Apple has updated the iPad mini, and this time the OLED screen is the star. Here's what's changed in the eighth-gen model compared to the iPad mini 7.
The launch of the eighth-generation iPad mini is, for once, an evolutionary act on Apple's part. It is a continuation of the company's effort to bring OLED to every platform.
Previously only available on the iPad Pro models, it's now hit Apple's smallest tablet, jumping past the iPad Air entirely.
Of course, while the display's the thing everyone will talk about, there are a few other changes in the new model to consider. Performance, especially.
What follows compares the eighth-gen iPad mini against the iPad mini 7 it replaces.
iPad mini 8 vs iPad mini 7: Specifications
| Specifications | iPad mini 8 | iPad mini 7 |
|---|---|---|
| Launch price (starting) | $699 | $499 (launch) |
| Dimensions (inches) | 7.69 x 5.22 x 0.21 | 7.69 x 5.3 x 0.25 |
| Weight (pounds) Wi-Fi only | 0.56 | 0.65 |
| Processor | A20 Pro | A17 Pro |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB |
| Display Type | 8.5-inch hybrid OLED LTPS panel, 600 nits brightness, True Tone, Optional Nano-texture | 8.3-inch Liquid Retina, 500 nits brightness, True Tone |
| Resolution | 2,316 x 1,512 at 326ppi | 2,266 x 1,488 at 326ppi |
| Connectivity | 5G (sub-6 GHz), Gigabit LTE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 | 5G (sub-6 GHz), Gigabit LTE, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Battery | Up to 10 hours | Up to 10 hours |
| Rear camera | 12MP Wide, f/1.8 aperture, 5x digital zoom, Smart HDR 4 for photos | 12MP Wide, f/1.8 aperture, 5x digital zoom, Smart HDR 4 for photos |
| Front camera | 12MP Ultra Wide Landscape f/2.0 aperture, Retina Flash, Smart HDR 4 for photos, Center Stage | 12MP Ultra Wide, f/2.4 aperture, Retina Flash, Smart HDR 4 for photos, Center Stage |
| Connector | USB-C 10Gbps | USB-C 10Gbps |
| Apple Pencil support | Apple Pencil Pro, Apple Pencil USB-C | Apple Pencil Pro, Apple Pencil USB-C |
| Audio | Stereo audio using Acoustic Display Two microphones | Landscape stereo speakers, Two microphones |
| Touch ID | Yes | Yes |
| Colors | Midnight, Starlight | Space Gray, Blue, Purple, Starlight |
iPad mini 8 vs iPad mini 7: Physical dimensions
The iPad mini 7 is a small tablet by any measure. It is 7.69 inches long and 5.3 inches wide, making it almost pocketable.
While the new iPad mini 8 boasts a bunch of changes, it cannot get away from Apple's habit of keeping things as they are. Sure, it's not strictly a spec-bump update, but it's close enough.
In this instance, Apple has taken the time to tweak the dimensions a bit. The OLED model is still 7.69 inches long, but it's just a tiny bit narrower at 5.22 inches.
iPad mini 8 vs iPad mini 7: The new model is slightly thinner and narrower. Image Credit: Apple
There's also a slight change in thickness, with the new model being 0.21 inches versus 0.25 inches for the old one.
When it comes to weight, these changes matter. The Wi-Fi model of the iPad mini 7 is 0.65 pounds, rising to 0.66 for the cellular model.
The OLED-equipped gen-8 model is ligher at 0.56 pounds and 0.58 pounds, respectively.
It may be a tiny weight loss, but it matters in the smallest tablet.
iPad mini 8 vs iPad mini 7: Display
The 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display of the iPad mini 7 is an LED-backlit LCD. It's good enough without going to the extravagance of an OLED panel like the iPad Pro models.
There's no such holding back for the iPad mini 8, with the OLED Super Retina XDR display being the main event everyone's looking out for.
However, thanks to some slightly smaller bezels, it takes up practically the same physical space as the LED-backlit version, but with an 8.5-inch screen.
On the resolution side, we're looking at slightly different numbers because of that size. The Gen 7 is 2,266 by 1,488, with a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch.
Apple does like to maintain the density, and it does so for the OLED panel at an equal 326ppi. However, the resolution goes up a tiny amount to match, at 2,316 by 1,512.
