Skip to content
Stage · Medium2 outlets · 2 articlesTech

Source reported

Apple's new iPad mini starts at $699, $100 above the model it replaces

Apple's new iPad mini starts at $699, $100 above the model it replaces — Newsmesis editorial illustration
— Newsmesis illustration

What happened

Apple's eighth-generation iPad mini starts at $699 for Wi-Fi and $849 with cellular, against $599 for the previous model's base price, per The Next Web. The tablet adds an 8.5-inch OLED display, an IP67 water and dust rating and the 2-nanometre A20 Pro chip. Apple announced it on Monday, 26 October, two days before its "Pro and Tell" event; pre-orders open on 28 October and the device ships on 6 November.

What we know

The Next Webthenextweb.comTechCrunchtechcrunch.com
  • The base price is $699 for Wi-Fi and $849 with cellular, per both TechCrunch and The Next Web. The Next Web puts the previous model's starting price at $599 and a fully configured new unit at $1,249, citing Bloomberg.
  • The Super Retina XDR OLED panel is the first OLED on an iPad mini. Per TechCrunch and The Next Web, it reaches 1,200 nits peak brightness, more than twice the previous generation, with 600 nits across the full screen.
  • The Next Web reports the screen grows to 8.5 inches from 8.3 inches. It also reports a 5.4mm body, IP67 rating (up to 1 metre for 30 minutes in Apple's lab tests), and a body 14% thinner and 13% lighter, citing Bloomberg for the thinness and weight figures.
  • Apple claims up to 4.5 times the AI performance and up to 2.7 times the graphics performance of the previous iPad mini, plus up to 60% faster multithreaded CPU performance, per The Next Web. TechCrunch also reports the 4.5x AI and 60% CPU figures as Apple's.
  • Siri AI is in beta from iPadOS 27.2 and is not available in the EU on iPadOS, per footnotes in Apple's release as reported by The Next Web. Apple says it is working with the EU on a way forward.

What we don't know yet

  • The CPU core count differs between sources. TechCrunch says the A20 Pro has a 6-core CPU. The Next Web, citing Bloomberg, says the 128GB and 256GB models have five CPU cores and only the 512GB model has six.
  • The performance, speed and brightness figures are Apple's own claims. No independent benchmarks are cited in either source.
  • It is not clear when Siri AI will reach EU iPad users. Apple has not given a timeline.
  • The Next Web, citing Bloomberg, says a new iMac, a 14-inch M6 MacBook Pro and a touchscreen MacBook Pro come next. Apple has not announced them.

Why it matters

Buyers of Apple's smallest tablet face a $100 higher entry price, from $599 to $699, in exchange for an OLED screen, water resistance and a newer chip. EU iPad owners will not get Siri AI at launch.

Claims

Related coverage

iPad mini jumps from $499 to $699 with an 8.5-inch OLED screen and A20 Pro chip

Tech ·

Apple's M6 MacBook Pro holds at $1,999, but the 4TB upgrade now costs $1,500, up from $1,200

Tech ·

M6 MacBook Pro costs $1,999, the same as the M5 before launch but $400 above its original price

Tech ·

Why you can trust this story

72%

Source map · 2 outlets / 2 articles

How this credibility score is calculated

  • Source reliability
  • Corroboration
  • Primary source
  • Claims checked against the source
  • No contradiction
  • Settled
  • Claim attribution
  • AI disclosure

Checked claims were verified against the cited source text. Weights are fixed and explainable.

Human accountability

  • 2 independent origins / 2 sources
  • Drafted by an automated system; a human editor approves every story before it is published.

Verification ledger · 9

  • Claim: The new iPad mini starts at $699 for the Wi-Fi model and $849 for the cellular model.
    Status: ConfirmedVerification trailVerifiedChecked by verification engine

    At least one checkable detail was matched against the full text of the cited source.

  • Claim: The previous iPad mini model started at $599.
    Status: ConfirmedVerification trailVerifiedChecked by verification engine

    At least one checkable detail was matched against the full text of the cited source.

  • Claim: The new iPad mini has an 8.5-inch OLED display, the first OLED screen on an iPad mini.
    Status: ConfirmedVerification trailVerifiedChecked by verification engine

    At least one checkable detail was matched against the full text of the cited source.

  • Claim: Apple says the display reaches 1,200 nits peak brightness, more than twice the previous generation.
    Status: ConfirmedVerification trailVerifiedChecked by verification engine

    At least one checkable detail was matched against the full text of the cited source.

  • Claim: The new iPad mini carries an IP67 water and dust rating, which Bloomberg reports is the first for an iPad.
    Status: ConfirmedVerification trailVerifiedChecked by verification engine

    At least one checkable detail was matched against the full text of the cited source.

  • Claim: Apple says the A20 Pro delivers up to 4.5 times the AI performance of the previous iPad mini.
    Status: ConfirmedVerification trailVerifiedChecked by verification engine

    At least one checkable detail was matched against the full text of the cited source.

  • Claim: Pre-orders open on 28 October and the tablet ships on 6 November.
    Status: ConfirmedVerification trailVerifiedChecked by verification engine

    At least one checkable detail was matched against the full text of the cited source.

  • Claim: Siri AI is not available in the EU on iPadOS at launch, according to Apple's release footnotes.
    Status: ConfirmedVerification trailVerifiedChecked by verification engine

    At least one checkable detail was matched against the full text of the cited source.

  • Claim: Only the 512GB model has a six-core CPU, while the 128GB and 256GB models have five cores.
    Status: UnconfirmedVerification trailUnverifiedChecked by verification engine

    No automated check against the source text is available.

Update log · 0

    AI accelerates. High-risk topics wait for a human editor.