because code suggests that the iPad mini 7 will be powered by the A17 chip, which would make it compatible with Apple Intelligence – a big selling point for the new model.
Is it coming in September?
Despite Gurman’s report, it’s hard to say for sure that the iPad mini 7 will be announced alongside the new iPhones in September. This has happened in the past, so it wouldn’t come as a surprise. However, Apple is also rumored to be holding an event to introduce new Macs in October, so perhaps the company will wait until then to announce a new iPad.
Apple sells the iPad mini 6 for $499, but you should probably wait for the new one. However, if you really want to buy a mini right now, Amazon sells it for $389 – $110 off.
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