Apple launches $699 iPad Mini with 8.5-inch OLED display and A20 Pro chip days before event

Apple refreshes the iPad Mini ahead of its hardware event

Apple has unveiled a new iPad Mini built around a larger 8.5-inch OLED display and an upgraded A20 Pro chip, according to The Verge. The Wi-Fi-only model starts at $699. The timing is notable: the announcement landed just days before the company's "Pro and tell" event on Wednesday, meaning one of Apple's expected hardware updates arrived ahead of the show rather than during it.

OLED display and A20 Pro silicon

The move to an 8.5-inch OLED screen is the most visible change to the small tablet, which now pairs the new panel with a faster processor. The A20 Pro chip matters beyond raw performance, though. According to The Verge, it enables support for some of Apple's new Siri features, including controls that let users adjust how expressive the assistant's voice sounds and the pace at which it speaks. That positions the new Mini as part of Apple's broader AI rollout rather than as a straightforward internal refresh.

Camera moved for landscape calls

Apple has also relocated the 12-megapixel front-facing camera to the long edge of the device. The Verge notes the change is meant to make video calls easier when the tablet is held in landscape orientation, so callers are framed more naturally during horizontal use.

A sharp price increase over the 2024 model

The new Mini succeeds a seventh-generation version released in 2024, which itself arrived three years after the sixth-generation model launched in 2021. That 2024 tablet started at $499 and was primarily a spec bump, bringing an A17 Pro chip, Apple Pencil Pro support and an increase to 128GB of base storage. In his review, The Verge's David Pierce called it "a new low for the product," one that "feels like an iPad designed by a supply chain, not by someone who actually wants you to like the product."

Against that backdrop, the new model carries a $200 higher starting price than its predecessor while adding an OLED panel and newer silicon.

More announcements expected this week

The early reveal appears to clear the deck for Wednesday's event. The Verge reports that the iPad Mini comes ahead of a string of other rumored product launches that could take place this week, potentially including a touchscreen MacBook Pro along with an M6-equipped MacBook Pro and iMac.

Why it matters

The quiet timing tells its own story: Apple seems to be shipping a notable but mid-tier update before the event so Wednesday's stage can be reserved for bigger products. The device itself matters on two fronts. First, the OLED display and A20 Pro chip represent a more meaningful upgrade than the widely criticized 2024 refresh, though buyers will now pay $699 for the entry model instead of $499. Second, the fact that the chip's main highlighted benefit is enabling new Siri capabilities signals that AI readiness is becoming a baseline requirement across Apple's product line, reaching even its smallest tablet, rather than remaining a premium differentiator reserved for flagship devices.