Five new iPad mini 7 upgrades you might’ve missed

Apple released its new iPad mini model earlier this week, marking the first update in over three years. It was quite a small refresh, mainly focusing on A17 Pro with Apple Intelligence and Apple Pencil Pro – but there are some smaller changes under the hood you might’ve not heard about.

Faster connectivity

The new iPad mini now supports newer Wi-Fi and Bluetooth standards, with support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, up from Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 on the previous model.

This means that your new iPad will support 6GHz Wi-Fi networks, have lower latency, and you’ll face less network interference. Bluetooth connections will also have lower latency and more stability.

Of course, Wi-Fi 6E isn’t the latest tech, and Apple has already started implementing Wi-Fi 7 on some other devices, including the iPhone 16 lineup. Regardless, it’s still a step up.

Apple Pencil Hover

Although this is a much smaller feature that went way under the radar when it was introduced, the new iPad mini now supports Apple Pencil Hover, which Apple introduced back in 2022 with the M2 iPad Pro refresh.

This means you’ll be able to hover your Apple Pencil over certain UI elements to preview or interact with them.

Faster data transfer

The new iPad mini now supports up to 10Gbps of data transfer through USB-C, compared to 5Gbps on the iPad mini 6. This means that file transfers will be around twice as fast on the newer iPad mini, which could be useful for pro workflows, such as Final Cut Pro, which the iPad mini now supports.

Larger storage options

Although many people know that the iPad mini 7 increased the base storage from 64GB to 128GB, you might’ve missed the fact that Apple added an additional storage tier – 512GB. Previously, the iPad mini maxed out at 256GB.

This is the first iPad mini in recent history to feature three storage tiers: 128GB, 256GB, and now 512GB. The higher storage will, once again, benefit pro workflows like Final Cut Pro – if you’re the type to use it on an 8.3-inch display.

Better photos

Most people probably don’t take important photos on their iPad, but if you’re one to do so – you’re in luck! The new iPad mini now supports Smart HDR 4, which improves dynamic range, color accuracy, contrast, and also does a better job handling faces and subjects.

Are you interested in the new iPad mini, or will you be skipping this update? Let us know in the comments below.

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