Summary
Apple announced a redesigned iPad mini with an 8.5-inch OLED display, A20 Pro chip and IP67 rating. US pre-orders open October 28, with availability beginning November 6.
Apple announced a redesigned iPad mini with an 8.5-inch OLED display, its A20 Pro chip and an IP67 rating for splash, water and dust resistance. The tablet is 5.4 mm thick, and Apple says the larger screen fits within the previous generation’s footprint. US pre-orders begin October 28, 2026, with availability starting November 6.
A larger OLED screen in the same footprint
Apple says the Super Retina XDR display uses OLED technology for pixel-level lighting control, which allows it to produce deeper blacks. The screen supports the P3 wide colour gamut and has a stated contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1. Peak brightness reaches up to 1,200 nits, while full-screen brightness is 600 nits for SDR and HDR content. The display can also dim to 1 nit, and buyers can choose a nano-texture option that Apple says reduces glare in bright environments.
The 8.5-inch panel is 24 percent larger than the previous mini’s display while keeping the same overall footprint, according to Apple. The company also says peak brightness is more than twice that of the previous generation.
The new model is rated IP67 under IEC standard 60529. Apple’s test condition specifies a maximum depth of 1 metre for up to 30 minutes. The company cautions that resistance can decline with normal wear, and liquid damage is not covered by warranty.
A20 Pro brings graphics and AI performance claims
Apple says the A20 Pro is built using a 2-nanometre process and combines a GPU with seven cores, each with a Neural Accelerator, with a CPU of up to six cores. Compared with the previous iPad mini, Apple reports up to 4.5 times faster AI performance, up to 2.7 times faster graphics performance and up to 60 percent faster multithreaded CPU performance. The company says these gains target workloads such as running AI models on-device, gaming, 3D rendering and working across apps.
The 512GB configuration has a Dual 16-core Neural Engine, which Apple says offers double the processing power of the previous generation. Apple also reports more than twice the unified memory bandwidth. These are company-reported comparisons; Apple says its testing was conducted in September 2026.
The tablet adds Apple’s N1 wireless chip, with Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread support. Cellular models use the C2 modem system, which Apple says enables up to 50 percent faster cellular data speeds than the previous generation. The front camera is a 12MP Center Stage camera positioned on the landscape edge. The rear 12MP camera supports 4K video recording at up to 60 frames per second.
Software, pricing and availability
The iPad mini runs iPadOS 27. Siri AI is rolling out in beta with iPadOS 27.2. Apple says it can use personal context and onscreen awareness to respond to requests; availability depends on supported languages and regions, and Siri AI is not currently available in the EU in iPadOS.
The tablet comes in midnight and starlight, with 128GB, 256GB and 512GB storage options. In the US, prices start at $699 for Wi-Fi and $849 for Wi-Fi + Cellular. Apple says pre-orders will be available in 36 countries and regions, including the US, from October 28, with customer deliveries and store availability beginning November 6. The new iPad mini supports Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C), sold separately.