Apple has delivered the most significant upgrade in years for its smallest tablet. The new OLED iPad mini finally brings modern display technology, better durability and a faster chip to this much-loved compact tablet, and whether you are reading, taking notes or creating on the go, the experience has been raised to a new level.
The centrepiece of this upgrade is undoubtedly the screen. The original 8.3-inch LCD has been replaced by a slightly larger 8.5-inch OLED panel, and with slimmer bezels, the display has grown without the body noticeably expanding. In practice, blacks are purer, contrast is dramatically improved, and reading at night is extremely comfortable. The higher-end 256GB and 512GB models can also be configured with nano-texture glass, which offers even better glare resistance.
Unfortunately, the refresh rate remains at 60Hz, with no ProMotion. Although the OLED’s pixel response makes motion look somewhat smoother than on the old model, it still falls short of the silky 120Hz experience of the iPad Pro.
As for the body, the new model is noticeably thinner and lighter, and for the first time it carries an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance. The key to this is an all-new acoustic display system, where sound emanates directly from behind the screen. With no need for traditional speaker openings, the body can be sealed far more effectively.
In terms of performance, the iPad mini is powered by the A20 Pro chip, built on a 2nm process. Apple claims significant gains in both multi-threaded performance and graphics capability over the previous generation. It is worth noting that the 512GB version comes with the full six-core CPU, while the 128GB and 256GB versions have five cores. All versions include the Neural Engine and hardware ray tracing.
The remaining improvements are equally practical. The front camera has moved to the long edge of the body, making landscape video calls look more natural. Thanks to Apple’s own silicon, connectivity has been upgraded to Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. Fast charging has also improved, while battery life is essentially unchanged at around 10 hours. Both the Apple Pencil Pro and the USB-C Apple Pencil remain compatible.
If you are buying an iPad mini mainly for reading, annotating or drawing, the OLED screen and the thinner, lighter body are changes you will feel every time you pick it up.