It’s been widely rumored that Apple is planning to redesign its iPad mini by the end of this month, and Mark Gurman from Bloomberg suggested that it could be announced alongside the new Macs, including the OLED-touchscreen MacBook Pro, on October 27. However, he also stated in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter that the revamped iPad mini could be priced even higher with that OLED display, potentially getting closer to the $799 price mark.

To give you a quick history of the iPad mini, it was originally considered to be Apple’s most affordable option in the iPad lineup when the original model debuted in October 2012, but ever since Apple introduced the low-cost full-size iPad in March 2017, Apple’s been positioning the iPad mini as a mid-range product in terms of pricing by putting in more advanced features such as a laminated display and a newer chip compared to the base iPad. The last update to the iPad mini occurred in October 2024, and it started at $499 with 128GB of storage. However, with the recent price hikes due to the “RAMpocalypse”, the iPad mini now starts at $599 with the same amount of storage.

Now, another price hike may come as no surprise for anyone who follows Apple’s history because one of the biggest features that’s coming to the redesigned iPad mini is the upgrade from an LCD display to an OLED display, and there’s usually a price increase when an Apple product transitions to OLED:

  • iPhone 11 ($699) ➡️ iPhone 12 ($799)
    • Disclaimer: The smaller 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini started at $699, but we’re comparing with the 6.1-inch standard iPhone 12 here. Also, we’re including the $30 connectivity discount when purchasing it with a carrier; otherwise, it would be $829 when purchasing unlocked.
  • 11-inch M2 iPad Pro ($899) ➡️ 11-inch M4 iPad Pro ($999)
    • Disclaimer: The M2 iPad Pro started with 128GB of storage at $799, but the M4 iPad Pro started with 256GB. For an apples-to-apples comparison, the 256GB model of the M2 iPad Pro started at $899.

So if Apple were to increase the starting price for this upcoming OLED iPad mini, I’d expect the starting price to go up by around $100. However, there are two features that I think would make the iPad mini more justifiable for its price. First, I hope that the iPad mini would bump the starting storage from 128GB to 256GB. After all, the iPad Pro and the entire iPhone lineup now start at 256GB of storage, so it’s about time for the iPad mini to receive the same storage bump. 128GB just isn’t enough for downloading many apps and content, especially if you were to take this iPad everywhere you go where there’s no Wi-Fi or cellular connection.

Second, I’d really hope the iPad mini gets a much better OLED display that’s technically comparable to the tandem OLED of the iPad Pro. After all, the base iPhone 17 got the advanced LTPO display that supports both 120Hz ProMotion technology and Always On mode, and the non-Pro iPads have stuck with 60Hz displays for so long, and so many critics are getting tired of it. So having at least ProMotion on the iPad mini would be nice; however, recent rumors suggest that the iPad mini’s OLED display will be limited to just 60Hz yet again.

If the next iPad mini doesn’t have these improvements mentioned, then I’m just not sure whether the iPad mini would be a great buy for what you’re paying for, especially if it gets closer to iPad Pro’s pricing territory. You may be better off getting a used M4 iPad Pro if you care about ProMotion and an OLED display. Oh well, we just have to wait until October 27 to find out.

On a related note, the new update to the entry-level iPad, codenamed J581 and J582, isn’t expected until around spring 2027 at the earliest. Additionally, Apple is planning to bring an OLED to the iPad Air and a vapor chamber cooling system to the iPad Pro in the near future for better sustained performance.