Apple unleashed its biggest update to its smallest iPad ever! The new iPad mini features the A20 Pro chip and the Super Retina XDR display that customers have come to appreciate for all the benefits the OLED displays have to offer. Here are all the new features that this iPad mini brings.

Design

Measuring at 5.4 mm thin, this is the thinnest iPad mini that Apple has ever designed. In fact, it’s just as thin as the current iPad Pro. The iPad mini comes in two gorgeous finishes: midnight and starlight. But the biggest improvement in the design has to be that the new iPad mini is now water- and dust-resistant with an IP67 rating, so you could safely use this iPad mini on a rainy day or by the pool.

Display

As mentioned before, the new iPad mini features a stunning Super Retina XDR display that’s also larger at 8.5 inches, yet it retains the same footprint as before. This means thinner bezels, so you can see more of your content. The Super Retina XDR display continues to bring the same benefits that Apple displays have been known for, including P3 wide color gamut and True Tone technology. This display also brings so many improvements across the board:

  • Peak brightness of up to 1200 nits, which is more than double that of the previous generation (up to 500 nits),
  • 600 nits of full-screen brightness for both SDR and HDR content,
  • 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and for the first time on an iPad
  • 1-nit minimum brightness, so you can read more comfortably even in dark rooms

For the 256GB and 512GB storage tiers, there is also a new nano-texture display option that reduces glare.

It should be worth noting that the new iPad mini’s display seems to lack 120Hz ProMotion technology, so for those who were hoping to see that on the iPad mini, they’d be disappointed by this.

Performance

The new iPad mini features the latest and greatest A20 chip – the same chip that’s found in both the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone Duo, and it’s the first A-series chip that’s built on the 2nm process. This translates to up to 60% faster multithreaded performance, up to 2.7x faster graphics performance, and up to 4.5x faster AI performance compared to the previous generation. Both the 128GB and the 256GB storage tiers feature a binned A20 Pro chip with 5 CPU cores (2 super / 3 efficient) and a single 16-core Neural Engine, but when you opt for the 512GB storage tier, you’ll get the full-fledged A20 Pro chip that includes the Dual 16-core Neural Engine. With that great amount of performance, it is even more capable of running the new Siri AI along with other latest features that iPadOS 27 has to offer.

Speakers and Cameras

This water-resistant design is only made possible with the improvements Apple made to the speakers, and Apple has come up with an innovative solution called the “Acoustic Display”, which translates to two front-facing speakers that allow for an even more immersive audio experience for entertainment, gaming, and editing purposes. The 12MP Center Stage camera now moves to the landscape edge, which is now ideal for video calls, and the iPad mini continues to feature the 12MP Wide back camera with Smart HDR 4 and Adaptive True Tone flash for convenient scanning.

Improved Connectivity

Following suit with other recent Apple products, the new iPad mini features the N1 wireless networking chip that consolidates Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread for the most up-to-date wireless connectivity. The N1 also performs more optimally when connected to 5GHz Wi-Fi networks and improves the reliability of peer-to-peer features like AirPlay and AirDrop.

The C2 cellular modem, which made its debut on the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone Duo, also made its way to the cellular models of the new iPad mini, bringing up to 50% faster cellular data speeds over the previous generation.

Accessories

The new Smart Folio for this iPad mini is now redesigned with a two-panel architecture, and it’s crafted with a TechWoven fabric. Offered in both navy blue and taupe, this Smart Folio continues to bring great protection to the iPad mini while featuring a lightweight design that props up your iPad mini at different angles, perfect for watching your favorite content.

The new iPad mini continues to support both the Apple Pencil (USB-C) and the Apple Pencil Pro as well.

Pricing and Availability

The new iPad mini starts at $699, which is a $100 price increase over the previous generation, but considering all the improvements, especially that OLED display, it could’ve been more expensive as previously predicted. The new iPad mini is offered in these storage configurations (prices shown for the Wi-Fi model):

  • 128GB: $699
  • 256GB: $799
  • 512GB: $999

The nano-texture option (for the 256GB and 512GB storage tiers) is available as a $100 upgrade, and cellular connectivity is available as a $150 upgrade.

Pre-orders start this Wednesday (October 28) at 10:10 a.m. PT, and they’ll arrive in stores and to customers starting November 6.

Here’s an official video from Apple that summarizes the new iPad mini!