2026 iPad Mini Raises the Bar, and the Price, to $699

The 2026 iPad Mini starts at $699 — by a wide margin the highest entry price ever for the model — and the tested configuration, a midnight cellular unit with 512GB of storage and a nano-texture matte display, costs $1,249. Apple has delivered its most thorough Mini upgrade in years, yet the price positions the small tablet awkwardly against the rest of its own lineup.

What changed in the 2026 model?

Apple enlarged the display from 8.3 to 8.5 inches and switched from LCD to a 2316 x 1512 OLED panel. The reviewer, who tested the device for a week, reports brighter peak brightness, deeper contrast and a minimum brightness low enough for comfortable reading in the dark. At the same time, the tablet itself became smaller: the body is about a tenth of an inch thinner and about an ounce and a half lighter than its predecessor.

The processor is the largest internal change. The A20 Pro chip, also found in the iPhone 18 Pro and the Duo, benchmarks about 50 percent faster than the 2024 Mini for standard computing tasks and roughly three times as fast for graphics-intensive work. The reviewer notes the difference in practice: Assassin's Creed Mirage, all but unplayable on the 2024 Mini, runs nicely on the new model. The review unit's chip carries one more CPU core than the A20 Pro in cheaper Minis. Battery life holds at around nine hours of screen time despite a slightly smaller cell.

The tablet also earns an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, the feature the reviewer calls the most meaningful upgrade for everyday use — it survived a trip into the shower during a football game. To achieve the rating, Apple removed the speaker holes in favor of what it calls an Acoustic Display, which fires sound from the front panel. Audio quality is described as a wash: no better, perhaps slightly bassier, with sound now aimed at the user.

Where does the Mini still fall short?

The display refresh rate remains capped at 60Hz, with no ProMotion, even though most other recent Apple devices offer 120Hz. Apple's explanation, given to Chris Lawley and others, has been that "120Hz is irrelevant, OLED's faster pixel response solves the problems." The reviewer disagrees, noting blurrier scrolling text and a more juddery Apple Pencil feel at 60Hz, though not a dealbreaker.

FaceID is also absent; the Mini still offers TouchID only. The front-facing camera moved from the portrait edge to the landscape side — a clear win on every other iPad, but a mixed blessing on the one iPad the reviewer holds vertically for long stretches.

The optional nano-texture matte coating, a $100 upcharge, reduces glare effectively but slightly dulls and darkens the screen, and it requires upgrading to 256GB of storage, pushing the total to $900.

Who is this tablet for?

The IP rating reveals Apple's target user, in the reviewer's words: this is the "Field iPad" — built for pilots, construction sites, oil rigs and doctor's offices rather than for pixel-peepers or creator workflows. Ruggedization and usability, not peak performance, define the product.

The pricing context sharpens the value question. The base iPad costs $449 with an A16 chip and 128GB. The iPad Air with an M4 processor and 128GB is $749, meaning $50 more than a base Mini buys what the reviewer calls a much better and more versatile tablet. The iPad Pro with an M5 and 256GB runs $1,199. In that frame, the Mini's $699 entry price feels at least $100 too high.

Is it worth buying?

The verdict is qualified. The 2026 Mini is the best Mini yet and a huge leap over the previous model, but the reviewer cannot recommend the top configuration in good conscience. It suits only committed small-tablet buyers who accept the price. Apple has not yet built the tiny flagship those buyers are waiting for — but this model, priced as it is, shows the gap between what the Mini is and what it could be.