- Lovely OLED display
- Water-resistance
- Top-tier performance
- Display refresh rate is only 60Hz
- Expensive
- Older Apple Pencils aren't compatible
What is an iPad?
Over the last decade, the answer to this question has become increasingly complicated as Apple’s tablet family has grown in quantity, size, and capabilities. In a way, the iPad is Apple’s most versatile computer, but in a way, it’s most nebulous. It can be anything from an e-reader to a notepad to a laptop alternative.
As the smallest iPad, the purpose of the iPad mini feels clearest. It is meant as a companion device, that sits somewhere between your phone and laptop, without trying to replace either. While your phone and laptop can almost certainly do everything the iPad mini can, there are times where it’s nice to have that in-between screen.
Enter the new iPad mini: Apple’s nicest in-between screen to date. The 2026 iPad mini has a handful of solid upgrades, but the screen is a big one. It’s the first iPad outside of the Pro family to use an OLED display, which in short, means it’s the second nicest display you can get on an iPad.
OLED panels work by lighting up individual pixels as needed, which results in a higher contrast ratio that will make content pop that little bit more. Since an OLED panel doesn't need a backlight, it can also go darker, which means black looks black, rather than dark grey. If you’re using the iPad mini to watch movies or play games, it’s a solid upgrade.
The screen is also a little larger. The new iPad mini has an 8.5-inch display, up from the 8.3-inch panel in the last few generations. I can’t say the extra 0.2 inches makes a huge impact day-to-day, but it does make the bezels thinner, which in turn makes the iPad mini feel that little bit more modern. There’s still a selfie camera in the bezels, but it’s now landscape, and doesn’t support Face ID. Instead, there’s still a Touch ID sensor in the power button.
My one display-related disappointment is the panel still has a 60Hz refresh rate, rather than 120Hz (or ProMotion, as Apple calls it). It might just be me, but most other devices I use have high refresh rate displays, and as such, I can tell the difference on the iPad mini. Movement and animations aren’t the same kind of smooth as they are on recent iPhones.
There are two other screen related changes worth mentioning. The first is you can add on a nano-texture finish to the display, for the first time. Nano-texture gives the screen a matte finish and reduces glare, but is only available as on an option on the 256GB and 512GB model, and is a $200 premium on top of that. My iPad mini review unit had standard glass, but I have quite enjoyed the look and feel of nano-texture on other Apple devices I’ve tested with it.
The second is the speaker configuration now sits under the screen; there aren’t any holes in the side of the device. And for a device this size, it sounds pretty good - if you max it out, it can even fill a small room. A lack of sub-bass Is the main drawback. If you crank the volume, you can hear some, but otherwise you just get a dull thud where those frequencies should be.
This change has contributed to the thinner and lighter design. The new iPad mini is about 40 grams lighter and 1mm thinner, and while the previous model wasn’t a chonkster or anything, I’m certainly not going to complain. More importantly, the new iPad mini is Apple’s first water-resistant tablet. It’s rated IP67, which means it can be submerged to depths of up to one metre for up to 30 minutes. Perfect for reading in the bath without worrying about accidentally dropping it.
On the performance front, the new iPad mini is powered by the same A20 Pro chipset as the iPhone 18 Pro. While it’s not quite the same calibre as the M-series chips Apple puts into higher iPads and MacBooks, it’s should still be more than almost anything you could want to do on the iPad mini. While Control isn’t the most demanding of games by 2026 standards, is still a bit of a trip that it runs flawlessly on the iPad mini.
Despite the thinner form-factor, the new iPad mini is still rated for up to ten hours of battery life. That’s pretty standard for an iPad, and seems about right from my testing.
The new iPad mini works with the Apple Pencil Pro and the USB-C Apple Pencil, but isn’t compatible with the first or second-generation Apple Pencil. If you’ve got one of these and after the new iPad mini, you’ll need to upgrade your Apple Pencil too.
And lastly, if you’re considering a cellular model, the new iPad mini is eSIM-only; it doesn’t take a physical SIM card. This does result in a smaller list of providers you can get a tablet-specific eSIM mobile broadband plan from, but there’s still a solid number of options locally.
Apple iPad mini (2026) - Final Thoughts
When thinking of the iPad mini as an in-between screen, price has always been the issue. Having a third device on top of your phone and laptop is a bit of a luxury, but with the way consumer tech pricing has been going, this is truer than ever. The new iPad mini starts at $1,099, which is a $300 hike over the launch price for the previous generation.
The iPad mini isn’t trying to replace your laptop, and while I’m sure for some it can be a productivity or creation device, for me, it’s more like of a consumption device. It’s the perfect size for watching content, reading, browsing the web, playing games. A bigger screen than my phone that isn’t connected to any of my work accounts and rarely logged into social media or messaging apps.
The question is how do you value that? There’s a natural comparison in the iPad Air. It’s $150 more expensive, and you can make the argument that the larger screen and keyboard accessories make it more versatile. That can make it feel like a smarter buy, like there’s a higher ceiling of what you can do with the iPad Air.
On the other hand, there’s a clear appeal in the iPad that isn’t trying to be your laptop. It might not be for everyone, but if I had to pick, I’d go for the smaller iPad with the nicer screen.
Alex Choros
