Apple announces the iPad mini

On the outside

The mini follows similar engineering and design updates found on the iPhone 5. Colours include white/silver and black/slate. Also, as expected, the iPad mini features the new Lightning connector. This is arguably a much better connector for Apple’s devices moving forward, although adaptors to the older 30-pin connector have only just become available, making it tricky to connect Lightening-enabled devices to older Apple accessories.

The slate finish on the back of a black iPad mini.

On the camera side of things, the Mini has two cameras including a 5 megapixel iSight camera on the back and a 720P FaceTime HD camera on the front. Both cameras have backside illumination that improves low light performance, and the the iSight camera on the front includes video image stabilisation and can capture 1080P videos.

There's also a smaller Smartcover that attaches to the mini and operates just like a full-sized Smartcover.

When and how much?

In terms of price, the iPad mini with just Wi-Fi will start at a recommended retail price of AUD$369 for the 16GB model, AUD$479 for the 32GB model and AUD$589 for the 64GB model. Wi-Fi + 4G LTE models start at AUD$509 for the 16GB model, AUD$619 for the 32GB model and AUD$729 for the 64GB model. Orders will begin on the 26th of October, and Apple will begin selling the Wi-Fi only models from Nov 2, and expects the Wi-Fi + LTE versions to be available a couple of weeks later.

 

Valens Quinn traveled to San Francisco as a guest of Apple Australia.