Here’s a little bit of good news for those of us planning on purchasing the new iPad Mini or iPad 4 when they’re released this coming week: it looks like Apple’s new 12W power adapter will charge the new iPads more quickly than the older 10W adapters.

Not much was said about these during the iPad Mini launch event, but 9to5Mac did some research on them and were told by Apple :

We don’t have an exact percentage of how much faster it would charge but you should see an increase in speed.

These new adapters will come with both the iPad Mini and iPad 4, and can also be purchased separately at the Apple online storefor $19. That last point is especially notable as it looks like the new adapter is compatible with all generations of the iPad and most or all generations of iPhone and iPod Touch as well.

Faster charging, especially for the new iPad 4, is always a good thing.