OLED's benefits center around brightness, contrast, and battery usage.
iPad mini 8 vs iPad mini 7: OLED is a big advantage for the new model. Image Credit: Apple
On brightness, the key difference is Apple shifting from 500 nits to 600 nits from the LCD panel to OLED for SDR content. For HDR content, Apple reiterates the 600 nits for the maximum full-screen brightness, but 1,200 nits at its peak.
OLED also brings deeper blacks and far higher contrast. The new screen should look a lot more vibrant than before.
While the change to OLED brings it closer to the iPad Pro, the new iPad mini doesn't seem to get ProMotion support. Apple doesn't mention the feature at all, meaning the iPad mini is still using the same 60Hz refresh rate as the old model.
Another big change is the introduction of a Nano-texture glass option. Available on the 256GB and 512GB-capacity options, you can pay to have the glass etched, reducing glare.
The change to OLED will be doing a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to wooing customers to the new iPad mini. It does so for very good reason.
iPad mini 8 vs iPad mini 7: Cameras
Around the back of the iPad mini 7 is a single 12MP Wide camera. It has an f/1.8 aperture and a True Tone flash, complete with a 5x digital zoom.
While we would've expected an improvement here to match the 48MP sensors of the iPhone, there's no change in the OLED model. It's the same sensor and specification as the previous model.
Unusually, there are more changes to the front-facing camera.
iPad mini 8 vs iPad mini 7: The rear camera's the same. The front camera has moved. Image Credit: Apple
The iPad mini 7 uses a 12MP Center Stage camera, located on the short edge of the tablet. The OLED model shifts the 12MP sensor to the long edge, making it a Landscape Center Stage camera.
While the resolution is the same, as is the 2x zoom-out capability and Retina Flash, there is one other change to the front camera. The aperture has improved, going from f/2.4 to f/2.0.
There's no change to the video capabilities here. The rear cameras can do 4K video at 60fps and slo-mo 1080p 240fps, while the front can do 1080p with cinematic video stabilization.
iPad mini 8 vs iPad mini 7: Processing and performance
Inside the iPad mini 7 is the A17 Pro chip. It carries a 6-core CPU with two performance cores and four efficiency cores, a 5-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine.
That chip was a two-generation leap over the iPad mini 6. It comfortably runs Apple Intelligence and its Siri features.
The iPad mini 8 benefits from a multi-generation jump, all the way to the A20 Pro. That's a three-generation jump in chip production tech, and should mean a massive change in performance.
There are, however, two versions of the A20 Pro being used in the new iPad mini.
The 128GB and 256GB-capacity models get a 5-core CPU with two super cores and three efficiency cores, and a 16-core Neural Engine.
The 512GB model goes one better on the CPU, with a six-core version using two super cores and four efficiency cores. Interestingly, this variant also has a dual 16-core Neural Engine.
Both chips benefit from a seven-core GPU, complete with hardware-accelerated ray tracing and Neural Accelerators. The latter will help with AI-based tasks, assisting the Neural Engine.
While there aren't any benchmarks for the iPad mini 8 to use right now, we can approximate this difference using the iPhone 18 Pro, which uses the A20 Pro chip.
It may not be an exact match, but it will give us a good indication of how much the improvement will be for the upper-tier A20 Pro version.
Geekbench single-core results for the A20 Pro in an iPhone 18 Pro versus the iPad mini 7
For single-core performance, the A17 Pro is listed at 2,599, with the A20 Pro in the iPhone 18 Pro soaring at 3,927.
Multi-core performance is quite similar in terms of a performance jump. The 6,928 of the iPad mini 7 is dwarfed by the 10,462 of the A20 Pro in the iPhone.
Geekbench multi-core results for the A20 Pro in an iPhone 18 Pro versus the iPad mini 7
Continuing to Metal, the iPad mini 7 is listed as scoring 21,143 in Geekbench 7. That's an entirely respectable score for a tablet, but the iPhone 18 Pro does three times better with 61,961.
Geekbench Metal results for the A20 Pro in an iPhone 18 Pro versus the iPad mini 7
While we can probably expect the iPad mini 8's performance to not be quite as high as the iPhone 18 Pro, it's evident that there's a massive difference at hand.
iPad mini 8 vs iPad mini 7: Connectivity
On the wired side, the iPad mini 7 has a USB-C port in the base. It runs at USB 3 speeds of up to 10Gbps.
The iPad mini 8 doesn't change this at all. Thunderbolt would've been nice, but that's a more premium feature than typically provided in the iPad mini.
