Apple's New iPad Mini Gets 8.5-Inch OLED Display, A20 Pro Chip and Water Resistance in Biggest Update Yet

CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple's redesigned iPad mini goes on sale this week. The company calls the new model the tablet's "biggest update ever," with a larger OLED screen, a faster processor and water resistance for the first time.

The new iPad mini has an 8.5-inch OLED display, up from 8.3 inches on the previous model. It is thinner and lighter and runs on Apple's A20 Pro chip. Prices start at $699 for the Wi-Fi model and $849 for the Wi-Fi and cellular model.

Apple announced the tablet on Oct. 26, a few days before a product event it called "Pro and Tell." Preorders opened Oct. 28, and the tablet goes on sale Friday, Nov. 6.

A bigger, brighter screen

The main change is the display. Apple moved the iPad mini from LCD to OLED, which controls light pixel by pixel to produce deeper blacks and stronger contrast. The screen supports the P3 wide color gamut.

Bezels are 24% thinner, which let Apple fit a larger screen into roughly the same footprint as the previous model.

Peak brightness reaches 1,200 nits, more than twice that of the previous generation. Full-screen brightness for standard and HDR content is 600 nits. The display can also dim to as low as 1 nit, which Apple says makes the tablet comfortable to use in dark rooms.

For the first time, buyers can order a nano-texture display, an anti-glare finish previously offered on the iPad Pro. The option is available on the 256GB and 512GB models.

The display does not support ProMotion, Apple's 120Hz refresh-rate technology, which is still limited to higher-end models.

Faster chip

The A20 Pro chip, which first appeared earlier this year in the iPhone 18 Pro, brings large performance gains. Apple says it delivers up to 60% faster multi-threaded performance, up to 4.5 times faster AI performance and up to 2.7 times faster graphics than the chip in the previous iPad mini.

The chip has a 7-core graphics processor with a Neural Accelerator in each core.

The tablet also includes Apple's N1 wireless chip, which adds support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.

No speaker holes, and water resistance

Apple redesigned the tablet's audio system. Its new Acoustic Display system plays sound through the screen. Woofers work through the display, and custom tweeters sit between the glass and the aluminum body, so the device has no speaker cutouts.

The sealed design helps the iPad mini earn an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance, which earlier models lacked.

Camera and accessories

The 12-megapixel Center Stage front camera now sits on the tablet's long edge, which suits video calls when the device is held horizontally. The rear camera is a 12-megapixel wide camera that records 4K video at up to 60 frames per second.

The tablet works with both the Apple Pencil Pro and the Apple Pencil (USB-C). Apple also introduced a new TechWoven Smart Folio case.

With iPadOS 27.2, the iPad mini supports extended display mode when connected to an external monitor, giving users more screen space.

Thinner and lighter

The new model is 5.4 millimeters thick. The Wi-Fi version weighs about 255 grams, and the cellular version weighs about 263 grams. It comes in two colors, Midnight and Starlight, fewer than the previous lineup offered.

Storage options are 128GB, 256GB and 512GB. Fully configured, the tablet costs up to $1,249 before accessories. The $699 starting price is lower than some pre-launch rumors predicted.

Context

The iPad mini has long been a niche product in Apple's tablet lineup. It is popular with readers, pilots, medical professionals and others who want a device smaller than a standard iPad. Apple has updated it less often than its larger tablets. The previous major redesign came in 2021.

The new model arrives as Apple faces heavy demand elsewhere in its lineup, including supply shortages for the new iPhone Duo foldable. Rising memory chip prices, driven by demand from the artificial intelligence industry, have also raised component costs across the electronics industry.

Apple's late-October launches also included a 14-inch MacBook Pro and an iMac, both with M6 chips.

Availability

The iPad mini is available to order now from Apple's website and goes on sale in stores and with carriers on Nov. 6.