Apple's new iPad mini gets an OLED screen, A20 Pro and IP67 rating, and now starts at $699

The skim

• Apple's new iPad mini has an 8.5-inch OLED display, the A20 Pro chip from the iPhone 18 Pro, a 5.4 mm body and IP67 water and dust resistance, a first for the mini.
• It starts at $699 for Wi-Fi and $849 with cellular, as of Oct. 26, 2026. That's the second price increase for the mini this year: it launched at $499 in 2024 and went to $599 in June.
• Pre-orders open Wednesday, Oct. 28, and it arrives Friday, Nov. 6, in midnight and starlight. The screen still runs at 60Hz, without ProMotion.

What's new

Apple calls it the iPad mini's "biggest update ever." The display grows from 8.3 to 8.5 inches in the same footprint, thanks to bezels Apple says are 24% thinner, and switches to OLED. Apple quotes up to 1,200 nits of peak brightness, more than twice the previous model, 600 nits full-screen and a 1-nit minimum for reading in the dark. A glare-reducing nano-texture option costs $100 more on 256GB and 512GB models, MacRumors reports.

The A20 Pro is built on a 2-nanometer process. Apple claims up to 60% faster CPU performance, 2.7 times faster graphics and 4.5 times faster AI performance than the A17 Pro it replaces. The chip varies by storage: 128GB and 256GB models get a 5-core CPU and one 16-core Neural Engine, while the 512GB model gets a 6-core CPU and a dual 16-core Neural Engine. The mini runs iPadOS 27 with Apple's new Siri AI, which is rolling out in beta.

The speaker grilles are gone. A new "Acoustic Display" sends sound from woofers through the screen and hides tweeters between the glass and the aluminum case, and the sealed design is part of how the mini reaches IP67. The 12MP front camera moves to the landscape edge for video calls, Apple's N1 chip adds Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread, and cellular models use Apple's C2 modem. It also supports fast charging, reaching 50% in 30 minutes with a 35W or higher adapter, per MacRumors. Touch ID, USB-C and the 12MP rear camera stay.

Why it matters

The mini has had a quiet few years. The 2024 model was a spec bump that The Verge's reviewer called "a new low for the product." This one fixes the biggest complaints about the screen and adds water resistance, which matters for a tablet that gets carried everywhere, or read "by the pool," as Apple puts it.

The catch is the price. At $699, the mini now costs $200 more than it did at launch two years ago, and the 60Hz refresh rate will disappoint anyone hoping for the smoother scrolling of the iPad Pro. Apple still includes a 20W USB-C power adapter in the U.S. The new $79 TechWoven Smart Folio, Apple Pencil Pro ($129) and Apple Pencil (USB-C) ($79) all work with it.

It's also the opening act of a busy week. Apple's "Pro and tell" event is Wednesday, where it's reportedly set to show its first touchscreen MacBook Pro.

Sources: Apple Newsroom, MacRumors, MacRumors (pricing) and The Verge.