The OLED iPad mini is here, and the 60Hz OLED iPad mini rumor held: the new panel still refreshes at 60Hz, like the A17 Pro model's LCD. Matt Talks Tech calls that a missed opportunity, then walks through everything else that did change.
The two minis on paper
- Screen. An 8.5-inch OLED at 2,316 by 1,512 against an 8.3-inch LCD at 2,266 by 1,488, both at 60Hz and 326 pixels per inch.
- Body. 5.4 mm and 255 g for the Wi-Fi model, down from 6.3 mm and 293 g.
- Wireless. The N1 chip brings Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, up from Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, and cellular models use the C2 modem, which Apple says is up to 50 percent faster.
- Battery. 18.9 Wh, down from 19.3 Wh.
The OLED reaches 600 nits full screen and 1,200 for HDR peaks, and dims to 1 nit. Nano-texture glass is an option on the 256GB and 512GB models only.
The fine print the video flags
- The chip depends on storage. The 128GB and 256GB models get a five-core A20 Pro; only the 512GB model has six CPU cores and a dual 16-core Neural Engine. Apple's speed claims, 1.6 times the multi-core CPU and 2.7 times the graphics of the A17 Pro, don't say which model was tested.
- Fast charging needs a bigger brick. Apple quotes 50 percent in about 30 minutes with a 35W adapter, and a 20W one comes in the box.
- The port is the same. USB 3 at 10Gb/s, one external display up to 4K at 60Hz, with extended display mode arriving in iPadOS 27.2.
- IP67 isn't waterproof. It covers 1 meter for 30 minutes in lab conditions, and liquid damage still isn't under warranty.
- Front camera. It moved to the long edge, the better spot for video calls with a keyboard.
Battery life is unchanged on paper at 10 hours, even with the slightly smaller cell, and the channel wants a real test before believing it. The upgrade case comes down to the screen. OLED is the one change an A17 Pro owner sees every time the mini wakes up, and at 60Hz it's also the one place the new model still feels like the old one.
