The iPad mini has stuck with a 60Hz LCD while the iPad Pro moved to a 120Hz OLED. The next one looks set to close that gap. The OLED iPad mini that leakers expect in the second half of 2026 would trade the mini 7's LCD for an OLED display, most reports say at 120Hz.
Under the hood, code found in Apple's software in August 2025 pointed to a mid-tier A19 Pro, the six-core CPU and five-core GPU version, with an outside chance of an A20 Pro that a MacRumors tipster spotted in a kernel debug kit late in 2025. Either would be a real step up from the mini 7's A17 Pro. When it lands is the messier question. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman floated a window as early as late 2025, supply-chain leakers now point to the back half of 2026, and the research firm Omdia has suggested 2027.
The design changes are where it gets interesting. Gurman has also reported the new mini could be the first with proper water resistance, maybe the line's first IP rating, by way of a more sealed body. Part of how it gets there is a vibration-based speaker system that does away with the usual speaker holes. The screen carries a built-in tradeoff too: reports expect a single-stack OLED rather than the two-stack panel in the iPad Pro, so it likely won't match the Pro for brightness.
Size is the open question. The current mini sits at 8.3 inches, and some reports expect it to stay there, while others, including the display analysts at DSCC, point to a modest bump toward 8.5 or 8.7 inches. It would be a real change to the mini's footprint, and the spec leakers least agree on.
If you're holding a mini 7, the upgrade worth the wait is the screen, not the chip. None of it is official, and with 2027 still on the table, the safe assumption is that you're waiting a while.
