Apple Unveils OLED iPad Mini With A20 Pro — But It Still Has a 60Hz Display

Apple has finally given its smallest iPad the display upgrade many fans have been waiting for. The new iPad mini swaps its familiar LCD panel for an 8.5-inch OLED screen, gains the A20 Pro chip, and arrives in a significantly thinner and lighter body. Pre-orders open on October 28, with the tablet reaching stores on November 6. In Sweden, prices start at SEK 9,295 for the Wi-Fi model. It's a substantial refresh, although one screen specification still feels surprisingly conservative for the price.

OLED is the headline upgrade

The new Super Retina XDR display measures 8.5 inches, up from 8.3 inches on the previous iPad mini. Apple has reduced the surrounding bezels by 24 percent, allowing the screen to grow without increasing the tablet's overall footprint. OLED provides individually controlled pixels, deeper blacks and stronger contrast, particularly noticeable when watching films or playing games with dark scenes.

Apple quotes a peak brightness of 1,200 nits, 600 nits of full-screen brightness and a minimum of just one nit for comfortable use in darker rooms. A nano-texture glass option is also available for buyers who want to reduce reflections. Those are welcome improvements for a device that is equally suited to reading on the sofa, watching video on a flight and portable gaming.

There is, however, a catch: the refresh rate remains at 60Hz. With higher-refresh-rate screens now common on premium devices, that limitation stands out on a tablet costing this much. OLED should improve image quality dramatically, but it won't make scrolling and animations as fluid as a 120Hz panel would.

A20 Pro brings a serious performance boost

Inside is Apple's A20 Pro, built on a 2-nanometer process. Apple claims up to 60 percent faster multithreaded CPU performance and up to 2.7 times the graphics performance of the previous generation. These are manufacturer-provided comparisons, not independent benchmark results, but the promised graphics gains are particularly interesting for demanding iPad games and creative applications.

The chip also introduces hardware-accelerated ray tracing and more capable on-device AI processing. Importantly, not every storage configuration gets exactly the same silicon setup: the 512GB model features a six-core CPU and a dual 16-core Neural Engine, while lower-capacity configurations have a five-core CPU and a single 16-core Neural Engine. Anyone choosing the smallest storage option should therefore know that the differences extend beyond available space.

Thinner, lighter and finally water resistant

Apple has reduced the thickness to 5.4mm, compared with 6.3mm for the outgoing model, while the weight drops to approximately 255 grams from 297 grams. Those changes should make an already portable tablet more comfortable to hold for extended reading or gaming sessions. The new IP67 rating is another meaningful addition, offering tested protection against dust and temporary immersion in water under specified conditions. That doesn't mean the device is waterproof forever, and liquid damage is not covered by Apple's standard warranty.

The company has also reworked the audio system with what it calls Acoustic Display, incorporating specially designed sound components into the display assembly. A 12MP Center Stage front camera now sits along the landscape edge, a more practical location for video calls when the tablet is used horizontally. Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C) support carry over, while a redesigned Smart Folio is available separately.

Price, release date and the question of value

The new iPad mini comes in Midnight and Starlight, with 128GB, 256GB and 512GB storage options. Swedish pricing begins at SEK 9,295 for Wi-Fi and SEK 11,395 for Wi-Fi + Cellular. Apple will begin accepting pre-orders on Wednesday, October 28, before general availability on Friday, November 6. In the US, the entry-level Wi-Fi model starts at $699.

That puts the iPad mini firmly in premium territory. Its appeal remains straightforward: there are few tablets that combine this compact form factor, iPadOS software support and such powerful hardware. The OLED panel and lighter construction strengthen that proposition considerably. On the other hand, the 60Hz display and the performance differences between storage tiers deserve attention before ordering. For existing mini owners, the screen is likely to be the most tempting reason to upgrade; whether it's worth the asking price will depend on how much that smaller format matters to you.

Where to find it

• Apple iPad mini — official product page