Apple's OLED iPad mini Starts at $699 With A20 Pro and IP67 Rating

Apple on Monday, October 26, unveiled a redesigned iPad mini with an 8.5-inch OLED display, an A20 Pro chip and an IP67 water and dust rating, starting at $699 in the US. Pre-orders open on Wednesday, October 28, in 36 countries and regions, and the first units arrive on Friday, November 6.

The company calls it the biggest update the small tablet has ever had, and the spec sheet backs up much of that claim. It is also the most expensive starting price the mini has carried, and the full version of the new chip is reserved for the top storage tier.

The launch matters beyond tablet fans because it opens a busy week for Apple. Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, said on X that "it's going to be an exciting week, and it starts with our all-new iPad mini," ahead of a press event on Wednesday under the tagline "Pro and tell."

Key facts at a glance

• Display: 8.5-inch OLED, up from 8.3 inches, with up to 1,200 nits peak brightness, which Apple says is more than double the previous model.
• Chip: A20 Pro, built on a 2-nanometer process, with Apple claiming up to 4.5 times faster AI performance and up to 2.7 times faster graphics.
• Design: 5.4 mm thin and 255 grams for the Wi-Fi model, with an IP67 rating against water and dust.
• Price: from $699 (Wi-Fi) and $849 (Wi-Fi + Cellular) in the US; £699 in the UK, $949 CAD in Canada and A$1,099 in Australia.
• Dates: pre-orders from October 28, availability from November 6.

How the iPad mini got here

The iPad mini has gone long stretches without meaningful change. The sixth-generation model arrived in 2021, and the seventh followed three years later, in 2024, at a launch price of $499.

That 2024 model was largely a spec bump. It moved to the A17 Pro chip, added support for Apple Pencil Pro and raised base storage to 128GB, but kept the same LCD screen and design.

The new model is a different kind of update. Apple has changed the screen technology, the chassis, the speakers, the camera placement and the wireless chips at once, and it is shipping the device with iPadOS 27 and a beta of its rebuilt Siri assistant.

A bigger OLED screen in the same footprint

OLED is the headline change. OLED panels light each pixel individually, so dark areas can switch off completely, which Apple says produces "much deeper blacks." The company lists a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio and support for the P3 wide colour range used in photo and video work.

The screen grows without the tablet growing. Apple says 24 percent thinner bezels let it fit an 8.5-inch panel into the same footprint as the 8.3-inch model it replaces. Full-screen brightness for standard and HDR content is rated at 600 nits, with peaks of 1,200 nits.

Low-light use gets attention too. The display can dim to 1 nit, which Apple pitches at people reading in bed and at pilots who use the mini as an electronic flight bag in the cockpit. A glare-reducing nano-texture glass option, previously limited to the iPad Pro, is offered on the 256GB and 512GB models for an extra $100.

One detail Apple did not highlight is refresh rate. Neither the press release nor the technical specifications page mentions 120Hz or ProMotion, the smoother scrolling feature on the iPad Pro, which suggests the mini stays at a standard 60Hz.

A20 Pro performance and the storage-tier catch

The chip is a large step up on paper. Apple says the A20 Pro has a 7-core GPU with Neural Accelerators built into each core, delivering up to 4.5 times faster AI performance and up to 2.7 times faster graphics than the previous mini. It also claims up to 60 percent faster multithreaded CPU performance and more than double the memory bandwidth.

Not every model gets the same chip. Apple's own technical specifications show a split by storage tier:

The Dual 16-core Neural Engine, which Apple says offers double the processing power of the previous generation, is exclusive to the 512GB model. That tier starts at $999 for Wi-Fi, and $1,099 with nano-texture glass.

For buyers, this is the most important trade-off in the line-up. Someone who mainly reads, browses and takes notes will likely not notice the difference, but anyone buying the mini specifically for on-device AI tools or local language models is steered towards the most expensive configuration.

