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Apple's A17 Pro chip-binning for the new iPad mini pays off with strong benchmark scores

By Alan Friedman

Published: Oct 18, 2024, 6:29 PM

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Two hands hold the iPad mini (A17 Pro) while the screen shows off the Image Playground which creates images based ona description.

The new iPad mini (A17 Pro) can be pre-ordered now with a release date scheduled for October 23rd. As we told you yesterday, Apple is equipping the tablet with a different variant of the 3nm A17 Pro application processor (AP) than the one that powers the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Apple is going through the bins containing defective A17 Pro APs and is repurposing them by deactivating one of the six GPU cores.

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Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro)

Wi-Fi Only, 128GB Storage, Apple A17 Pro Processor, 8.3-Inch Liquid Retina IPS LCD Screen with 2266 x 1488 Pixel Resolution, 12MP Rear Camera, 12MP Ultra-Wide Front Camera with Center Stage, Side-mounted Fingerprint Sensor, USB Type-C Port, All-Day Battery Life, Apple Intelligence Support, Wi-Fi 6E Connectivity, Four Color Options

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Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro)

Wi-Fi Only, 256GB Storage, Apple A17 Pro Processor, 8.3-Inch Liquid Retina IPS LCD Screen with 2266 x 1488 Pixel Resolution, 12MP Rear Camera, 12MP Ultra-Wide Front Camera with Center Stage, Side-mounted Fingerprint Sensor, USB Type-C Port, All-Day Battery Life, Apple Intelligence Support, Wi-Fi 6E Connectivity, Four Color Options

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Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro)

Wi-Fi Only, 512GB Storage, Apple A17 Pro Processor, 8.3-Inch Liquid Retina IPS LCD Screen with 2266 x 1488 Pixel Resolution, 12MP Rear Camera, 12MP Ultra-Wide Front Camera with Center Stage, Side-mounted Fingerprint Sensor, USB Type-C Port, All-Day Battery Life, Apple Intelligence Support, Wi-Fi 6E Connectivity, Four Color Options

$20 off (3%)

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The bottom line is that the GPU on the A17 Pro AP used on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max has six GPU cores. That compares to the five GPU cores on the A17 Pro AP. This version of the A17 Pro SoC might not have the same GPU performance as the A17 Pro found in the iPhone 15 Pro series, but you might not be able to notice the difference. Apple will end up saving some money by using the chip-binning process to obtain the chipsets for the new iPad mini tablet.

Five iPad mini (A17 Pro) units are fanned out.

Apple will release the iPad mini (A17 Pro) on October 23rd. | Image credit-Apple

Also read: iPad mini (A17 Pro) review: small, (will be) smart

A Geekbench benchmark test was run on the iPad mini (A17 Pro) and as we told you yesterday, the tablet does support 8GB of RAM which means that it will be equipped with the Apple Intelligence AI initiative. The previous model, the iPad mini 6, was released in September 2021 carrying only 4GB of RAM.

The iPad mini (A17 Pro) scored about 2800 on the single-core test and approximately 6500 on the multi-core test. Compare that with the iPad Mini 6 powered by the A15 Bionic which three years ago scored 2100 in the single-core test and 5400 in the multi-core test. We should also compare the score of the iPhone 15 Pro Max which also uses the A17 Pro chip. A test I just ran on my iPhone 15 Pro Max returned scores of 2925 and 7123 for the single-core and multi-core tests respectively.

GPU testing on Geekbench showed the iPad mini (A17 Pro), using the five-core GPU on the A17 Pro, had a benchmark score of 25,600 compared to the 20,200 tally generated by the GPU on the iPad mini 6 powered by the A15 Bionic. The iPhone 15 Pro Max, using the A17 Pro AP with a six-core GPU, scored 27957 slightly edging out the new iPad mini.

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.