Apple Launches New iPad mini With Bigger OLED Display and A20 Pro Chip

Apple has officially introduced a major update to its compact tablet lineup with a new iPad mini featuring an 8.5-inch OLED display. The redesigned tablet is thinner and lighter than its predecessor and brings a significant performance boost with Apple's new A20 Pro chip.

The new iPad mini starts at $699 for the Wi-Fi version, while the Wi-Fi + Cellular model starts at $849. Apple announced the tablet just days before its upcoming “Pro and Tell” event.

Thinner Design With a Larger OLED Screen

The new iPad mini measures just 5.4mm thick, giving it a slimmer profile while offering a larger display than previous models. Apple will offer the tablet in two colors.

The new Super Retina XDR OLED display provides pixel-level lighting control, allowing the tablet to produce deeper blacks, stronger contrast and more vibrant colors. It also supports the P3 wide color gamut.

Brightness has received a major upgrade as well. The display can reach up to 1,200 nits of peak brightness, while full-screen brightness reaches 600 nits for SDR and HDR content. Apple also claims a 2 million:1 contrast ratio.

For users who frequently use their tablets outdoors or under strong lighting, Apple is also offering a nano-texture display option designed to reduce reflections and glare.

New Audio System and Center Stage Camera

Apple has also upgraded the iPad mini's multimedia capabilities.

The tablet features what Apple calls an Acoustic Display, incorporating specially designed woofers into the display system. The company says this design produces deeper bass and higher volume, potentially making games, movies and content editing more immersive.

For video calls, the new iPad mini includes a 12-megapixel Center Stage front camera. The device also supports faster wireless and cellular connectivity and improved fast-charging capabilities.

A20 Pro Brings a Major Performance Upgrade

Under the hood, the new iPad mini is powered by Apple's A20 Pro chip.

The processor includes a six-core CPU and a seven-core GPU with Neural Accelerators integrated into every GPU core. According to Apple, the new model delivers up to 4.5 times faster AI performance compared with the previous-generation iPad mini.

Apple also claims up to 60% faster multithreaded CPU performance, which should benefit demanding activities such as photo editing, multitasking and running several applications simultaneously.

Apple Intelligence Comes to the New iPad mini

The updated tablet also arrives with the next generation of Apple Intelligence and Siri.

Apple says its AI features can use personal context to help users locate information, answer questions and understand what is displayed on the screen. The additional AI processing power provided by the A20 Pro should also help the tablet handle these features more efficiently.

iPad mini Pricing and Availability

Apple will begin accepting pre-orders on October 28, with the new iPad mini scheduled to become available on November 6.

With its larger OLED display, thinner design, faster A20 Pro processor, upgraded cameras, improved audio and expanded AI capabilities, the new iPad mini represents one of the biggest upgrades to Apple's compact tablet lineup.