Apple iPad Mini launches with 7.9in screen, prices from £269

Apple has officially launched the iPad Mini claiming it's "not just a smaller iPad".

The iPad Mini has a 7.9in LED backlit display with a 1024 x 768 resolution, the same as the iPad 2, and the option of WiFi only or WiFi+Cellular models offering 4G LTE connectivity.

Read our round-up of Pad Mini hands on reviews

Available to pre-order from this Friday October 26th, the iPad Mini WiFi version will start shipping the following week on Friday 2nd November in the UK. We will have to wait until 'late November' for cellular models.

The smallest iPad yet is also the most affordable, with the cheapest iPad Mini being the 16GB, WiFi-only iPad Mini, which will sell for £269.

iPad Mini prices

Apple iPad Mini 16GB £269 (WiFi) £369 (WiFi+cellular)

Apple iPad Mini 32GB £349 (WiFi) £449 (WiFi+cellular)

Apple iPad Mini 64GB £429 (WiFi) £529 (WiFi+cellular)

The iPad Mini is 23% thinner and 53% lighter than the 3rd generation iPad and has the same 10-hour battery life.

It can be held one-handed, as you can see, and has the Apple A5 chip.

It will run all the available iPad apps straight away - it has the same resolution screen as the iPad 2 - so that's 700,000 specially-made iPad apps to choose from.

The infamous new Lightning connector is present here, too, so you'll need an adapter for existing dock connections. A Lightning to HDMI connection is here, too.

FaceTime HD camera on the front, 5MP iSight camera on the back and "ultrafast wireless" 802.11n WiFi connectivity.

The iPad Mini will also be available with the option of a 4G LTE cellular connection, though we'll have to wait a few weeks longer for these in the UK.

There's Apple's Personal Hotspot feature, too, so you can share that superfast connection via WiFi, Bluetooth or USB to multiple devices.

Want to know more? Check out Apple's official iPad Mini video.

Pre-orders start this Friday, will you be buying one? If so, which model? Let us know in the comments below.

Join whathifi.com on Facebook

Joe is the Content Director for What Hi-Fi? and Future’s Product Testing, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for almost 20 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff and The Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).