At “California Streaming,” Apple announced a radical new redesign of new iPad mini with a faster processor, larger screen, and other features that drive How-To Geek staff. Here’s a look at the news.
Larger screen, equally small size
By removing the home button on the surface of the iPad mini, Apple has increased the screen size to 8.3 inches diagonally (compared to the 7.9-inch screen of the previous model), while maintaining a comfortably small mini size.
Instead of the home button, Apple moved the Touch ID to the power button on the top of the device. Overall, the device has a stylish symmetrical design with rounded corners (in a 100% recycled aluminum case, Apple said) and still managed to cram stereo speakers into the case.
Improved performance, Pencil 2 support
The A15 Bionic system on the chip of the new iPad mini offers 40% faster processor performance and 80% GPU jump performance compared to the previous iPad mini, bringing the performance closer to Apple’s iPad Pro series.
The new iPad mini also supports Apple Pencil (2nd generation), which allows you to easily draw or take notes on the screen manually. This feature alone could make it a must-have for artists on the go.
Feed and speed
A surprising but welcome step is that the new iPad mini includes a USB-C connector (similar to iPad Pro models), which speeds up transfers (at a speed of 5 Gb / s, which according to Apple is “10x faster than previous generations”). An unprotected connector is great news for people who want to pair accessories with the new iPad.
The iPad mini now also supports 5G wireless for the first time, allowing a much faster mobile network than before. And Apple has also improved the quality of the iPad mini’s front and rear cameras. In particular, the rear camera is equipped with a new 12MP sensor supporting Center Stage, which automatically shifts the image to focus on people who move around the shot.
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iPad mini availability
The new iPad mini comes in four colors (pink, star, purple, and space gray) and can be ordered from Apple today and will be available on Friday, September 24th. All iPad Mini models come with the new iPadOS 15 Prices start at $ 499 (US) for Wi-Fi models and $ 649 for Wi-Fi + Cellular models.
The Apple Watch Series 7 brings a full keyboard to your wrist
Apple Watch Series 7 brings a new screen with 20% more screen space. There’s so much room that Apple even managed to stuff a full-size keyboard around her wrist. (And it looks usable!)
The Apple Watch Series 7, announced on September 14, 2021, may appeal to you, but the Retina display, which delivers 20% more screen compared to the Apple Watch Series 6, is an exceptional feature. However, the watches are approximately the same size. Instead of making the watch 20% larger, it moved the watch display to the edges. The corners are also rounded.
Apple also says it has improved the interface so that the watch screen can hold almost 50% more text. Larger buttons for a larger screen are also available.
Thanks to the larger screen and all those optimizations, Apple can finally have a full keyboard on its wrist. Tap each letter to type or swipe to type using the QuickPath feature, which gets to your watch from your iPhone and iPad. Drag your finger from letter to letter and watchOS guesses the word you are trying to write. You don’t have to scribble individual letters on your wrist, nor hope that Siri can interpret your words correctly.
Of course, this is not the only new feature. Apple says the watch can charge approximately 33% faster and you can get enough juice for eight hours of sleep with just eight minutes of charging. The new watch will also be up to 70% brighter when you have your wrist on.