Apple Unveils New iPad Mini With OLED Display and A20 Pro Chip

Apple introduced a new iPad mini on Monday with an 8.5-inch OLED display and an A20 Pro chip, pricing the Wi-Fi model at $699 and the Wi-Fi-plus-cellular version at $849, according to TechCrunch. The announcement came days ahead of Apple's "Pro and Tell" event scheduled for Wednesday.

How does the new display differ from the old one

The tablet's Super Retina XDR display uses OLED technology for pixel-level lighting control, producing deeper blacks and richer contrast, TechCrunch reported. Apple says peak brightness reaches 1,200 nits, more than double the previous generation, with full-screen brightness of 600 nits for SDR and HDR content and a 2 million-to-1 contrast ratio. The company markets the screen as suited to dim-light environments and offers a new nano-texture option, already available on the iPad Pro, to cut glare in bright settings.

What changed in size and design

The new iPad mini measures 5.4 mm thick and comes in two colors, per the report. Apple describes the body as thinner and lighter than its predecessor. The device also gains a 12-megapixel center-stage front camera, faster wireless and cellular connectivity, and fast-charge support.

What does the A20 Pro chip add

The A20 Pro pairs a 7-core GPU with Neural Accelerators in each core, which Apple says delivers up to 4.5 times faster AI performance than the outgoing model, TechCrunch reported. A 6-core CPU brings up to 60% faster multithreaded performance for tasks such as photo editing and multitasking across apps, according to the company's figures cited in the report.

Does it run the newest Apple Intelligence features

The tablet launches with the next generation of Apple Intelligence and Siri, which Apple says can draw on a user's personal context to help locate information, answer questions, and interpret what is on screen, TechCrunch reported. Apple positions the added Neural Accelerator cores as the hardware behind those faster on-device AI tasks.

What about sound

Apple built what it calls an "Acoustic Display" into the tablet, embedding woofers in the display itself. The company says the design delivers deeper bass and higher volume for gaming, video playback, and content editing, according to the report.

When can buyers order one

Preorders open October 28, with the device reaching customers starting November 6, TechCrunch reported. The release lands just ahead of Apple's Wednesday hardware event, timing that puts the mini's launch in the same week as additional product announcements the company has teased.

TechCrunch's reporting, sourced to Apple's own disclosures, did not include third-party benchmark testing of the brightness, performance, or audio claims. Full specifications and ordering details are available through TechCrunch's original report.