Much like the latest iPhone 16 and 16 Pro, Apple has never been afraid to blur the lines between its products. Their latest tablet is no exception, to a certain extent.
The tech giant's seventh-generation iPad mini – officially the iPad mini (A17 Pro), but we're calling it iPad mini 7 for simplicity's sake – continues a budget-friendly yet powerful small device that has carved its own niche among its bigger, flashier counterparts, and amid a tablet market Apple is dominating.
It's been a little more than three years since we got our hands on a new iPad mini – that's the second-longest idle time for the mini since the gap between the fourth and fifth generations – so let's see what it has to offer.
Form: Just a new hue of blue
We're going to be upfront here: aesthetically, there's no difference between the iPad mini 7 and its predecessor that was launched in 2021. The only major addition is a new colour, blue, which supplants pink and joins purple, space grey and starlight as your options.
The bezel width remains the same, roughly 9mm according to our trusty tape measure. That's practically the same as the bigger iPads but it's much more noticeable on the mini relative to its size.
This begs the question: if Apple can make iPhones with incredibly thin bezels, why not do it for the iPad? We think this is long overdue and would give the iPad mini an even sleeker look (ditto for the bigger iPads) to complement its portability.
The usual buttons are in their place: on its default portrait position, the volume buttons are on the top-left corner and the power button, which also houses Touch ID, is on the top-right (Apple removed the home button and shifted the volume buttons on the sixth-generation iPad mini).
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
The display remains at about 21cm and still uses a liquid retina display, though it's rumoured that an OLED iPad mini will come out in 2026. Its single-lens camera is still at 12MP and, again, supports only eSIMs.
It also does not have NFC – which means you can't use Apple Pay – nor does it have MagSafe compatibility. We know wireless charging is super-slow but it would've been a welcome alternative.
What's inside?
Powering the new iPad mini is the A17 Pro chip, which was used in last year's iPhone 15 Pros. So it's fair to ask why they didn't use the A18, which would've streamlined their new product line-ups considering the new iPhone 16 devices use the same latest processor.
We're guessing Apple is saving the A18 for a refresh of the bigger iPads, which begs another question: why only a new iPad mini right now? It would've been great if an 11th-generation standard iPad was also launched, since the latest Air and Pro were released only in May.
Apple says the A17 Pro gives a 30 per cent and 25 per cent boost in CPU and GPU performance, respectively, which comes in handy to optimise and maximise battery life.
And, in an absolute blast of a move, the new iPad mini now comes in a 512GB variant – no longer will you be stuck with very limited storage on such a device (don't forget about iCloud, of course).
How long does it last?
Which directly brings us to battery life. Apple says the new iPad mini can last up to 10 hours, which has been the ceiling since the very first iPad mini in 2012 – and practically across the entire iPad range.
In our one-hour YouTube-at-full-brightness test, the device lost 15 per cent, which is middling compared to our reviews of the 10th-generation iPad and M2 iPad Pro. Mixed along with other activities, you're good to last a day.
As for charging – using the in-the-box 20W power brick – the iPad mini 7 barely hit 50 per cent in an hour and took a little more than two hours to fully charge – and that's while letting it sit idle.
We're genuinely surprised that a charging brick is still included in iPads, considering Apple has stopped including them since 2020s iPhone 12. We expect them to be gone sooner or later because of Apple's sustainability commitment and the positive reception garnered by that move from environmentalists.
New Apple Intelligence and Pencil tricks
We've already discussed Apple Intelligence a number of times and we'll be able to finally play with it when it comes out with the iPadOS 18.1 update next week.
But for a little refresher, here we go: the iPadOS 18.1 update is expected to include Writing Tools (summarising, proofreading content), Clean Up, Memory movie creation and natural language search in Photos, notification summaries, Reduce Interruptions Focus (which prioritises notifications), message priorities in Mail, Smart Reply and Summaries in Mail and Messages, and an overhaul of Siri that makes it more accurate.
And what's an iPad without its trusty Apple Pencil? For starters, the iPad mini 7 supports the budget-friendly USB-C Pencil and the top-end Pencil Pro, which brings more versatility to users.
But aside from the artistry and doodling we're all familiar with, we're more interested in the more complex things it can accomplish, starting with Math Notes: basically, it allows you to write, with the Pencil, maths problems on the calculator app, then watch iPadOS 18 solve it.
The most interesting thing about it is how it handles variables: in an algebraic equation, if you change up some letters, iPadOS 18 will quickly rework the results and even generate and insert the corresponding graphs. It can even mix different units like, for example, adding figures in inches and metres.
Pretty impressive, though there have been samples on the web in which the results weren't correct.
There's a lot more to digest about Apple Intelligence. And it won't be long until we can fully experience the much-hyped AI platform.
Verdict
The Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro) presents a compelling choice: with support for the Pencil Pro and a really generous 512GB ceiling storage, it's a clear indication that the smallest iPad is becoming a really big deal.
You still don't get higher-tier storage, display and cameras, but that gets evened out by the device being a handy and very portable machine that packs in the power of Apple's offerings.
And to top it all off, it's more affordable – starting prices for the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi-plus-cellular models are Dh2,099 and Dh2,699, respectively, which are both Dh30 cheaper than their predecessors.
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
Liverpool v Manchester United - 3.30pm
Burnley v West Ham United - 6pm
Crystal Palace v Chelsea - 6pm
Manchester City v Stoke City - 6pm
Swansea City v Huddersfield Town - 6pm
Tottenham Hotspur v Bournemouth - 6pm
Watford v Arsenal - 8.30pm
Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Everton - 4.30pm
Southampton v Newcastle United - 7pm
Monday
Leicester City v West Bromwich Albion - 11pm
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Tori Amos
Native Invader
Decca
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
As You Were
Liam Gallagher
(Warner Bros)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
Ukraine
Capital: Kiev
Population: 44.13 million
Armed conflict in Donbass
Russia-backed fighters control territory
Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
HWJN
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The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2.2-litre, turbodiesel
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Power: 160hp
Torque: 385Nm
Price: Dh116,900
On sale: now
MATCH INFO
What: India v Afghanistan, first Test
When: Starts Thursday
Where: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengalaru
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
