Apple's smallest iPad is getting its biggest makeover yet just days ahead of the company's 'Pro and Tell' event, with an OLED display, a faster processor, and a slimmer design that adds water and dust resistance without increasing the tablet's footprint. The redesigned iPad mini also gets a larger display, improved cameras, and upgraded wireless connectivity, giving Apple's compact tablet a substantial upgrade over its predecessor, which came out two years ago.
Leading the list of upgrades is the refreshed iPad mini's 8.5-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display, up slightly in size from the previous model's 8.3-inch LCD panel. Despite being a bigger screen, Apple managed to trim the bezels by 24% to fit the larger panel into the same overall footprint, while reducing the tablet's thickness to just 5.4mm. The company also says the new iPad mini is lighter than before, making it even easier to carry around or use one-handed.
It's not the size that matters in this context, though. Rather, the leap to OLED is the major upgrade here. Switching to an OLED panel brings deeper blacks and better image quality. In addition, peak brightness reaches 1,200 nits on the refreshed slate—that's more than twice the previous generation. Meanwhile, full-screen brightness tops out at 600 nits. The display can also dim to just 1 nit for more comfortable viewing in darker environments.
Apple is also offering an optional nano-texture display finish designed to reduce glare in bright surroundings, such as outdoors on a sunny day or inside a brightly lit room. The new iPad mini carries an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance too, meaning it can withstand immersion in up to one meter of water for as long as 30 minutes.
A20 Pro Brings More Power For AI And Gaming
Under the hood, Apple's A20 Pro chip built on TSMC's 2-nanometer manufacturing process promises up to 60% faster multi-threaded CPU performance, up to 2.7 times the graphics performance, and up to 4.5 times faster AI performance compared with the previous-generation iPad mini, according to Apple's testing. It also features a GPU with Neural Accelerators to speed up AI workloads.
As with several of Apple's other products, the exact SoC configuration depends on which model you choose. The refreshed iPad mini SKUs with 128GB and 256GB of storage both have a five-core CPU and a 16-core Neural Engine, while the 512GB storage model bumps it up to a six-core CPU and a dual 16-core Neural Engine. All three configurations share a seven-core GPU.
For audio, Apple is touting an "innovative Acoustic Display" with specially designed woofers paired through the screen to amp up the volume and deliver harder hitting bass. Custom tweeters are hidden between the glass and aluminum housing for what Apple claims are clearer highs, and it's all contained within a sealed enclosure for an IP67 rating.
The front-facing 12MP Center Stage camera has moved to the landscape edge for a more natural position when making video calls or while using the iPad mini with a keyboard or stand. And around back, a 12MP camera supports Smart HDR 4 and 4K video recording at up to 60 frames per second.
Finally, Apple added its N1 wireless chip to the iPad mini, giving the compact slate Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread support. Optionally, the iPad mini also comes with a C2 cellular modem for up to 50% faster cellular data speeds compared to the last-gen model.
Apple's overhauled iPad mini with OLED display and an A20 chip inside starts at $699, a $200 increase over the previous generation's original starting price. Preorders open October 28, with availability beginning November 6. Alternatively, you can snag the previous generation A17-powered iPad mini on sale for $559 at Amazon (17% off), which is $40 below its list price following Apple's recent round of price hikes.
Paul is a seasoned geek who cut this teeth on the Commodore 64. When he's not geeking out to tech, he's out riding his Harley and collecting stray cats.