Design, audio, cameras and connectivity

The body is thinner and lighter. At 5.4 mm, the new mini is slimmer than the 6.3 mm previous model, and the Wi-Fi version weighs 255 grams, with the cellular version at 263 grams. It comes in midnight and starlight.

IP67 is a first for the line. The rating means the tablet is protected against dust and temporary immersion in water. Apple says a new Acoustic Display, which pairs woofers through the screen and hides tweeters between the glass and aluminium casing, uses a sealed enclosure that helps achieve the rating.

The front camera has moved. The 12MP Center Stage front camera now sits on the long, landscape edge, which suits video calls when the tablet is held sideways. The 12MP rear camera records 4K video at up to 60 frames per second and gains an Adaptive True Tone flash for document scanning.

Wireless is all Apple silicon now. The N1 networking chip brings Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread, while cellular models use Apple's C2 modem, which the company says delivers up to 50 percent faster cellular data than the previous mini. Battery life is rated at up to 10 hours of web browsing or video, and fast charging reaches about 50 percent in around 30 minutes with a suitable adapter.

What it means for you

Prices are higher than the last launch. The $699 US starting price is $200 above the 2024 model's $499 launch price. Here is how the entry Wi-Fi model compares in the four markets, using Apple's local pricing:

Accessories add up. The new TechWoven Smart Folio costs $79 in the US (£79, $99 CAD, A$129). The mini works with Apple Pencil Pro at $129 and Apple Pencil (USB-C) at $79. In the US, Apple also offers 12-month instalments from $58.25 a month and an Apple Upgrade lease from $14.99 a month over 36 months.

Software is part of the pitch. The tablet ships with iPadOS 27, including Siri AI in beta. Apple says Siri can use personal context from messages, emails and photos, act on what is on screen, and answer general questions, with requests handled on the device or through its Private Cloud Compute servers, where the company says personal data is not stored or made accessible to Apple.

Current owners have a clear test. If your mini still does what you need, the biggest gains are the OLED screen, water resistance and a much faster chip. If on-device AI performance is the reason to upgrade, the comparison that matters is the 512GB model, not the base one.

Another view

Not every part of the launch is an unqualified upgrade. Apple's own specification sheet confirms that two of the three storage tiers lose a CPU core and the doubled Neural Engine, so the "huge leap" in AI performance applies most fully to a $999-and-up model.

Price is the other sticking point. The 2024 mini was a modest refresh, and the new model addresses much of that, but its entry price is now $200 higher. Apple's Dave Pakula, vice president of hardware engineering, framed the device around users who value portability, from "creators and small business owners to doctors, field service workers, and gamers," a professional audience that may accept the higher price more readily than casual buyers.

What happens next

• October 28: pre-orders open at Apple's online store and in the Apple Store app, the same day as the "Pro and tell" event.
• November 6: first deliveries arrive, and the mini reaches Apple Store locations and authorised resellers.
• iPadOS 27.2: Apple says this update will add extended display mode for external monitors on the mini.
• This week: Joswiak's comments point to further hardware announcements before and at Wednesday's event.

Independent reviews should arrive close to the November 6 release. Battery life with the brighter OLED screen and the real-world gap between the 256GB and 512GB chips are the open questions those tests will answer.

FAQ

Does the new iPad mini have Face ID? No. Apple's specifications list a Touch ID sensor in the top button.

Is the screen 120Hz? Apple has not listed 120Hz or ProMotion for the mini, which indicates a standard refresh rate.

Which Apple Pencil works with it? Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C) are both supported.

Takeaways

1. Decide on storage before pre-orders open on October 28, because the 512GB model is the only one with the full A20 Pro chip and Dual 16-core Neural Engine.
2. Budget for the real cost, including the $79 Smart Folio and a Pencil, and check your local price, such as £699 in the UK or A$1,099 in Australia.
3. Check education pricing if you qualify, since it lowers the US entry price to $649 and the UK price to £649.
4. Wait for independent reviews before November 6 if battery life or display smoothness matter most to you, since Apple has not listed a high refresh rate.
5. Consider trading in an older iPad, which Apple accepts towards a new model online and in stores.