Ahead of this week’s “Pro and tell” event in Los Angeles, Apple on Monday announced the all-new iPad mini.
The marquee feature of the refreshed tablet is what Apple characterizes as a “stunning” 8.5” Super Retina XDR OLED display, of which Apple says includes a nano-texture option and is higher contrast and capable of twice as much peak brightness compared to the previous generation. Elsewhere, the new iPad mini features the A20 Pro chip, the very same processor found in iPhone 18 Pro, the N1 and C2 networking chips, and a new feature called the “innovative” Acoustic Display that the company boasts provides “an even better audio experience” for users of the iPad mini.
Pre-orders for the new iPad mini start this Wednesday, October 28 with availability beginning Friday, November 6. It costs $699 for 128GB Wi-Fi-only. The Wi-Fi plus cellular versions begin at $849 for 128GB, according to Apple.
Apple’s SVP of worldwide product marketing, Greg Joswiak, shared a brief video on X on the new iPad mini.
iPhone Duo curiosity notwithstanding, I’m very excited for this updated iPad mini. It looks like a great product. However great my M4 13” iPad Pro remains, the reality is I use it mainly for reading while lounging on the couch. I’ve tried using it as a MacBook replacement with the Magic Keyboard, particularly with the improvements in iPadOS 27, but I can’t fight the feeling I’ve hopped off the iPad-for-productivity train for good, save for light document editing once in a while and email triaging. What I’m saying is I think the iPad mini is the perfect iPad for me; it’s thin and light and utterly conducive to passive activities like reading and watching video. My iPad Pro is arguably better for those tasks simply by virtue of its bigger screen, but the byproduct of said screen is a substantially bigger physical object—something which, given my physical motor limitations, makes the device feel unwieldy. In other words, the allure of the new iPad mini is more about the form factor and less a referendum on the Pro. The latter may not be right for me any longer, and that’s okay.
