🍎 Apple has upgraded the iPad mini
📺 The new 8th-generation model comes with a larger 8.5-inch OLED display
⚙️ It also sports the A20 Pro processor, a thinner profile, and better speakers
💦 Apple even equipped it with IP67 water and dust resistance
💰 The new iPad mini starts at $699 and launches November 6
Apple has announced the new iPad mini, which comes with a even bigger list of upgrades than we were anticipating. The tablet’s long-awaited switch to OLED has finally arrived, and so has IP67 certification for dust and water resistance, making it even more portable than before. It’s also gotten a little bigger, more powerful, and thinner. It also costs a bit more than before.
The biggest upgrade here is the new 8.5-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display, which is 0.2-inch bigger than the previous version. Apple swapped the LCD panel of yesteryear for the same technology used in the highest-end iPad Pro, which should deliver much deeper blacks and richer contrast. It gets up to 1,200 nits brightUnfortunately, it’s locked to 60Hz so you won’t get the same silky-smooth ProMotion animations, but at least your movies will look a lot better.
Apple made the new iPad mini a bit thinner, too. It’s now 5.4mm thick, which is nearly a full millimeter thinner, and it has an IP67 certification for dust and water resistance. Under the hood, there’s an A20 Pro processor, the same one found in the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone Duo. You’ll get much faster performance for general tasks, as well as better graphics for gaming and editing content on the go. Notably, only the 512GB version gets a more powerful Dual 16-core Neural Engine for improved AI processing.
Speaker performance is also improved thanks to a new Acoustic Display architecture. It’s a little weird: Apple says there are specially designed woofers paired through the display itself to produce more bass and volume, while custom tweeters are tucked between the glass and aluminum for clearer highs. All audio will be front-facing when you watch a movie or play music, which should be nice, although it’s unclear if a speaker setup like this is better than a traditional one. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Apple moved the 12MP FaceTime camera to the landscape side like it’s done on other iPads, and it added Center Stage so your face always stays in the frame. The rear 12MP camera has 4K 60fps video capturing and a flash to brighten up the scene.
In addition, the new iPad mini has the Apple-designed N1 chip for faster Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread performance, as well as the C2 modem in the cellular version for more efficient 5G. You get iPadOS 27 out of the box with all the stuff you’d expect, like Siri AI and improved multitasking tools. There’s also faster charging and full support for both the Apple Pencil (USB-C) and Apple Pencil Pro.
Apple is offering the iPad mini in two colors: Midnight and Starlight. There will be new TechWoven folio cases that match, and you can choose between 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of storage. The iPad mini 8th-generation starts at $699, $100 more than the previous version, and launches on November 6. Preorders are open starting October 28.
Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut and co-host of The Shortcut Live. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.
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