Apple unveils iPad mini with larger OLED display and A20 Pro chip

Apple has announced a significantly updated iPad mini, featuring a larger 8.5-inch OLED display, a thinner and lighter design, and the company’s new A20 Pro chip. The refreshed tablet starts at $699 for the Wi-Fi model and $849 for the Wi-Fi and cellular version.

Apple revealed the new iPad mini just days before its “Pro and Tell” event, scheduled for Wednesday. Pre-orders open on October 28, with the device set to reach customers beginning November 6.

Larger OLED display with new options

The new iPad mini adopts an 8.5-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display, replacing the smaller panel used by the previous model. OLED technology enables pixel-level lighting control, producing deeper blacks, richer contrast, and support for the P3 wide color gamut.

Apple says the display can reach peak brightness of up to 1,200 nits, more than double the previous generation. It also offers 600 nits of full-screen brightness for SDR and HDR content, along with a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

The tablet is available with an optional nano-texture display, a feature previously reserved for the iPad Pro. The finish is designed to reduce glare in bright environments, making the iPad mini more usable outdoors or under strong lighting.

Thinner body and improved audio

Apple has made the new iPad mini 5.4mm thick, making it thinner and lighter than its predecessor. The company is offering the tablet in two color options.

The display also incorporates what Apple calls an “Acoustic Display.” Integrated woofers are designed to deliver deeper bass and higher volume, improving sound during gaming, video playback, and content editing.

Other upgrades include a 12-megapixel Center Stage front camera, faster wireless and cellular connectivity, and fast-charging support.

A20 Pro brings major performance gains

The iPad mini is powered by Apple’s A20 Pro chip, which combines a six-core CPU with a seven-core GPU. Each GPU core includes Neural Accelerators, supporting the tablet’s on-device AI capabilities.

Apple claims the new chip delivers up to 4.5 times faster AI performance than the previous iPad mini. It also says the A20 Pro offers up to 60% faster multithreaded CPU performance for everyday workloads such as photo editing and multitasking across apps.

The tablet launches with the next generation of Apple Intelligence and Siri. Apple says the updated Siri can use personal context to help users find information, answer questions, and understand what is currently on their screen.