Apple released the 7th generation iPad mini, which was introduced with an A17 Pro chipset, also seen on the iPhone 15 Pro And iPhone 15 Pro Max. However, the official website says something different: the tablet only has a 5-core GPU, which appears to be a downgraded version of the A17 Pro.
Chipsets like these are often called bundled because they don’t go through the same quality control process during manufacturing. It’s quite possible that the version with a 6-core CPU and 5-core GPU isn’t powerful enough for iPhones, but there was a large enough batch to power the new iPads.
We should also point out that Apple discontinued the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max after launching the 16 Pro duo, meaning there could be a few extra chips initially reserved for the phones.
The chip would still work fine, with just one core disabled to keep up with performance. Given that this is the A17 Pro, we expect the iPad mini (2024) have Apple Intelligence with iOS 18.1 once launched. The tablet is up for pre-order at a starting price of $499 and sales will begin on October 23.