The wireless side is improved between the generations. For Wi-Fi, the iPad mini 7's Wi-Fi 6E has been changed to Wi-Fi 7 support in the iPad mini 8.
Likewise, Bluetooth 5.3 has been replaced with Bluetooth 6. However, the usefulness of that improvement will only really matter if you have other hardware that can take advantage of it.
Cellular models are still handling 5G signals, but Apple isn't switching from providing just sub-6GHz band support. It would've been nice to see an upgrade to mmWave, but that's not happening this time around.
iPad mini 8 vs iPad mini 7: Power and battery
The iPad mini 7 houses a 19.3-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery. In Apple's method of measuring how long a device can be powered for, the iPad mini 7 with Wi-FI could manage ten hours of surfing or video watching.
The celluar model performs slightly worse, at up to nine hours of web surfing.
While OLED can help save battery life, it's not enough to change Apple's ratings. The 10-hour and 9-hour figures are maintained for another year.
That said, Apple does manage to maintain these with a smaller 18.9-watt-hour battery. Sure, it's a capacity downgrade to match the thinner casing, but it's at least keeping up with its predecessor.
iPad mini 8 vs iPad mini 7: Other features
The iPad mini 7 keeps Touch ID in its top button. It steers clear of Face ID, as the mini line always has.
In a bid of "if it's not broke, don't fix it," the iPad mini 8 uses the same biometric security system. Still no Face ID here.
Stylus support for the iPad mini 7 meant it worked with the Apple Pencil Pro and the Apple Pencil USB-C. This included support for Apple Pencil Hover.
iPad mini 8 vs iPad mini 7: The front-facing camera is now along the landscape edge. Image Credit: Apple
While the screen is new on the iPad mini 8, Apple supports the same models of Apple Pencil.
Audio on the iPad mini 7 comes from landscape stereo speakers. However, Apple has switched it to a new Acoustic Display.
This is made up of specially-designed woofers paired through the display, combined with custom tweeters hidden between the glass and the aluminum enclosure.
This change means the iPad mini actually manages to get an IP67 rating for the first time, thanks to its sealed enclosure. You can't swim with it, but the new iPad mini can at least withstand a splash or two.
iPad mini 8 vs iPad mini 7: Capacity, color, and pricing
The iPad mini 7 started at $499 for the 128GB model. Storage ran to 256GB at $599 and 512GB at $799.
In June 2026, the prices rose by $100 apiece because of the ongoing memory crisis.
Cellular supported added $150 across all capacities. It shipped in a choice of Space Gray, Blue, Purple, and Starlight.
The iPad mini 8 starts at a higher $699 for the 128GB model. The 256GB model is $799, while the 512GB is $999.
Nano-texture glass is an option for the 256GB and 512GB models, costing you an extra $100. Meanwhile, adding cellular is $150 once again.
The color options are slightly muted this time, with Starlight joined by Midnight.
iPad mini 8 vs iPad mini 7: Worth the upgrade?
This is a spec-bump generation with one genuine exception. The OLED display is the reason to pay attention, to a point.
The OLED screen's brightness and vibrancy are also joined by the change to the A20 Pro. A chip three generations newer than the A17 Pro in its predecessor.
A multi-generational jump is always going to result in impressive performance gains. It's certainly the case here, and will be an attractive plus point for power users who just don't want a massive iPad Pro just yet.
iPad mini 8 vs iPad mini 7: The two colorways of the OLED model. Image Credit: Apple
Apple's decision to introduce two different tiers of chip is an interesting one, and could drive users to go for the higher-capacity model.
Nano-texture support is very much a play to upgrade to a higher capacity, too. It realistically wouldn't have cost Apple any extra to sell the 128GB version with Nano-texture options, so the exclusion seems like a marketing ploy.
The iPad mini 7 is still a very capable tablet, complete with Apple Intelligence support. It'll keep its users happy for quite a while longer, if they can manage to ignore the combined OLED and A20 benefits.
Owners of the sixth-gen iPad mini will certainly be tempted by that new chip and screen. For iPad mini 7 owners, it's also a fairly justifiable purchase.
Where to buy Apple's iPad mini 8 and iPad mini 7
Apple's new iPad mini 8 starts at $699 and will be available to purchase on October 28, 2026, at B&H Photo and Amazon.
The closeout iPad mini 7, which has a cheaper starting retail price of $599, is currently on sale from $559 at Amazon and B&H. A full rundown of the deals can be found in our iPad mini 7 Price Guide.
