The iPad mini isn’t on the identical replace cadence as Apple’s different tablets. The place the iPad and iPad Air typically get annual refreshes, and the iPad Professional will get a brand new mannequin each 18 months, the iPad mini can usually go years with out an replace. As such, the present iPad mini, which was launched in October 2024, isn’t anticipated to get an replace till later this 12 months. However it may very well be definitely worth the wait.
2026 iPad mini: At a look
- A18 Professional, N1, C1X
- Doable OLED show
- Identical design and cameras
- Identical worth
2026 iPad mini: Efficiency and specs
- A18 Professional chip
- 8GB RAM
- C1X modem
- N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6
Because it hasn’t been up to date in over a 12 months, the 2026 iPad mini will seemingly get a number of chip upgrades. With the present iPad mini sporting an A17 Professional with 8GB of RAM and Apple Intelligence help, the 2026 iPad mini is anticipated to leap to the A18 Professional, in line with experiences.
The A18 Professional has the identical variety of CPU cores because the A17 Professional (10), however the chip optimizations make the A18 Professional a quicker CPU performer. The A18 Professional is offered with a 6-core GPU, which is another GPU core than the A17 Professional. So it’ll benchmark a bit of higher than the prevailing mannequin however gained’t deliver an enormous velocity bump.
With the iPhone 17 lineup, Apple launched a new N1 chip for wi-fi connectivity (Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread). Apple is anticipated to regularly roll out the brand new chip to the iPad line all through 2026 and 2027, together with the iPad mini. We additionally count on the mobile model of the iPad mini to get Apple’s C1X modem.
The A18 Professional chip would be the primary new characteristic within the upcoming iPad mini
Apple
2026 iPad mini: Design and show
- OLED show improve
- Related design
The brand new iPad mini has had the identical design since its 2021 overhaul, and the 2026 mannequin is anticipated to maintain the identical total look. There’s a robust risk of latest colours, nevertheless. Apple presently gives blue, purple, starlight, and house grey, following the earlier mannequin’s pink, purple, starlight, and house grey.
Nonetheless, the show may get a significant improve. The present iPad mini has the identical Liquid Retina Show because the iPad and iPad Air, an LED backlit panel with rounded corners, vast coloration, and True Tone. Following the iPad Professional’s OLED improve in 2024, experiences have claimed that the iPad mini would be the subsequent in line to get a Tremendous Retina show. Whereas it’s not prone to have options like ProMotion and tandem expertise discovered within the iPad Professional, an OLED show would give the iPad mini superior coloration accuracy, richer blacks, and higher brightness.
The M4 iPad Professional’s OLED Show might make its solution to the iPad mini subsequent.
IDG
2026 iPad mini: Cameras
- 12MP rear digicam
- 12MP Middle Stage entrance digicam
Apple’s iPads all have the identical 12MP entrance digicam with Middle Stage and 12MP wide-angle rear digicam. It’s seemingly that Apple sticks with the identical setup for the brand new iPad mini, though the entrance digicam might relocate to the panorama edge like the opposite fashions. Sooner or later, the iPad lineup will get the identical 18MP entrance digicam because the iPhone, however that’s not anticipated with this replace.
Apple will not be anticipated to improve the cameras within the subsequent iPad mini.
Foundry
2026 iPad mini: Worth
The iPad mini has had the identical $499 price ticket since its 2021 redesign, and we count on the beginning worth to stay the identical. Nonetheless, throughout Apple’s first quarter 2026 monetary outcomes announcement, CEO Tim Prepare dinner mentioned that Apple is now “in a provide chase mode” because of industry-wide constraints. Thus, tariffs, the rising value of RAM, and different will increase in supply-chain prices might impression pricing for some higher-end storage choices.
