Summary
- The redesigned iPad Mini features an 8.5-inch OLED, the A20 Pro chip, IP67 water resistance, and is 5.4mm thick.
- The new OLED panel boosts color and features 1,200-nit peak brightness, but its screen is still capped at 60Hz.
- It seems like a worthwhile upgrade, but it starts at $700 (up from $500 in 2024).
Just as rumors last week suggested, the redesigned 8th-generation iPad Mini (2026) has arrived ahead of Apple's "Pro and Tell" event on Wednesday, October 28th. The refreshed pint-sized tablet features a larger 8.5-inch OLED display, the A20 Pro chip, an improved front-facing camera, and, for the first time on any iPad, IP67 water and dust resistance.
The redesigned pint-sized tablet also features a less thick 5.4mm design and 24% thinner bezels. On the display front, the new 8.5-inch OLED screen offers 2x higher peak brightness at 1,200 nits (along with 1 nit minimum brightness), plus a nano-texture display option similar to recent iPad Pro releases. However, the new iPad Mini still doesn't feature a 120Hz ProMotion display and is locked to 60Hz. The 2024-released 7th-generation iPad Mini featured an 8.3-inch LCD screen with relatively thick bezels.
The larger OLED panel should deliver deeper blacks, improved contrast, and more vibrant colors. At the same time, the tablet might also have worse battery life, since OLED panel technology consumes more power, though efficiency improvements in the A20 Pro could offset that. In the press release, Apple says that the new iPad Mini can hit 10 hours of battery life while watching videos or browsing the web on Wi-Fi.
The 8th-generation iPad Mini seems like a worthwhile upgrade over its 2024 predecessor
Still, $700 for an iPad Mini feels a bit wild
Regarding the A20 Pro specifically, the chip features a 5-core CPU with two super cores and three efficiency cores, making it compatible with Apple's new Siri AI features, including the assistant's more expressive voice. It also has a 7-core GPU that delivers up to 2.7x faster graphics performance. Lastly, the 512GB model features a 6-core CPU.
The tablet's front-facing camera has been upgraded to a 12-megapixel Center Stage shooter that sits on its landscape bezel edge. Other upgrades include the Acoustic Display, which Apple says features "specially designed woofers" that are "paired through the display to produce punchier bass and more volume." Lastly, the tablet features Apple's C2 cellular modem (if you opt for the cellular version), alongside its N1 wireless chip.
Apple says the new iPad Mini will be available to pre-order on Wednesday, October 28th, starting at $700, with availability launching on November 6th. While the 8th-gen iPad Mini seems like a solid all-around upgrade thanks to the A20 Pro chip and the new OLED panel, it's a bit crazy that it starts at $700, especially since the last refresh in 2024 launched at $500 (which already felt pretty expensive).
Later this week, Apple is expected to reveal a touch-screen MacBook Pro and the M6-powered MacBook Pro and iPad.
