Apple revealed a refreshed iPad mini on Monday, featuring an 8.5‑inch OLED display that is larger than the previous model. The tablet is slimmer and lighter, measuring just 5.4 mm thick, and is powered by the new A20 Pro chip. Pricing starts at $699 for the Wi‑Fi‑only version and $849 for the Wi‑Fi plus cellular model.
The announcement comes a few days before Apple’s “Pro and Tell” event scheduled for Wednesday. The new iPad mini is offered in two color options and can reach a peak brightness of 1,200 nits, more than double the brightness of its predecessor. Full‑screen brightness is rated at 600 nits for both SDR and HDR content, and the display boasts a contrast ratio of 2 million : 1, making it well suited for low‑light environments.
Apple also adds a nano‑texture coating to the screen, a feature that reduces glare in bright settings and was previously limited to the iPad Pro. Other upgrades include a 12‑megapixel front camera with Center Stage, faster wireless and cellular connections, and support for fast charging.
The Super Retina XDR display uses OLED technology for pixel‑level lighting control, delivering deeper blacks, richer contrast, and a P3 wide‑color gamut for more vivid hues. Apple describes the “Acoustic Display” as an audio enhancement that integrates woofers into the screen, providing deeper bass and higher volume for gaming, video playback, and content creation.
The device launches with the next generation of Apple Intelligence and Siri AI, which can draw on a user’s personal context to answer questions, locate information, and interpret on‑screen content. A 7‑core GPU equipped with Neural Accelerators in each core offers up to 4.5 times faster AI performance compared with the prior generation. The A20 Pro’s six‑core CPU promises up to 60 percent quicker multithreaded performance for tasks such as photo editing and multitasking across apps.
Pre‑orders begin on October 28, and the iPad mini will be available in stores starting November 6.