Apple Gives the iPad mini an OLED Screen, an A20 Pro Chip and a $699 Price

The redesigned mini has a larger 8.5-inch display, a 5.4-millimeter body and IP67 water resistance. It is also $200 more than the model it replaces. Pre-orders open Wednesday.

CUPERTINO, Calif. - Apple on Monday announced a redesigned iPad mini with an OLED display, its A20 Pro chip and water and dust resistance, in what the company called the biggest update ever to its smallest tablet. It starts at $699 for the Wi-Fi model and $849 with cellular, with pre-orders opening Wednesday, Oct. 28, and the tablet arriving in stores on Friday, Nov. 6, according to Apple’s announcement.

The screen is the headline. The new 8.5-inch Super Retina XDR panel is larger than the previous model’s 8.3 inches, but Apple says the tablet keeps the same footprint because the bezels are 24 percent thinner. Apple rates it at up to 1,200 nits of peak brightness, more than twice the previous generation, with 600 nits full screen, a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio and a minimum of 1 nit for reading in the dark. For the first time on the mini, buyers can order a matte nano-texture glass option to cut glare.

The 8.5-inch OLED display, also offered with nano-texture glass. Image: Apple

The body is 5.4 millimeters thin, down from 6.3 millimeters on the 2024 model, and it is rated IP67 against water and dust. It comes in two finishes, a new midnight and starlight.

Inside is the A20 Pro, the 2-nanometer chip that arrived in the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo last month. Apple says it delivers up to 4.5 times the AI performance of the previous mini, up to 2.7 times the graphics performance and up to 60 percent faster multithreaded CPU performance. The chip differs by storage tier, MacRumors reported: the 128GB and 256GB models get a 5-core CPU and a single 16-core Neural Engine, while the 512GB model gets a 6-core CPU and a dual 16-core Neural Engine. All versions have a 7-core GPU.

Greg Joswiak, Apple’s marketing chief, introducing the tablet on Monday. Screenshot: @gregjoz on X

“It’s going to be an exciting week, and it starts with our all-new iPad mini,” Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, wrote in a post on X. “Thinner and lighter than ever, with an OLED display, water and dust resistance, better audio, powered by A20 Pro… it’s the biggest update ever to iPad mini!”

The iPad mini now carries an IP67 rating for water and dust. Image: Apple

The audio is new too. Apple calls it an Acoustic Display: woofers that play through the screen for more bass and volume, and tweeters tucked between the glass and the aluminum enclosure. That sealed design is part of how the tablet reaches its IP67 rating, Apple said. The 12-megapixel Center Stage front camera has moved to the long landscape edge for video calls, and the 12-megapixel back camera gains an Adaptive True Tone flash. Apple’s own N1 wireless chip adds Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread, and cellular models use the C2 modem, which Apple says is up to 50 percent faster than the previous mini’s.

The front camera now sits on the landscape edge for video calls. Image: Apple

“With a remarkably thinner and lighter design, a stunning new OLED display, the incredibly powerful A20 Pro, and water and dust resistance, the new iPad mini is a huge leap forward for users who love having the full iPad experience in the palm of their hand,” Dave Pakula, Apple’s vice president of hardware engineering, said in the announcement.

The price is the trade-off. The last iPad mini, released in 2024, started at $499, The Verge noted. The new one comes in 128GB, 256GB and 512GB versions and costs $649 with education pricing. A new two-panel Smart Folio in navy blue or taupe is $79, and the tablet works with both the $129 Apple Pencil Pro and the $79 Apple Pencil (USB-C).

The iPad mini in the new midnight finish. Image: Apple

The launch lands two days before Apple’s “Pro and tell” event on Wednesday, where the company is expected to show its first touchscreen OLED MacBook Pro. The tablet will be available to pre-order in 36 countries and regions, including the United States, Apple said.