iPad Mini 4 Uses Speed-Bumped 1.5 GHz A8 Chip With 2 GB of RAM

Apple last week introduced the iPad mini 4, advertising the device as essentially a scaled down version of the iPad Air 2, although the device uses a A8 chip rather than the A8X found in the iPad Air 2. Ars Technica has now taken an early look at the iPad mini 4, finding that the A8 runs at 1.5 GHz, slightly faster than the 1.4 GHz A8 used in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Like the iPad Air 2, the iPad mini 4 also carries 2 GB of RAM.

ipad_mini_4_geekbench

Having a whole extra CPU core makes the 1.5GHz A8X in the iPad Air 2 about 50% faster than the Mini 4, but we're still looking at a 20-or-so percent improvement over the old Mini 2 and Mini 3. That extra RAM will be good for more than just Split View multitasking, too—2GB iDevices need to eject things from memory less often, cutting down on the amount of tab reloading that Safari does and generally reducing wait times when switching between different tabs and apps.

With the iPad mini 4 using a slower chip than the iPad Air 2 while still driving the same display resolution and similar other internals, performance won't be quite as good on the smaller tablet, as the smaller body likely has some heat-related impacts that drove Apple to include the less-powerful chip. Still, users should see substantial performance upgrades over earlier iPad mini models, as well as support for all of the latest iOS 9 features like Split View multitasking.

Related Roundup: iPad mini
Buyer's Guide: iPad Mini (Neutral)
Related Forum: iPad

Popular Stories

apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
iphone 16 pro pro max

iPhone 17 Pro Models With BOE Displays Will Be Sold in China Only

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:59 pm PDT by
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models with displays made by BOE will be sold exclusively in China, according to a new report. Last week, it emerged that Chinese display manufacturer BOE was aggressively ramping up its OLED production capacity for future iPhone models as part of a plan to recapture a major role in Apple's supply chain. Now, tech news aggregator Jukan Choi reports...
top stories 2025 07 12

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, iOS 26 Beta 3, and More

Saturday July 12, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
The iOS 26 public beta release is quickly approaching, while developers have recently gotten their hands on a third round of betas that has seen Apple continue to tweak features, design, and functionality. We're also continuing to hear rumors about the iPhone 17 lineup that is now just about right around the corner, while Apple's latest big-budget film appears to be taking off, so read on...

Top Rated Comments

borntrouble Avatar
128 months ago
I was very upset when Apple left out important information on the iphone 6s concerning battery life, weight etc. at the official keynote last week. But regarding the iPad mini 4, this was basically nothing more than a dirty little lie.

Phil Schiller: "So whats the iPad mini 4? Well simply, we've taken the power and performance of iPad Air 2, and built it into an even smaller and mini enclosure"
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Glassed Silver Avatar
128 months ago
So they basically lied during the keynote.
Interesting.


@50:58min ('https://youtu.be/0qwALOOvUik?t=50m58s')

Glassed Silver:mac
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Menel Avatar
128 months ago
So they basically lied during the keynote.
Interesting.

Glassed Silver:mac
Blatantly lied.
False advertising? maybe.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JonneyGee Avatar
128 months ago
No one can complain about this! But some probably will...
I disagree. Seeing the new iPad Mini come in slower than last year's iPad Air is disappointing.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rogifan Avatar
128 months ago
Has anyone confirmed that the A8 in the iPad mini is slow and makes the user experience poor? I can't say I've ever thought my iPhone 6 was slow. Yes I wish it had more RAM but I've never thought the phone felt slow. I don't care about specs, I care about user experience.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mackinjosh Avatar
128 months ago
No one can complain about this! But some probably will...
And fanboys like you will blindly defend the decision to not include a chip that works in smaller devices like the upcoming iPhones. But yeahhhhhh everyone else that hates these cheap moves by Apple are just "complainers".
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)