The iPad Mini (2024) was launched by Apple earlier this week, and is the company’s first update to its smallest iPad model in three years equipped with its A17 Pro chip. While this is the same processor that powers the iPhone 15 Pro models launching in September 2023, Apple appears to have equipped the iPad mini (2024) with a ‘binned’ version of the chip that powered its previous-generation flagships. Provides power to the smartphone. However, this is unlikely to affect the performance of the new tablet in daily use.
It appears that Apple’s iPad Mini (2024) will have a binned A17 Pro chip
According to the technical specifications of Apple’s recently launched iPad mini, the A17 Pro chip on the tablet is equipped with a 6-core CPU and 5-core GPU. Meanwhile, the specifications of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max reveal that the A17 Pro chip that powered last year’s flagship phones has a 6-core CPU and a 6-core GPU.
This indicates that Apple may have equipped the iPad Mini (2024) with the BIN version of the A17 Pro processor. When a microprocessor or memory module is manufactured, some units provide better performance than others, and these are “binned” – or sorted – based on their thermal output, processing capabilities, and other criteria.
The company has already discontinued the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models, and the A17 Pro chip was not reused in the iPhone 16 lineup this year. This suggests that the company could have reused some of its A17 Pro chipsets in new iPad models that did not make it into the iPhone 15 Pro lineup.
Technical specifications of the iPad mini (2024) reveal that the chip powering the tablet has only one less GPU core, suggesting a small difference in performance compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max. We can expect to learn more about how the A17 Pro performs on the iPad mini (2024) via benchmark scores in the coming days – the new iPads go on sale October 23.
