Apple iPad Mini Gets 8.5-Inch OLED Display and A20 Pro Chip

Apple has announced a new iPad Mini with a larger 8.5-inch OLED display, revealing it just days before its "Pro and tell" event on Wednesday. The Wi-Fi-only model starts at $699, while the Wi-Fi and cellular version costs $849.

At 5.4mm thick, the tablet is thinner and lighter than its predecessor. Bezels are 24 percent slimmer, which lets Apple keep the same compact footprint while growing the screen from the previous generation's 8.3 inches. The display reaches a peak brightness of 1200 nits and drops to a 1-nit minimum, which should be easier on the eyes in dim rooms. It still lacks ProMotion: the specs list up to 4K resolution at a 60Hz refresh rate.

A20 Pro, new audio and connectivity

Inside is an A20 Pro chip able to run on-device AI models, enabling some of Apple's new Siri features, such as adjusting the expressiveness and pace of the assistant's voice. The 128GB and 256GB models have a 5-core CPU with 2 super cores and 3 efficiency cores, while the 512GB model has a 6-core CPU with 2 super cores and 4 efficiency cores. Every model includes a 16-core Neural Engine.

Apple also introduces an "Acoustic Display," which it says uses specially designed woofers paired through the display for punchier bass and more volume, plus custom tweeters between the glass and aluminum enclosure for clearer highs. The 12MP front camera now sits on the long edge, which helps with landscape video calls. The tablet has an IP67 rating, Apple's C2 cellular modem and in-house N1 networking chip, and up to 10 hours of battery life on Wi-Fi for video or web browsing.

Pricing and availability

The new model follows the 7th-generation iPad Mini from 2024, which started at $499 and was mainly a spec bump with the A17 Pro chip, Apple Pencil Pro support and 128GB of base storage. The new version is $200 more at the entry level.

Preorders start Wednesday, October 28, with availability on November 6. The iPad Mini comes in midnight and starlight, with 128GB, 256GB and 512GB options. A glare-reducing nano-texture display is offered on the 256GB and 512GB models. More Apple launches are rumored this week, including a touchscreen MacBook Pro and M6-equipped MacBook Pro and iMac models.