With the release of Apple’s new iPad mini 7, which uses a patent-pending A17 Pro chipset, we see near-identical levels of performance and efficiency enhancement over its predecessor in the form of an all-new generation with state-of-the-art Neural Engine.
This chipset was an unusual choice and many had expected to find the A18 Pro instead. However, a recent benchmark leak has added another layer of confusion: the iPhone 15 Pro Max, despite both devices housing the same chipset, outperformed the iPad mini 7 in both single-core and multi-core tests.
iPad Mini 7 vs iPhone 15 Pro Max Geekbench
The iPad mini 7 scored results of 2,817 and 6,982 in single-core and multi-core tests on the Geekbench 6 test confirming the performance level expected from an A17 Pro. However, the iPad mini 7 lagged behind by about 4 percent in both measurements compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max. One might assume this discrepancy arises from Apple using a slower version of the A17 Pro in the iPad mini 6, which is partly correct.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is equipped with a 6-core GPU against five cores in the A17 Pro found inside the iPad mini. This time, however both systems-on-chip (SoCs) run the same CPU configuration and with performance cores working at up to 3.78GHz. So the only way to explain this discrepancy in benchmark performance is software version differences.
The iPad mini 7 runs iOS 18, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max runs the newer iOS 18.0.1. Earlier reviews showed an almost insignificant drop in the CPU boost frequency resulting in a fraction lower Geekbench 6 scores, but with better power efficiency and battery life. It looks like Apple has perhaps revisited its previous approach with the latest iOS 18 builds — hence maybe explaining the performance difference. Hopefully, we can redo these tests once the iPad mini 7 is on iOS 18.0.1.
FAQs
Why is the iPad mini 7 slower than the iPhone 15 Pro Max?
Despite both devices using the A17 Pro chipset, the iPhone 15 Pro Max runs on a newer software version and has a more powerful GPU configuration.
Will the performance of the iPad mini 7 improve with software updates?
Yes, future updates, like iOS 18.0.1, may enhance performance and close the gap with the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
