Apple took the wraps off the iPad Mini 3 tonight. Unlike the iPad Air 2, which brought in some big changes, the iPad Mini 3 is a subtle refresh. It's got a 7.9-inch Retina display, a smaller 5 MP iSight camera with 1080p video recording, FaceTime HD camera, WiFi 802.11n with MIMO and a TouchID fingerprint reader.

Details regarding the processor powering the iPad Mini 3 weren't revealed on stage. It could either be the Apple A8 or the Apple A8X SoC.

UPDATE - As disappointing as it may be, the fact of the matter is that the new iPad Mini 3 uses the old Apple A7 SoC. We were hoping for at least the A8 SoC, if not the A8X, powering the new iPad Mini tablet.

Prices for the iPad Mini 3 are $399, $499 and $599 for the 16 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB WiFi variants respectively. Add cellular connectivity to the mix and the prices get bumped to $529, $629 and $729 for the 16 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB variants respectively. Pre-orders open on October 17th, and shipping will commence from next week onwards.

Meanwhile, prices of the iPad Mini and iPad Mini 2 have been dropped to $249 and $299 respectively for the WiFi variants.