The new
iPad
Mini has
arrived,
bringing
with
it
a
faster
A17
Pro
chip,
8GB
of
RAM,
support
for
the
Apple
Pencil
Pro,
and
a
taste
of
Apple
Intelligence.
However,
unless
you’re
dead
set
on
the
tablet’s
8.3-inch
form
factor,
the
latest
iPad
Air
is
a
better
buy
—
especially
since
the
11-inch
configuration
is
on
sale
at
Amazon
and
Target
with
Wi-Fi
and
128GB
of
storage
starting
at
$498
($101
off),
an
all-time
low.
If
you’re
having
trouble
choosing
between
Apple’s
entry-level
iPad
and
an
M4-powered
iPad
Pro,
the
2024
iPad
Air
represents
the
middle
ground.
It’s
a
good-step
option
from
the
base
iPad
with
USB-C
charging,
support
for
both
the
Apple
Pencil
(USB-C)
and
newer
Apple
Pencil
Pro,
and
a
laminated
Liquid
Retina
display.
The
latter
isn’t
as
nice
as
the
120Hz
OLED
screen
found
on
Apple’s
premium
iPads,
though,
and
the
Air
is
still
beholden
to
the
same
aging
Touch
ID
sensor
for
logging
in
as
previous
models,
as
opposed
to
Face
ID.
Thankfully,
it
does
sport
a
12MP
landscape-oriented
webcam
—
a
welcome
tweak
from
the
prior
model
—
and
a
speedy
M2
chip,
which
allows
it
to
leverage
AI-powered
writing
tools,
a
new
and
(slightly)
improved
Siri,
and
a
slew
of
minor
Apple
Intelligence
features
found
in
iPadOS
18.1.
Admittedly,
none
of
the
AI
features
currently
in
beta
are
revolutionary
—
ChatGPT
integration
won’t
arrive
until
December,
and
some
most
promising
tools
won’t
arrive
until
2025
—
but
at
least
you’ll
have
a
futureproof
iPad
for
whatever
Apple
ships
in
the
coming
months.
Join
nearly
50,000
followers
and
keep
up
with
the
best
daily
tech
deals
with
@vergedeals
Follow
us!Original author: Brandon Widder
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