Crazy if true, but not like we can do much about it at the point. Thoughts?

On paper the iPad mini 8 is the overhaul we've been asking for: 8.5" OLED, A20 Pro, IP67, 5.4mm thin. Then you get to the price and the refresh rate.

The mini was $499 in 2024 and $599 after the June memory-cost hike. Now it's $699 for 128GB. Go 256GB with nano-texture and cellular and you're at $1,049, still on a fixed 60Hz LTPS panel with no ProMotion.

That's hard to justify in late 2026. The base iPhone 17 has had 120Hz ProMotion since last year, so this isn't about hitting a price point. OLED also makes 60Hz more noticeable for a lot of people: pixels switch almost instantly, so there's no LCD smear masking the frame steps, and scrolling looks juddery. Meanwhile the A20 Pro has GPU headroom the panel can't show.

Now look at what launched last Friday. The iPhone Duo opens to 7.6", runs the same A20 Pro, has 120Hz on both screens, and gets Pencil support later this year. At $1,999 it needs a reason to exist.

Then there's the other flank. The 11-inch iPad Pro is $1,199 after the June hike, and for a lot of buyers the reason to step up to it is the 120Hz OLED. The Pro still has the M5, tandem OLED, Face ID, and Thunderbolt, but plenty of people buy it for the screen.

A $599 mini with ProMotion would undercut both. A regular iPhone plus a great mini covers most of what the Duo does for way less money, and it hands you the Pro's best feature for a lot less too, in a smaller body that's IP67. At $699 and 60Hz, the mini is a weak Duo alternative and no threat to the Pro.

Who's left to buy it?

- Casual readers balk at $699 and grab a discounted mini 7 ($559 right now) or a base iPad.
- Enthusiasts who wanted OLED and A20 Pro won't pay $700 to $1,049 for 60Hz. The ones willing to spend more just buy the Pro.
- Enterprise buyers (pilots, field techs, clinical staff) need IP67 and 1,200-nit peak brightness and aren't paying out of pocket.

We've seen a version of this. The 12 mini and 13 mini had noticeably worse battery life for only $100 less than the standard model, sold poorly, and were replaced by the 14 Plus in 2022 (which the Air later replaced). Apple never had to explain anything; the sales numbers did it.

My guess is we're watching the first step of the mini's exit.

I bought my iPad Mini 6 in 2023 and boy am I glad I didn't hold out for an upgraded version. To have an iPad like this that is two generations behind but so very close in specs to the current model is hysterical to me.

My Mini doesn't get nearly the use my phone or iPad Pro does but it comes in clutch when traveling in tight economy airline seats or I need a quick e-reader.

Maybe by 2030 they'll release one with specs worth upgrading to.

It's 2026, how can 128 GB for anything that doesn't offer expandable storage even exist? That's really hoping there would be some more improvements with the iPad mini this year but I guess I'll have to wait for the next refresh.

What a kick in the nuts.

Using the Duo these past couple days, I realized that it makes everything (outside of unfolded portrait mode) FEEL SO CRAMPED. I really really wanted to try to love it (looking past and trying to make the cameras work but NOPE). But it made me realize that editing things in Canva, or looking at an excel sheet of my small business, is actually so much nicer with just a little bit more screen, an I actually carry a bag with me all the time, so snatching up a Mini is actually really exciting for me!

WITH that said… I do already have a 13” IPad Pro 5th gen, but it pretty much stays at my business.

So should I bite the bullet and get the new Mini 8 gen, or would the 6 or 7 gen work for me?

With the new price hike, does it make sense to get the mini A20 instead of the M4 Air? It’s only $50 difference at this point. I love the form factor of the mini but I’m not sure the price is justified. Coming from an iPad Pro 11” 2nd generation (2020). I’m looking for this device to be a productivity device. My current 2015 MacBook Pro is only used to watch YouTube videos and edit pdfs and occasional browsing. So whichever iPad I get will be hooked up to a Studio Display as my MacBook Pro is dying.

Let me know your thoughts.

Took a chance getting "refurbished good" rather than "refurbished excellent" from Best Buy. It arrived and was in perfect shape cosmetically.And it either has a new battery or was rarely used (100% health, only 7 cycles.) I paid 50% of what an 8 would have been. It meets my needs very well.

My iPad mini is my favorite household tool. I write in my journal w my Apple Pencil, organize my client files in Notes, watch YouTube, search for everything, run Chat & Claude. All of the new features are not compelling to me. How about facial recognition so it’s easier to open? 120 Hz? Thinner bezels? Thanks for nothing, Apple. Welcome, CEO Ternus.

Anyone else with an 11” M1 iPad Pro tempted by the new Mini?

Like many of you, I’ve been waiting for the mini 8 to finally be announced. To preface things I’m a freelance digital artist in university who primarily used an M1 iPad Pro 12.9 (2021) for digital notes, but with my recent purchase of a MacBook Air M4 (2025) I have found lugging around two large screens to be overkill for both campus and at-home setups.

