TL;DR: Apple has announced the OLED iPad mini, which it calls the tablet’s “biggest update ever.” It has a larger 8.5-inch OLED display, the A20 Pro chip, an IP67 water and dust rating and a 5.4 mm body. Prices start at $699 for Wi-Fi and $849 for Wi-Fi + Cellular in the US. Pre-orders open Wednesday, October 28, and it arrives on Friday, November 6. That is $100 more than the previous model’s current price and $200 more than its 2024 launch price.
Apple didn’t wait for a stage to show off its smallest tablet. The company unveiled the OLED iPad mini in a press release on October 26, 2026, ahead of the October 28 launch date we reported on in our preview of Apple’s October 28 lineup. Here is everything that changed, what it costs, and the catches to know before you pre-order.
OLED iPad mini at a glance
| Spec | New iPad mini (A20 Pro) |
|---|---|
| Display | 8.5-inch Super Retina XDR OLED, optional nano-texture glass |
| Brightness | Up to 1,200 nits peak, 600 nits full-screen SDR/HDR, 1 nit minimum |
| Chip | A20 Pro (2 nm), 7-core GPU with Neural Accelerators |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB |
| Thickness | 5.4 mm |
| Durability | IP67 water and dust resistance |
| Cameras | 12MP landscape Center Stage front, 12MP Wide back with 4K60 video |
| Wireless | Apple N1: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Thread; C2 modem on cellular models |
| Colors | Midnight, Starlight |
| US price | From $699 (Wi-Fi), $849 (Wi-Fi + Cellular) |
The display: OLED and a bigger screen
The headline change is the move to OLED. Apple says the new 8.5-inch screen fits in the same footprint as the previous mini thanks to bezels that are 24 percent thinner. OLED lights each pixel individually, which is what gives deeper blacks and higher contrast; Apple quotes a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio.
Brightness gets a big bump, according to Apple: up to 1,200 nits peak, which it says is more than twice the previous generation, and 600 nits full-screen. At the other end, a 1-nit minimum is aimed at reading in bed or, in Apple’s example, pilots checking flight bags in a dark cockpit. The nano-texture anti-glare option, previously an iPad Pro feature, is offered on the 256GB and 512GB models, per Apple’s store page.
A20 Pro performance claims
The new mini runs the A20 Pro, built on what Apple calls its latest 2-nanometer process. Apple’s own claims, based on its September 2026 testing:
- Up to 4.5x faster AI performance than the previous generation
- Up to 2.7x faster graphics, with hardware ray tracing and mesh shading
- Up to 60 percent faster multithreaded CPU performance
- More than 2x the unified memory bandwidth
There is a catch hidden in the configurations. Apple says the 512GB model has a “Dual 16-core Neural Engine” and “up to a 6-core CPU,” while the store page lists the 128GB and 256GB models with a 5-core CPU and a single 16-core Neural Engine. If on-device AI or running local models matters to you, the top storage tier is the one getting the full chip. (For background on why memory bandwidth matters for this, see our explainer on Apple unified memory.)
Design, audio and cameras
- Thinner and water-resistant: at 5.4 mm, Apple calls it thinner and lighter than before. It is also rated IP67, tested to 1 meter for up to 30 minutes. MacRumors notes this makes it Apple’s first water-resistant iPad.
- Acoustic Display: Apple says woofers are paired through the display and tweeters are hidden between the glass and aluminum, removing traditional speaker holes. The sealed design is part of how it reaches IP67.
- Landscape front camera: the 12MP Center Stage camera moves to the long edge, which makes video calls look natural when the tablet is held sideways.
- Rear camera: 12MP Wide with Smart HDR 4, 4K at up to 60 fps, and a new Adaptive True Tone flash for document scanning.
Connectivity and software
The mini gets Apple’s N1 wireless chip, adding Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread. Cellular models use the C2 modem, which Apple says delivers up to 50 percent faster cellular data speeds than the previous iPad mini.
On the software side, it ships with iPadOS 27 and Siri AI, the rebuilt Siri we looked at in our piece on Apple’s Siri overhaul. Read the footnotes, though: Apple says Siri AI is in beta in iPadOS 27.2, is available only in some languages, is “not currently available in the EU in iPadOS,” and that some server-based Apple Intelligence features have daily usage limits, with “expanded access” to come “for a fee in the future.” iPadOS 27.2 also adds extended display mode for external monitors on the mini.
Price, accessories and release date
According to Apple and MacRumors:
- Pre-orders: Wednesday, October 28, at 10:10 a.m. Pacific Time, on apple.com and the Apple Store app, in 36 countries and regions.
- Availability: Friday, November 6, in stores and for deliveries.
- Prices (US): from $699 for Wi-Fi (256GB from $799) and from $849 for Wi-Fi + Cellular. Education pricing starts at $649.
- Accessories: new TechWoven Smart Folio for $79 in navy blue or taupe. Apple Pencil Pro ($129) and Apple Pencil USB-C ($79) are supported.
- In the box (US): MacRumors reports a 20W USB-C power adapter and cable are included.
The price problem
The iPad mini is no longer a cheap way into Apple’s tablets. MacRumors points out that the previous mini launched at $499 in 2024, Apple raised it to $599 in June, and the new one starts at $699, which means two price increases this year. Apple gets a lot in return, including OLED, water resistance, a much faster chip and better speakers, but anyone who liked the mini as an affordable e-reader and travel tablet will notice the difference.
Should you buy it?
- Buy if you use a small tablet every day for reading, notes, flying or field work. OLED, IP67 and the landscape camera are real quality-of-life upgrades.
- Pick 512GB if on-device AI or local models are the reason you’re upgrading, since only that tier gets the full CPU and dual Neural Engine.
- Wait for reviews if battery life is your priority. Apple’s release does not lead with a battery claim, and independent testing will show how the brighter OLED affects it.
- Skip it if your current mini does the job and $699 feels steep..
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