Apple announced a brand new iPad mini this morning, and it’s calling it the biggest update the mini has ever gotten. OLED, a new A20 Pro chip, water resistance, and a front camera that’s finally on the correct side.

But the part that caught my eye was a single sentence near the bottom of the press release. With iPadOS 27.2, the new iPad mini will support extended display mode when it’s connected to an external display.

Extended Display Support

Up until now, plugging an iPad mini into a monitor just mirrored the screen. You’d get a small iPad-sized picture in the middle of your display with black bars on either side. That’s fine for showing someone a presentation or putting a video up on a TV, but it’s not something you’d ever want to work on.

With iPadOS 27.2, that finally changes. Apple says the new mini will support extended display mode, and pitches it as great for multitasking with windowed apps.

I’ve long argued that every iPad should get proper external display support, and it looks like with the new iPad mini, we’re on our way to fulfilling that basic computer requirement.

What Else Is New With the iPad Mini

An OLED Display

The mini moves to an 8.5 inch OLED display, up from 8.3 inches on the A17 Pro model, while keeping the same footprint. This is thanks to bezels that are 24% thinner.

Peak brightness goes up to 1200 nits, which is more than double the previous mini, with 600 nits of full screen brightness for both SDR and HDR. It can also drop all the way down to 1 nit for more comfortable viewing in dark environments. There’s also a nano-texture option for the first time on any iPad besides the iPad Pro, though only on the 256 GB and 512 GB models.

ProMotion isn’t mentioned in the press release or on the tech specs page, so as expected, we’re stuck at 60Hz again.

A20 Pro

The A20 Pro is built on a 2nm process, and Apple says it uses a new package inspired by the M-series chips. Every model gets a 7-core GPU with Neural Accelerators in each core and more than double the memory bandwidth of the last mini, but the CPU depends on how much storage you buy. The 128 GB and 256 GB models get a 5-core CPU (2 super cores and 3 efficiency cores), while the 512 GB model gets a 6-core CPU with an extra efficiency core.

Apple’s numbers are up to 60% faster multithreaded CPU performance, up to 2.7x faster graphics, and up to 4.5x faster AI performance compared to the A17 Pro.

The 512 GB model also gets the Dual 16-core Neural Engine we’ve seen on devices like the iPhone Duo. I’m not a fan of tying chip features to storage tiers (see iPad Pro RAM, and now nano-texture on the mini), but if you’re interested in running local AI models (not sure why you’d do this on an iPad Mini, but no judgement), that’s the configuration to look at.

Apple also doesn’t say how much RAM is in any of these models, so fingers crossed it’s 12 GB and not still 8 GB.

Design

The new mini is 5.4 mm thin and weighs 255 grams for the Wi-Fi model (263 grams for cellular). It’s also IP67 rated for water and dust, which is a first for any iPad. Touch ID is still in the top button, so no Face ID here.

Colors are midnight and starlight. That’s it. Two colors. And more importantly, no plain silver. Again. 😡

Cameras and Audio

The 12MP Center Stage front camera has finally moved to the landscape edge. Every other iPad in the lineup made this change a while ago, but to be honest, I didn’t (and still don’t) think it was necessary for an iPad mini since users are unlikely to pair it with a keyboard case.

The rear camera is still 12MP, with 4K video at up to 60 fps, and it picks up an Adaptive True Tone flash for better document scanning.

Audio gets what Apple is calling an Acoustic Display. Woofers are paired through the display for more bass and volume, and there are tweeters hidden between the glass and the aluminum enclosure.

Very interested to see how these things sound.

Connectivity

The mini gets Apple’s N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. Cellular models get the C2 modem, which Apple says is up to 50% faster than the previous mini. Fast charging gets you up to 50% in around 30 minutes, but only with a 35W or higher power adapter. The one in the box is 20W, so you’ll need to bring your own.

Accessories

There’s a new two-panel Smart Folio in a TechWoven fabric, available in navy blue and taupe for $79. Both the Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C) are supported.

Pricing and Availability

The iPad mini starts at $699 for Wi-Fi and $849 for Wi-Fi + Cellular, or $649 with education pricing. Storage options are 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB. Pre-orders open Wednesday, October 28, and it starts arriving Friday, November 6.