New reports dove in deeper into what the latest iPad mini 7 brings to the world. It was discovered that the tablet is using a "binned" version of the A17 Pro chip to power its current offerings. This is contrary to the reports that claimed Apple would be using the exact chipset available on its iPhone 15 Pro smartphones, released last year.
Chip binning is a practice for technology companies in the final round of processor testing, separating the good chipsets from the ones that did not make the cut because of manufacturing mishaps.
iPad mini 7 Uses 'Binned' Version of A17 Pro Chip
A new report from 9to5Mac spotted a small change in the A17 Pro chips in the iPad mini 7, revealing that Apple did not use the exact iPhone 15 Pro chipset that was introduced last year. Based on Apple's release of the iPad mini 7's technical specifications, the new tablet features the A17 Pro chip with a 6-core CPU and only a 5-core GPU. But it is speculated to have the same 8GB RAM.
It is important to note that the iPhone 15 Pro series features an A17 Pro chip that both have six cores of CPU and GPU each, and this minimal change on the iPad mini 7 suggests the new tablet is using a binned version.
While not exactly rejects, the binned versions are chipsets that did not make the cut but are not to be scrapped by the company's quality control, only that they are put in another segregation bin to be used later on.
Do A17 Pro Binned Versions Affect Performance?
According to the report, the latest iPad mini 7 may come with the binned version of the A17 Pro chip, which has one less GPU core but it would not be a drastic performance hindrance for the device overall. The Cupertino giant touted its Apple Intelligence for the iPad mini 7 and it was reported that it will still deliver the revered AI model from the company, complete with its significant experiences.
The Long Wait for the iPad mini 7
The world has waited for so long for Apple's development of the iPad mini 7 tablet, which was already overdue as it went three years without a new version released to the public, especially with the problems seen with its predecessor. Rumors previously claimed that 2023 would be when the tech company would release the new device, but it took another year before officially launching the device.
It is worth noting that its previous version, the iPad mini 6, faced significant scrutiny from the public and the law, particularly because of its infamous "jelly scrolling" issue, making it almost unusable. While Apple previously claimed that it is normal for LCD screens, many users considered it a bust as various parts of the screen refresh at different times.
While this issue persisted among the iPad mini 6 releases from Apple, there have been no recalls for the device and a year after its release, the company was hit with a class-action lawsuit from those who were affected. Apple promised to fix the problem on the next iPad mini release, and the seventh generation is now here to deliver all the new upgrades despite having a binned version of its chip.
