We marked October 22 on the calendar and canceled our appointments. We were almost certain that Apple would hold its second fall keynote on that day and unveil new Macs and iPads. But then, just when we were expecting an invitation, Cupertino sent us instead a press release with details of the 7th-gen iPad mini… and nothing else.

Apple included a respectable A17 Pro chip, which first launched with the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. It's the first widely available SoC built on a 3nm process. It won't rival the iPad Air and Pro with their M-series chips, but it's more than powerful enough for most iPad apps to run smoothly.

With the launch of its new compact iPad, Apple has streamlined its stylus portfolio. What still works with which tablet.