The OLED iPad mini is here: A20 Pro, Acoustic Display and a price close to the iPad Air

The new iPad mini (A20 Pro) is finally here as announced today, October 26, by Apple. This redesigned iPad mini has an 8.5-inch OLED screen and an IP67 water and dust resistance rating, starts at $699 and is powered by the same A20 Pro chip as the iPhone 18 Pro.

OLED iPad mini pricing and release date

The A20 Pro iPad mini starts at $699 for the 128GB Wi-Fi model and $849 for the 128GB Cellular model. It comes in 128GB, 256GB ($799 for Wi-Fi only) and 512GB ($999 for Wi-Fi only) configurations in midnight and starlight colorways.



There will also be a nano-texture glass option on the 256GB and 512GB models for an additional $100.



Pre-orders open this Wednesday, October 28, and it arrives and hits Apple Store shelves on Friday, November 6. The launch includes 36 countries, including the US.

At this starting price, we are looking at $200 more than the $499 launch price of the A17 Pro iPad mini back in 2024. Since the price of that same iPad mini was hiked up to $599 this year, that would make the A20 Pro iPad mini $100 more at that same 128GB base storage tier.

A thinner design, OLED screen and speakers you can't see

The design of the new A20 Pro iPad mini is that of a 14% thinner slab at 5.4mm versus the 6.3mm of the A17 Pro iPad mini. It is also 13% lighter than the old mini, according to Apple's specs, and the first iPad rated IP67 for water and dust.

Its OLED display measures 8.5 inches and fits in the same footprint as the old mini's 8.3-inch LCD display. The bezels are 24% thinner, and the brightness reaches as high as 1,200 nits at its peak (more than twice that of the old mini) and as low as 1 nit at its minimum.



Another first for this new mini is what Apple is calling "Acoustic Display." This technology allows the woofers to play through the display itself and for the tweeters to be hidden between the glass and the aluminum body.

This means there are no speaker holes on this mini, keeping the body sealed. This sealed body is what helped this mini reach its IP67 rating.

A20 Pro, cameras and the rest of the upgrades

Aside from its OLED screen and Acoustic Display, the A20 Pro iPad mini will come with the following:

• A20 Pro processor: it is a 2nm chip with a 7-core GPU, up to a 6-core CPU and Neural Accelerators. Apple says the CPU is up to 60% faster than the A17 Pro, with up to 2.7x faster graphics and up to 4.5x faster AI. Note that only the 512GB model gets the Dual 16-core Neural Engine (32 cores).
• Cameras: it includes a 12MP Center Stage front camera that is now located on the landscape edge. It also includes a 12MP back camera that records at 4K/60fps and is equipped with new Adaptive True Tone flash.
• Connectivity: its N1 chip allows for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread. Apple says its C2 modem is capable of up to 50% faster cellular than the old mini. The cellular models also support eSIM.
• Software: ships with iPadOS 27 with Siri AI arriving in beta with iPadOS 27.2 (not in the EU, though). iPadOS 27.2 will also allow extended display mode for external monitors.
• Accessories: compatible with the Apple Pencil USB-C and the Apple Pencil Pro. Apple will also offer a new Smart Folio made of TechWoven fabric, which will come in navy blue or taupe for $79.

How the A20 Pro iPad mini compares to the iPad Air (M4)

Our iPad mini (A17 Pro) review called it "a bit pricey" but also noted few tiny tablets could compete with it. However, we called out its 60Hz screen and jelly scrolling still being there as its cons. OLED on the new mini should fix the LCD side of these cons, but the refresh rate is still a question as Apple didn't specify what that will be on the A20 Pro iPad mini.

The 11-inch M4 iPad Air was initially priced at $599 but now costs $749 since its June price hike. This puts the A20 Pro iPad mini at just $50 cheaper than the most current and lowest-priced iPad Air. Those who opt to go with the Air instead will get a bigger screen, but miss out on the OLED screen and IP67 rating the new mini now has.

What Apple left out of the announcement: refresh rate and battery life

There are two important specifications that were left out of this announcement:

• Refresh rate: no refresh rate was listed in the announcement or on the store page. Our earlier coverage expected the OLED screen to stay at 60Hz, which is still unconfirmed, but appears to be the case.
• Battery life: Apple only claims the iPad mini has an "all-day battery life" and doesn't make any claims on how many hours it is rated for. The old mini was rated for up to 10 hours. Apple did claim that the new mini will charge up to 50% in around 30 minutes.

As it stands, the 512GB model seems like the best option for on-device AI and for using creative apps due to the 32-core Neural Engine. The 128GB model seems fine if all you will be doing is reading, streaming and note-taking.

The iPad mini's biggest upgrade, but is it worth it?

This is indeed, as Apple says, the biggest upgrade the iPad mini has ever had, and the spec sheet backs it up. However, at $699, the new iPad mini is just a step away from the M4 iPad Air.

Pre-orders open in a couple of days, and I am curious whether the pricing will end up pushing small-tablet fans to the iPad Air instead or keep them waiting it out.

More on the new iPad mini:

• What we expected from the OLED iPad mini
• Everything to know about the iPad mini (2026)
• iPad Air 11-inch (M4, 2026)

• Follow me on X and Threads

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