Apple announced the new iPad mini on October 26. You get the same one-hand size with new parts inside: an 8.5-inch OLED screen in place of the LCD, the A20 Pro chip, an IP67 water and dust rating, and speakers sealed behind the display. It's 5.4 mm thick and weighs 0.56 pound, down from 6.3 mm and 0.65 pound.
Preorders open October 28 at 10:10 a.m. Pacific, and Apple delivers the first orders and stocks Apple Stores on November 6, in Midnight or Starlight. It starts at $699, Apple's second $100 increase on the mini this year.
Apple's store sells the new model alone. Amazon sells last year's A17 Pro mini, the iPad Air and the 11-inch iPad for less, and you can compare all four in the table below.
The new mini, up close.
An OLED screen
Apple swapped the LCD for an 8.5-inch OLED screen with a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio. It reaches 600 nits for everyday use and 1,200 for HDR video. Apple lists no ProMotion, so MacRumors expects 60Hz.
Thinner and lighter
5.4 mm thick and 0.56 pound, against 6.3 mm and 0.65 pound for last year's mini. The bezels are 24 percent thinner, per 9to5Mac.
Apple Pencil Pro with hover
It works with Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C), and it adds hover, which shows where your mark will land before the tip touches the glass. Apple's Pencil Pro listing names hover only for the iPad Pro and Air.
Speakers behind the glass
Apple calls it Acoustic Display: woofers behind the screen, tweeters between the glass and the aluminum, and no speaker holes, which lets Apple seal the case for IP67.
The A20 Pro chip
Apple claims up to 60 percent faster CPU, 2.7 times the graphics and 4.5 times the AI performance of the A17 Pro. The 512GB model adds a sixth CPU core and a second Neural Engine.
Midnight and Starlight
Two colors, down from four on last year's mini. Nano-texture glass costs $100 more on the 256GB and 512GB models.
The numbers.
| New iPad mini | iPad mini (A17 Pro) | iPad Air 11 (M4) | iPad 11 (A16) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 8.5-inch OLED | 8.3-inch LCD | 11-inch LCD | 11-inch LCD |
| Resolution | 2316 x 1512 | 2266 x 1488 | 2360 x 1640 | 2360 x 1640 |
| Brightness | 600 nits, 1,200 HDR peak | 500 nits | 500 nits | 500 nits |
| Chip | A20 Pro | A17 Pro | M4 | A16 |
| Water and dust | IP67 | Not rated | Not rated | Not rated |
| Weight (Wi-Fi) | 0.56 lb | 0.65 lb | 1.02 lb | 1.05 lb |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 7 | Wi-Fi 6E | Wi-Fi 7 | Wi-Fi 6 |
| Apple Pencil | Pro, USB-C | Pro, USB-C | Pro, USB-C | USB-C, 1st gen |
| Price | $699 at Apple | $559 on Amazon | $699 on Amazon | $399 on Amazon |
| Ships | Nov 6 | Now | Now | Now |
Other iPads and the Pencils.
iPad mini (A17 Pro), from $545
Last year's mini has the same one-hand size and Apple Pencil Pro support, with an LCD screen and no water rating. Apple's store has dropped it. Amazon sells it for $545 in Purple, $559 in Space Gray, and $559.99 in Blue or Starlight.
View on Amazon →
iPad Air 11-inch (M4), $699
At the new mini's price, the Air gives you an 11-inch screen, the M4 chip and the Magic Keyboard with a trackpad. It weighs 1.02 pounds, against 0.56 for the new mini. Amazon sells Space Gray for $699, $50 under Apple.
View on Amazon →
iPad 11-inch (A16), $399
The everyday iPad for streaming, schoolwork and notes. It takes the Apple Pencil (USB-C), not the Pencil Pro, and its Amazon listing doesn't mention Apple Intelligence. $399 on Amazon, $50 under Apple.
View on Amazon →
Apple Pencil Pro, $99
Works with the new mini, last year's mini and the iPad Air M4. You squeeze it or roll it to switch tools, and Find My locates it. Amazon has it for $99, $30 under Apple's price.
View on Amazon →
Apple Pencil (USB-C), $69
The cheaper Pencil works with all four iPads in the table, and it's the one to get for the 11-inch iPad. $69 on Amazon.
View on Amazon →The details.
Water resistance
Apple rates the new mini IP67: up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes, and sealed against dust. MacRumors calls it the first iPad mini with a water rating. None of the other iPads in the table carries one.
Camera and connections
Apple moved the front camera to the long edge, so you sit in the middle of the frame on a landscape video call. Both cameras are 12MP, and the back one records 4K. Apple's N1 chip handles Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, the USB-C port runs at 10Gb/s, and cellular models use Apple's C2 modem. iPadOS 27.2 adds extended display mode for an external monitor.
Why it costs $699
The iPad mini started at $499 in 2024. Apple raised it to $599 in June 2026, in a round of increases MacRumors tied to memory and chip shortages, and the new model starts at $699. Cellular models went from $749 to $849, and education pricing starts at $649. The TechWoven Smart Folio for the new mini costs $79, up from $59 for the old Smart Folio.
Battery and charging
Apple quotes up to 10 hours of web browsing or video on Wi-Fi, and 9 hours of browsing on cellular. A 35W or larger adapter charges it to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. The US box includes a 20W adapter.
FAQ.
Preorders open October 28, 2026, at 10:10 a.m. Pacific. Apple starts delivering orders and selling it in Apple Stores on November 6.
$699 for the 128GB Wi-Fi model, $849 with cellular, and $649 with education pricing. Nano-texture glass adds $100 on the 256GB and 512GB models.
Not yet. Amazon sells and ships last year's iPad mini (A17 Pro), from $545 in Purple to $559.99 in Blue or Starlight.
Apple's specs don't mention ProMotion, and MacRumors expects the screen to stay at 60Hz.
It's water resistant. Apple rates it IP67, which covers up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes.
A better small iPad,
for $100 more.
Apple fixed the old mini's three weak spots: the LCD screen, the missing water rating and the front camera on the short edge. It costs $699, $200 more than the mini cost at the start of 2026. Preorder it if you want the smallest iPad with the best screen Apple puts in it. If the price stops you, last year's mini sells on Amazon for $559 with the same size and Pencil Pro support.
Preorder from Apple → Specs and images from Apple → Launch details from MacRumors →