iPad mini 2024 update: when AI is more important than what users actually want

In a full plethora of hardware updates this fall, Apple also surprised us with a new iPad mini. That’s right — the extra-small iPad, which is lighter than an iPad Air and only slightly bigger than an iPhone 16 Pro Max apparently sells well enough to warrant an update, while the good old iPhone 13 mini is left in the dust.

OK, cool — I do find it a cute little tablet, although I can’t imagine myself getting enough value out of it, so I am not tempted to own one. Had Apple added a few upgrades with the new model, maybe I would’ve thought twice about it… But was there actually an upgrade?

The iPad mini (2024) looks, feels, and operates like the one from 2021, also known as iPad mini 6th gen. Its design is pretty much like a modern iPad Air, just… smaller.

Over the last few years, Apple has done a lot to make iPadOS less of a punchline to a “What does it do?” joke, and more an operating system that walks the line between mobile and desktop. To varying success and differing opinions — I’m not here to argue that right now.

But does the iPad mini benefit from any of those improvements? Well…

We get Apple Intelligence

It seems like the upgrade was done for one thing and one thing only — to give the iPad mini a more powerful Apple A17 Pro processor (same as in the iPhone 15 Pro), and thus make the small tablet compatible with the new and upcoming Apple AI features.

Yeah, the same AI features that have been met with lukewarm reception and nobody can still figure out if and how they are useful.

That may be a bit harsh, but it’s coming from a place of wanting to see actual iPad mini upgrades.

The iPad mini updates that the community wanted

One would’ve hoped to see Apple try and tackle the jello scrolling effect of the iPad mini. Since it’s such a tiny tablet, which uses the “all screen front” design, Apple was quite limited in how to place and utilize the LCD screen driver (controller).

Long story short — scrolling up and down on the iPad mini “squishes” the picture momentarily, making it feel a bit wobbly. Hence why it was dubbed the jello scroll.

Mostly visible when scrolling in vertical

To be fair, most people that love the iPad mini for what it is have learned to love with that admittedly minor oddity. It comes with the territory of having such a small yet relatively powerful tablet, with stereo speakers and all that.

But the hope was “Apple will surely… surely work on improving that with the next iteration, right?”.

Nah, folks, the new iPad mini (2024) has not been touched hardware-wise. Apparently, Apple believes that giving us… AI is enough of an upgrade, no actual perfecting of the hardware is needed!

Then, there’s the added insult of not adding Stage Manager support.

OK, I get it, the iPad mini is not priced high enough to be sold as a “serious iPad”, but it’s also not as cheap as the $350 base iPad, right? The iPad mini (2024) starts at $500, which is kind of steep considering that its size really limits its usefulness to a handful of applications.

It would’ve been very much appreciated if the iPad mini (2024) was able to support Stage Manager when hooked up to an external monitor. As it is right now, connecting it to a big screen gives you a screen mirror of whatever’s on the iPad.

That’s a bit of a slap in the face in late 2024. The iPad Air and iPad Pro can give you a desktop environment, which is admittedly not as convenient as working on a laptop or PC. But it can help you out in a pinch.

Digital nomads that love using the iPad mini for its portability have been quietly hoping for optional Stage Manager support on the new iPad mini — the A17 Pro processor can handle it. Adventurous powerusers have actually gotten it to work (sorry, such mods are not super safe or stable, so we’d rather not link to them).

But no… we don’t get that. We do get some AI features, though!

So, why was the iPad mini (2024) made?

It’s all about the Pencil
I was a bit cynical throughout this article, but I do believe there’s yet another reason why Apple updated the iPad mini.

You may have noticed that Cupertino has finally decided to clean up the mess of different Apple Pencil versions that have amassed over the years (Pencil Gen 1, Pencil Gen 2, Pencil Gen 1 but USB-C, Pencil that looks like a pencil, etc. etc.).

Now, there are only two models — Apple Pencil (USB-C) and Apple Pencil Pro. And that’s good!

However, the new Apple Pencil Pro requires a different array of magnets for latching onto the iPad, and I do believe that this was another driving force behind quickly updating the iPad mini. Sure, on one hand, it was the AI, on the other — Apple needed to refresh the mini quickly and painlessly, so it can clear up older stylus models and streamline its tablets and accessories portfolio.

And that, I believe, is a good thing. Selling a device with A17 Pro that purposefully does not make use of the A17 Pro — not so much.