The OLED iPad mini didn’t get the most important display upgrade

After months of rumors, the new iPad mini 8 was finally announced this morning, coming with the same A20 Pro chip as the iPhone 18 Pro, and a major upgrade to the display. The highlight is undoubtedly the new OLED panel, but there are many other details that have been changed and deserve proper attention.

The OLED iPad mini doesn’t support ProMotion despite the upgrades

Apple didn’t include ProMotion in the list of display upgrades for the new iPad mini (A20 Pro). The company switched to a larger, 8.5-inch OLED panel on the new tablet, but it still supports only up to 60Hz refresh rate, instead of up to 120Hz, which is common among premium tablets and smartphones.

This move isn’t exactly surprising, as rumors about the lack of a ProMotion display have been circulating for months. It appears that Apple will keep adaptive refresh rate as an exclusive feature for the iPad Pro, which is the only other iPad with an OLED panel.

Despite this omission, the OLED display of the new iPad mini comes with the deeper blacks that are common for this type of screen and supports the P3 wide color gamut. Apple also says it supports 1,200 nits peak HDR brightness, 600 nits full-screen brightness, and 1-nit minimum brightness.

The new iPad mini comes with a Nano-Texture display on select versions

Apple also offers an optional nano-texture display upgrade for some versions of the new iPad mini. This option can be selected only for the models with 256GB and 512GB of storage, and it’s unavailable on the base 128GB version.

The upgrade costs an extra $100 in the US, so the starting price for an iPad mini with a nano-texture upgrade is $899. That’s a Wi-Fi model with 256GB storage, which also gets Apple’s famous polishing cloth included in the box. The company says users love this upgrade on the iPad Pro and that it will extend the versatility of the iPad mini for even more use cases.

Unsurprisingly, some of the first questions that started popping up online about the new iPad mini were related to the nano-texture display option. While some users on Reddit were very positive about it, others thought it was a better idea to just buy a glossy screen and add a matte screen protector. Of course, some argued that the choice depends mostly on the use case of the new tablet.

What else is new with the display of the iPad mini (A20 Pro)?

Another small change Apple introduced with its new mini tablet is the replaced front-facing camera. This is the final iPad model to get a landscape front-facing camera, after the 2022 iPad, the iPad Air (M2), and the iPad Pro (M4). The company says that the new iPad mini has a new 12MP Center Stage camera, which is perfect for video calls thanks to its placement on the landscape edge.

There’s also a new Acoustic Display, which provides a better audio experience, regardless of whether you’re playing video games, watching video, or editing. There are specially designed woofers that are paired through the display and produce both punchier lows and more volume. 

Then there are custom tweeters hidden between the glass and the aluminum enclosure, ensuring clearer highs. All this comes with a sealed enclosure, so the iPad mini (A20 Pro) has an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance.

With the new iPad mini starting at $699, it may feel like Apple is pushing some limits, but that may not be the case. Among the small Android tablets, there are many cheaper low-end models, like the Samsung Galaxy Tab A11, which offer much worse performance. 

Then there’s the RedMagic Astra 2, which comes with flagship specs, but its base 256GB model costs $750 in the US. This may be worth it, because this model has a 9-inch, 16:10 OLED display, with up to 185Hz refresh rate, alongside a fast-charging battery, and gaming-focused design and features.

Disappointing omission

High refresh rate displays are something that’s available on basically every mid-range smartphone and tablet, and I’m baffled that Apple continues to consider them as something so special. I understand the desire to differentiate the “pro” products from the rest, but this shouldn’t be done with features that are available on $100 Android tablets.

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