Apple unveils all-new iPad mini with OLED, A20 Pro and IP67 — U.S. price starts at $699

Apple on Monday unveiled an overhauled iPad mini with its first OLED display, a new A20 Pro chip and, for the first time in the lineup, IP67 water and dust resistance — while raising the U.S. starting price to $699 from $499 for the previous model introduced in 2024.

The company announced the device in an Oct. 26 press release, calling it the “all-new iPad mini.” Preorders begin Wednesday, Oct. 28, and in-store availability starts Friday, Nov. 6. In the United States, the Wi-Fi model starts at $699, while the Wi-Fi + Cellular version starts at $849.

Apple said the new tablet has an 8.5-inch OLED “Super Retina XDR” display with 24% thinner bezels than the prior iPad mini while fitting into a similar overall footprint. Apple also said the device is 5.4 millimeters thin and thinner and lighter than the previous generation. The new mini carries an IP67 rating, a standard measure for dust protection and temporary water immersion under test conditions, marking a notable durability upgrade for the product line.

The iPad mini is powered by Apple’s A20 Pro chip, which Apple said is built on its latest 2-nanometer process technology. Apple said the chip delivers up to 4.5 times faster AI performance and up to 2.7 times graphics performance compared with the previous generation, though those claims were not independently verified.

The tablet ships with iPadOS 27 and supports Apple Intelligence features, including Siri AI features that Apple said are rolling out in beta with iPadOS 27. It has a 12-megapixel Center Stage front camera on the landscape edge and a 12-megapixel rear camera that supports 4K video at 60 frames per second. Storage options are 128GB, 256GB and 512GB, and the launch colors are midnight and starlight. The device also supports Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C), and Apple introduced a new Smart Folio alongside it.

“With a remarkably thinner and lighter design, a stunning new OLED display, the incredibly powerful A20 Pro, and water and dust resistance, the new iPad mini is a huge leap forward for users who love having the full iPad experience in the palm of their hand,” Dave Pakula, Apple’s vice president of Hardware Engineering, said in the release.

The launch brings a premium display technology further into Apple’s tablet lineup after OLED first came to the iPad Pro in 2024. It also comes with a clear price jump for buyers: the prior iPad mini Apple introduced in October 2024 started at $499 in the U.S., making the new model’s $699 entry price a $200 increase. Apple said the new iPad mini is made with 35% recycled content overall, including 100% recycled aluminum in the enclosure and 100% recycled cobalt in the battery.