If you’ve been eyeing Apple’s smallest tablet, this is the moment to pounce: Amazon is knocking $100 off the latest iPad mini with the A17 Pro chip, bringing the 128GB Wi‑Fi model down to $399 from its $499 list price, a 20% discount that matches the lowest pricing we’ve seen from major retailers so far. That’s for Apple’s newest 8.3‑inch iPad mini—the 2024/7th‑gen refresh with Apple Intelligence support—so you’re not buying old stock to save a few bucks.

What you’re getting at this price is the “full iPad experience” shrunk into a genuinely portable slab: an 8.3‑inch Liquid Retina display with 2266×1488 resolution at 326 ppi, True Tone, P3 wide color, 500‑nit brightness, and an anti‑reflective coating you don’t even get on the entry‑level iPad. Reviews consistently praise the screen as bright, punchy, and ideal for reading, streaming, and casual gaming, with several long‑time Kindle and phone readers saying the mini hits a sweet spot between “phone tiny” and “full‑size tablet lunch tray.” Under the hood, the A17 Pro chip (the same class of silicon powering recent iPhone 15 Pro models) makes this year’s mini significantly faster than its predecessor, with a 30% CPU uplift and 25% faster GPU according to Apple, and enough headroom to run Apple Intelligence features and the more demanding iPadOS apps without breaking a sweat.

Day‑to‑day, that translates to a tablet that feels snappy whether you’re juggling Safari, mail, Slack, and a note‑taking app, or jumping into Apple Arcade and streaming video in between. The 128GB base storage is also a quiet but meaningful upgrade over the old 64GB starting point, giving you more room for downloaded Netflix or Prime Video shows, big games, and offline PDF libraries before you ever feel squeezed. Battery life isn’t record‑breaking but lands in the “solid” tier: reviewers and owners report roughly a couple of days of mixed use or several days if you’re mostly reading and streaming, with the bonus that it recharges quickly over USB‑C. For a concrete example, one owner who uses it primarily for reading says they get four to five days of battery at one to two hours of reading per day, dropping to two to three days when mixing in video.

Cameras probably aren’t why you’re buying a mini, but the hardware is respectable: a 12MP Ultra Wide front camera with Center Stage for video calls and a 12MP Wide rear camera with True Tone flash that handles document scans and 4K video just fine. Combined with landscape stereo speakers, it doubles nicely as a FaceTime and media machine, especially if you spend a lot of time on the go or working in coffee shops. Connectivity is very current for a compact tablet at this price: Wi‑Fi 6E for faster, more stable wireless on modern routers, Bluetooth 5.3 for accessories, and USB‑C for charging and hooking up drives or displays—with 5G available if you opt for the more expensive cellular model. You also get Touch ID baked into the top button, which remains the simplest way to unlock, authenticate purchases, and switch between app logins without thinking about it.

The real “extra” this generation is Apple Intelligence, which turns the mini into a small but capable personal assistant once those features roll out more widely: the A17 Pro and 16‑core Neural Engine unlock on‑device writing tools, image generation, and smarter system‑wide suggestions, with Apple emphasizing that data processing remains private and locked to your device where possible. On a practical level, that means being able to rewrite emails, summarize long documents, and get context‑aware suggestions in apps, all on a tablet that weighs around 300 grams and fits into a sling bag. If you pair it with Apple Pencil Pro or the USB‑C Apple Pencil, the mini becomes an excellent digital notebook and sketchbook; journalists, students, and avid readers in particular call out the combo as perfect for marking up PDFs, taking handwritten notes in Goodnotes or Notability, and doodling on the go. It does not support Apple’s Magic Keyboard, but any Bluetooth keyboard will do the trick if you need to knock out emails or a draft on a flight.

There are, however, a few trade‑offs to know before hitting “Add to Cart.” The display still runs at 60Hz rather than 120Hz ProMotion, so you don’t get the super‑buttery scrolling of an iPad Pro—even though most reviewers say the overall responsiveness is more than good enough for the mini’s target audience. iPadOS still lacks multi‑user profiles, which means this isn’t the best choice for a shared family tablet unless you’re okay with everyone living in a single account. And while the compact 8.3‑inch size is exactly why many people love it, it also means split‑screen multitasking can feel a bit cramped compared to an 11‑inch iPad if you’re trying to treat it like a laptop. Finally, a few critics argue that, at full price, Apple is charging a premium for portability when larger iPads with M‑series chips sit not far away in price—but that’s precisely why this $399 deal matters.

So who should absolutely jump on this $100‑off offer? If you want a high‑end small tablet for reading, travel, note‑taking, gaming, and streaming, and you like the idea of Apple Intelligence and Pencil Pro support, this is arguably the best “small screen” mobile entertainment and productivity device in Apple’s lineup right now. It’s especially compelling if you’re upgrading from an older mini or an aging iPad that’s stuck on earlier chips, since you’re getting a big speed bump, more storage, better connectivity, and longer software support in one shot. On the other hand, if your priority is a laptop replacement with a big canvas and heavy multitasking, you’re still better off stretching to an 11‑inch iPad Air or Pro—but those rarely fall to $399, and they’re nowhere near as easy to hold one‑handed on a commute.

Right now, though, the headline is simple: Apple’s latest iPad mini (A17 Pro, 128GB, Wi‑Fi) is sitting at $399 on Amazon, a 20% discount and $100 off MSRP, with free returns and multiple colors—including the new purple—available around that price point depending on configuration. For a tablet that reviewers routinely describe as “fantastic,” “compact champion,” and “ultimate mobile entertainment” hardware, that’s a very easy deal to recommend while it lasts.

Related /

• Apple’s new 7th generation iPad mini: a tiny titan
• Apple unveils the new iPad mini 7 with A17 Pro and Apple Pencil Pro support
• Apple pushes Liquid Glass design across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Watch and TV

Disclaimer: Prices and promotions mentioned in this article are accurate at the time of writing and are subject to change based on the retailers’ discretion. Please verify the current offer before making a purchase.