Flash forward to now, I’m eyeing both the mini 7 and 8 with the intentions of drawing, taking digital notes, gaming, and consuming media in mind, and for all other demanding tasks to be for my MacBook Air. My question to everyone is whether the mini 8, price and added features alike, really justifies purchasing it over the mini 7?

I’m just as upset about the lack of 120hz as everyone else, but I don’t think this was Apple being greedy.

The iPad Mini’s LTPS panel cannot do variable refresh rate down below 60hz like the iPad Pro’s LTPO panel can. That means running the display at a fixed 120hz all the time, even when showing a static image. That hurts battery life and thermals.

Apple seems to care more about battery life than about a 120hz experience. Product segmentation may have played a factor in the 60hz choice, but I believe the main reason why 60hz was chosen was due to the LTPS panel. Every Apple device with an LTPS panel prior has been locked to 60hz (base oled iPhones).

Quality is subpar but I’m a fan of orange.
Someone convince me I don’t need two iPad Minis 🫣

Everyone is raving about the lack of 120hz. But what concerns me the most is acc the text sharpness and clarity of mini8. It’s nominal ppi is 326ppi which is the same as the LED screen on mini7 but we all know Samsung’s mass produced mid tier OLED screens use Diamond penTile subpixel arrangement that makes the effective ppi roughly 80% of what’s on the paper. So what it means is even tho an OLED screen has the same level of ppi but text on it just looks a lot more fringing or fuzzier than its LED counterpart with the same ppi.

The only subpixel arrangement OLED panel that solves this problem is the one being used on iPad Pro lineup, tandem OLED, where basically two layers of stacked panels compensate the loss of the actual resolution so that it preserves the original clarity. iPad mini8 is certainly not equipped with tandem OLED as specified in the tech specs from Apple. So the effective ppi for mini8 would be around 264ppi, which is still decent.

I am not trying to work it up as someone might say 264ppi is enough. But here’s the thing. Let’s look at the use scenarios. A lot of people tend to hold it in their hands reading and scrolling where you could easily see the fuzziness of pixels within this short distance between the screen and your eyes. Unlike iPad Pro, people tend to hold it farther away from your eyes. Basically the ppi should be proportional to the distance within its most likely use case. The shorter the distance between the screen and your eyes, the higher the ppi. I think this for me is a bit annoying as I use mini mostly for reading. My kindle is 300ppi and phone is 456ppi. What do you guys think?

So I need some advice. I am planning to purchase a iPad mini, but I’m not sure on which. I’ve waited the year and sadly they don’t have 120hz. which I’m not exactly sure what difference it makes, but I want to know if I should get the mini 8 or just get the mini 7. a little disappointed about only two colors I would usually use it for watching and just using it as a daily, as well as like using it outside, but I’m not sure about the cellular part context I don’t have any mini iPad

Pre-orders go up October 28 and the official release date is November 6. Does BestBuy get display units in their stores after pre-orders go up or only after the release day? I wanted to try out how the new screen looks and feels (if somehow I won't be as jarred by the 60Hz screen the way I am with my Mini 6), and I'd love to do that during the pre-order period.

The cut down die and neural engine is a known, but is there any reason to suspect they’ll limit 12gb ram to the highest tier as well? Was there any indication w the previous iPads where they had separate 8gb and 16gb ram versions?

With all the hype surrounding the announcement of the iPad mini 8, I’m looking to buy a used iPad mini.

Do you think it’s worth investing an extra $150 usd in a mini 7 ($400), compared to a mini 6 ($250)?

My usage is basic: video streaming, reading comics, and casual gaming—nothing too demanding.

For the manga readers out there how do you feel about the more rounded corners on the 8? It’s not anything major but it still feels like it would bother me. Take a look at manga on the iphone duo which completely cuts off the corners, got a feeling it’ll be the same effect on the new iPad mini this time round

Is the midnight color on the new mini black/dark gray or does it have a blue undertone? I owned an iPhone 13 mini in the midnight color and that had a blue undertone so I wasn’t sure.

My iPad mini 7 won’t charge anymore I stays at 1% and will turn off. My Apple Store has an appointment until Friday or Best Buy near me has one tomorrow. I use it daily for work, will Best Buy replace my iPad at the store?

Hello.
I own an iPad mini 7 for about 5 months and the first screen protector I bought was a Paperlike 3. I hated it because it was so scratched by my pencil pro in so little time.
Then I bought the Belmont Kent (that I have till now) and it’s much better, it’s barely scratched but the problem is that is mate and makes the screen very “dirty” I mean no crispy.
Is there any better screen protector for writing that has a more crispy effect? I know about the removable ones but I don’t like the idea.
What other suggestions do I have?
Thanks.

I’ve always be a bit disappointed with the battery life on the mini 7

What’s the thoughts on the new mini 8 ?

About the same , or better then the 7 ?

Many thanks