Skip to main content

Apple debuts iPad mini: 7.9-inch, 7.2mm thick, 10-hour battery life, starting at $329

Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Philip Schiller is now live on stage at the company’s special media event in California, and he just unveiled the new iPad mini.

“The iPad mini is every inch an iPad,” announced Schiller.

The iPad mini is the much-rumored smaller tablet from Apple, and it just debuted at 7.9 inches and .68 pounds.

“It’s as light as a pad of paper,” Schiller added.

The new Apple-branded tablet boasts a 1,024-by-768-pixel resolution, like the previous-generation 9.7-inch iPad models, but it has a 7.2mm-thick aluminum shell that is 53 percent lighter and 23 percent thinner. The iPad mini also has a dual-core Apple A5 processor, a 5-megapixel iSight camera, 802.11n Wi-Fi, LTE capability, Lightning connector, and a 10-hour battery life. The base model

Full iPad mini specs:

  • Comes in Wi-FI and Wi-Fi+ Cellular models
  • 7.2mm thick— 23 percent thinner, “as thin as a pencil,” etc.
  • 53 percent lighter, 0.68 lbs, “as light as a pad of paper,” etc.
  • Colors: black with slate, white with silver
  • 7.9-inch diagonal
  • Exact same pixels as previous-generation iPad: 1,024-by-768—all software works unchanged 
  • 163 pixels per inch (ppi)
  • Bezels: made of aluminum, where as Android is plastic (Schiller comparing iPad mini to Nexus 7)
  • FaceTime HD camera: 1.2MP photos, 720p HD video, FaceTime video calling over Wi-Fi or cellular, Face detection, Backside illumination
  • 5MP iSight camera: 5MP photos, Autofocus, Face detection, Backside illumination, Five-element lens, Hybrid IR filter, ƒ/2.4 aperture
  • Video recording: 1080p HD video recording, Video stabilization, Face detection, and Backside illumination
  • 802.11a/b/g/n, Ultrafast LTE wireless
  • Battery: Built-in 16.3-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery, charging via power adapter or USB to computer system, 10 hours of battery life (ad: “largest and thinnest single-cell battery we have ever designed”)
  • Dual-core A5
  • Lightning connector, 3.5-mm stereo headphone minijack, built-in speaker, microphone
  • Supports AirPlay Mirroring to Apple TV (second and third-generation) at 720p and AirPlay video streaming to Apple TV (third-generation) at up to 1080p and Apple TV (second-generation) at up to 720p
  • Get more details at Apple’s website.

Go to 9to5Mac’s full coverage of the iPad mini for more information on pricing and availability.

An image gallery is below.

Related articles

 

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel