On Tuesday, Apple launched a new generation of the iPad mini, which is specially upgraded for the new age of Apple Intelligence. The device is powered by an A17 Pro chip and boasts a compatibility with the new generative AI offering from the Cupertino-based company.

The new release marks the first significant update to the 8.3-inch device since 2021. The A17 Pro, meanwhile, was announced last year, coming to the iPhone 15 Pro. That premium device, in turn, became the first of Apple's phones to officially support Apple Intelligence. That changed with a September event, which brought the feature to the newly announced iPhone 16 line.

The A17 Pro sports six-core CPU with two performance and four efficiency cores and five-core GPU. Both should deliver significant performance improvements over the A16 Bionic that shipped with the 2021 model. The big news on that front is the neural engine, which delivers access to Apple Intelligence through iPadOS 18.

What's more, Apple's small-model answer to the likes of ChatGPT and Google Gemini features writing tools and a fully refreshed Siri experience. Still on the way, though: the rest of Apple Intelligence, a work in progress. Other features include Image Playground for graphic generation and integration with Apple Intelligence using ChatGPT.

An addition means that Apple Intelligence is now on all the iPad line, except for the base model. It is however the only of the four devices to sport a mobile chip, versus the M4 found in the latest base iPad and iPad Pro. The iPad Air, meanwhile, runs on the older M2.

The new iPad is also inheriting the redesigned Calculator app that will respond to handwritten notes. On that front, the mini will be compatible with Apple's Pencil and Pencil Pro, bringing increased flexibility for artists and those who merely prefer to write down their notes.

The rear-facing 12-megapixel wide-angle camera supports Smart HDR 4 for better balanced lighting in photos. The mini maintains the Touch ID functionality built into the power button, rather than graduating to Face ID, which is available on the Pro model.

For a starting point of $499 with 128GB of storage - double that with which its predecessor started - the new iPad mini is joined by an even smaller, very strangely shaped iPad, which starts at $649 for the cellular version. The tablet is up for preorder today and starts shipping on October 23.