Apple today surprised us with a brand-new 2021 iPad mini — its best compact tablet to date. It sports a gorgeous new design inspired by iPad Pro, an edge-to-edge Liquid Retina display, and a blazing-fast A15 Bionic chip with 5G connectivity. It’s the only compact tablet worth your hard-earned cash.

Apple unveils 2021 iPad mini

“With its ultra-portable design and wide range of uses from everyday tasks to creative and enterprise applications, there’s nothing else like iPad mini,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The new iPad mini is a huge leap forward that can be held in the palm of your hand.”

The 2021 iPad mini looks just like a fourth-generation iPad Air that’s been shrunk in the wash. It sports the same ultra-thin aluminum enclosure and many of the same features, including a Touch ID sensor embedded in its power button.

iPad mini’s prettiest feature is its stunning Liquid Retina display. It’s bigger than before at 8.3 inches, but thanks to its slimmer bezels, it fits into the same compact footprint. It also offers True Tone tech and second-gen. Apple Pencil support.

iPad mini is faster than ever before

Processing performance is up to 40% faster on the new iPad mini (versus its predecessor), while graphics performance is up a whopping 80% thanks to a new A15 Bionic chip. Connectivity is also faster with Wi-Fi 6 and 5G.

Just like iPad Air and iPad Pro, the new iPad mini swaps Lightning for a more versatile USB-C connector. It also packs landscape stereo speakers that deliver a more immersive experience when listening to music and watching movies.

On the back of iPad mini, there’s a 12-megapixel camera with f/1.8 aperture. On the front, it features a second 12-megapixel sensor with an Ultra Wide lens and the same Center Stage feature that recently debuted on the 2021 iPad Pro.

Order the 2021 iPad mini today

The 2021 iPad mini starts at $499 and is available to order today in space gray, pink, purple, and starlight color options. It starts shipping next week.