Apple reveals updated iPad mini with a bigger OLED screen for $700

The iPhone Duo may be a bit of a risk right now, but there’s a new mid-size Apple touchscreen device that might do the job. Starting at $699, the 8th-gen iPad mini price has gone up, but there are some big changes. Apple says the refreshed 8th-gen iPad mini marks the most significant update ever for its petite tablet, featuring an OLED screen and the A20 Pro chip that we first saw in the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo.

The new iPad mini has roughly the same footprint as the 2024 release, but the display is slightly larger thanks to a 24 percent reduction in bezel thickness. The device is almost a full millimeter thinner than the last iPad, coming in at just 5.4 mm. The chassis is also IP67 rated for water and dust protection. The 7th-Gen iPad mini didn’t have any official IP rating.

The 8.5-inch Super Retina XDR display (up from 8.3 inches) moves on from the IPS technology of the last-gen device to adopt OLED. That means dapper blacks and a much higher peak brightness—1,200 nits versus just 500 nits for the previous mini. It can also manage 1-nit minimum brightness so as not to sear your retinas in a dark room. There will also be a nano-textured matte display option. The display experience on the new mini should be much more in line with what we’ve come to expect from Apple’s Pro-level devices.

The 2-nanometer A20 Pro chip was a noticeable upgrade in the iPhone 18 Pro, and it will be even more significant in this tablet. The previous model had a 3-nanometer A17 Pro chip, which was already a year old when it appeared in the iPad mini. In the iPhone 18 Pro, we found the A20 Pro significantly improved graphics performance thanks in part to a 50 percent increase in memory bandwidth.

Higher memory speed also helps with on-device AI applications, but the Neural Engine is the primary factor. Unfortunately, not all versions of the new iPad mini will be equally capable. Apple notes the 512GB configuration will have the dual 16-core Neural Engine we saw in the iPhone 18 Pro, but the 128GB and 256GB versions will have a single 16-core NPU. These versions will also have a slightly different CPU configuration, with five cores instead of six.

Apple has retained the 12 MP cameras for the front and back of the tablet, but the front-facing one has changed location. Rather than being on the short edge for portrait-orientation video calls, it’s now on the long edge. That might take a little getting used to for those who frequently use their tablets for FaceTime.

The $699 base price gets you 128GB of storage and Wi-Fi connectivity. It’s $100 more for 256GB and $300 more for 512GB. The nano-texture display is also a $100 upsell, but it’s only available for the 256GB and 512GB versions. The step up to cellular will cost $849 for the 128GB model.

Pricing is, sadly, not eye-popping for 2026, but it marks yet another price increase for Apple. The 7th-gen iPad mini launched for $499 in 2024, but it has since risen to $599. The new model adds $100, but it does have some nice upgrades. Preorders for the new iPad mini begin at 10:10 am PT on October 28 (Wednesday), and devices will arrive on doorsteps and in stores on November 6.

1. Ice sheet expansion may have started 2,000 years ago, but we canceled that

2. From impulse purchase to pocket studio: The M-Vave FM-1

3. Highway thieves are spoofing GPS to steal millions in data center-bound cargo

4. Some iPhone Duo screens are already failing

5. NASA updates lander plans for Moon landings, finally solves long-festering Orion issue