Apple's new 8.5-inch OLED iPad mini starts at $699 in the U.S. Pre-orders open Oct. 28 and it arrives Nov. 6, two days before Apple's Pro and Tell event.
Apple announced a new iPad mini on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, with a larger 8.5-inch OLED display and its A20 Pro chip. It starts at $699 in the U.S. for the Wi-Fi model, and Apple says pre-orders open Wednesday, Oct. 28, with deliveries starting Friday, Nov. 6.
According to TechCrunch, the reveal came just days before the company's "Pro and Tell" event on Wednesday.
What Apple announced
The new screen is the headline. Apple says the OLED panel reaches up to 1,200 nits of peak brightness, more than twice the previous model, and that it squeezes the extra size (up from 8.3 inches) into the same footprint by shrinking the bezels. A nano-texture glass option is available to cut glare.
The body is thinner too, at 5.4 mm, and comes in midnight or starlight. Apple also lists an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance.
Inside is the A20 Pro, the same chip family that debuted in the iPhone 18 Pro, as Engadget notes. Apple claims up to 4.5 times faster AI performance and up to 2.7 times faster graphics than last generation. Those are Apple's own numbers and haven't been independently tested.
Price and availability in the U.S.
- Wi-Fi model: starts at $699
- Wi-Fi + Cellular model: starts at $849
- Education pricing: starts at $649
- Storage: 128GB, 256GB and 512GB
- New Smart Folio: $79
Apple Pencil Pro ($129) and Apple Pencil (USB-C) ($79) both work with it. The tablet ships with iPadOS 27 and the new Siri AI, which Apple says is rolling out in beta.
What we don't know yet
There are no independent reviews, so battery life, heat and real-world OLED quality are all open questions. Apple hasn't said how long the Siri AI beta will last, either. We'll update this story if the company adds anything at Wednesday's event.
Our take
This is analysis, not reporting. $699 is a lot for a small tablet, so the case for buying it rests on the screen and the chip. If you mainly read, watch video and take notes, the OLED panel is the part most likely to matter. If you don't care about on-device AI, the A20 Pro is more than you need. We'd wait for reviews before pre-ordering.
Our earlier story on the event said an OLED iPad mini was rumored. That rumor is now confirmed.
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Picture credit: Apple
