It’s almost time for WWDC 2026, where Apple is expected to announce iOS 27 and all sorts of other software updates. But will we see new hardware? And more specifically, new iPads? Well, we can’t say for sure, but we do have a fairly good idea of what to expect (and not expect).

Sadly, the answer to that question is probably 'no' — for two reasons. The first is obvious — WWDC is Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, with the key word there being ‘developers’, meaning that the focus is on software, not hardware.

Now, that doesn’t completely rule out new devices. After all, Apple has announced various Macs and MacBooks at WWDC in recent years. The HomePod was also unveiled at WWDC back in 2019, and looking back further, some early iPhones even got a WWDC unveiling.

In fact, the iPad Pro (2017) was even announced at that year’s WWDC, so a new iPad in 2026 isn’t completely out of the question.

But it is very unlikely — while hardware does sometimes make an appearance at WWDC, most years, there’s next to none, and we haven’t heard any indication that a new iPad will land at this year’s event.

Plus, in recent years, Apple has tended to unveil its new tablets either early in the year, in March or occasionally April, or towards the end of the year, in September or October. Mid-year launches are rare.

And this year, we did indeed see an early-year launch, with the iPad Air (2026) landing back in March. That was only a few months ago, so it would seem odd for Apple to launch another model so soon.

So, based on all of that, I’d say it’s very unlikely that we’ll see a new iPad at WWDC 2026. That said, if you’re an iPad fan, it could still be worth tuning in to the keynote, which kicks off at 1pm ET / 10am PT / 6pm BST today (Monday, June 8,) or 3am AEST on Tuesday, June 9 if you’re in Australia.

Why you should still tune in

While we probably won’t see new iPads at WWDC 2026, Apple is almost certainly going to unveil some new software in the form of iPadOS 27, which could include some major changes and upgrades.

Nothing has been announced on that front yet, but leaks and rumors point to the long-awaited Siri overhaul, which could turn Apple's voice assistant into a proper AI chatbot, powered by a custom version of Google Gemini.

This upgrade reportedly won’t be limited to just making Siri smarter, though; it’s also likely to include new capabilities, like better AI photo editing prowess and on-screen awareness, so Siri can understand and respond to whatever’s on your screen. It will probably also be able to perform multi-step actions across multiple apps.

Beyond that, iPadOS 27 is also likely to bring improvements to various apps, such as the ability to use natural language to create shortcuts in the Shortcuts app, more customization options in the camera app, redesigned Safari and Weather apps, and a Grammarly-style keyboard upgrade.

These are all things that we’ll probably see in iOS 27 too, but on the iPad-specific side, reports point to new layouts for Apple Music, Apple TV, and the Podcasts app to make better use of the iPad's larger display. Plus, there are likely to be various performance and stability improvements.

While iPadOS 27 will probably be announced at WWDC 2026, it’s unlikely to launch in finished form until September — but in the meantime, we expect various betas to roll out, giving you a chance to try many of the features early if you don’t mind some bugs.

So, if you want to see exactly what Apple is cooking up on the software side, here’s how to watch WWDC 2026 live — though, of course, we’ll be covering all the announcements here too.

When might we see new iPads?

So, if we probably won’t see new iPads at WWDC, when might we? Well, the next point in the year when Apple would typically announce new tablets is September or October — either alongside the iPhone 18 line in the former month or separately a month later. The latter, though, has been more common, especially in recent years.

Of those two months, I’d guess October is the more likely, so the new tablets have some time to shine rather than getting buried in the iPhone launch. Of course, there’s a chance we won’t see any more new iPads this year, and that Apple will instead wait until March of 2027. After all, we don’t always see late-year iPad launches, but we have in the last two years.

Whenever we do get new iPads, the most likely models are the base model iPad (2026) and an iPad mini (2026), both of which have been rumored for a launch this year. That said, Apple doesn’t stick to yearly updates for its iPads, so it’s hard to predict.

There may also be a new iPad Pro this year, but with no real reports of one and the previous model only landing last October, we wouldn’t count on it. And with the latest iPad Air having landed earlier this year, it’s unlikely the next model of that will be among Apple’s next tablet releases — especially if we do see new slates this year.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 was arguably the best phone of 2025, and it’s truly an engineering marvel. It feels impossibly thin and light, especially when it’s closed, and you know that you’re holding a full-sized mini tablet, even though it feels like a normal big-screen smartphone. The biggest problem - maybe the only big problem - was the price. Thankfully, deals like today’s sale on Samsung.com finally drop the Z Fold to a price that makes perfect sense.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is on sale right now on Samsung.com with a $400 discount in the US, even if you don’t have a phone to trade. There are huge trade bonuses happening as well, if you have the right phone. In the US, a Galaxy S25 Ultra or Galaxy Z Fold 6 will earn you $1,000 in trade (instead of that $400 discount). In Australia, an iPhone 16 Pro Max will drop the price of a new Fold 7 by AU$1,000.

The perfect price for the Galaxy Z Fold 7 would be the price of a 6.5-inch, flagship smartphone plus the price of an 8-inch tablet. The Galaxy S25 Plus starts at $999 / £999 / AU$1,699, though the Galaxy S25 Edge ($1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,849) is probably a closer comparison, since it’s thinner and it packs the same 200MP camera as the Galaxy Z Fold.

Samsung doesn’t currently make a premium 8-inch tablet, so the Apple iPad mini (2024) is the best 8-inch tablet to consider. The iPad mini costs $499 / £499 / AU$799 for the latest model. Put that price together with a Galaxy S25 Edge, and you’re paying $1,598 / £1,598 / AU$2,648 for both devices.

Why would you want a Galaxy Z Fold 7 instead of just buying a fancy new smartphone and a mini tablet together? That’s a great question! Here are four reasons why I’d prefer a foldable (and one big reason why not):

My Galaxy Z Fold 7 is always connected, unlike my iPad mini

To be fair, you can get an iPad mini for $499 / £499 / AU$799, but you’ll need a Wi-Fi connection to make it surf. You can use your phone as a hotspot, but when your phone is also a tablet - like the Galaxy Z Fold 7 - you don’t need to burn through your data allotment or battery power to connect a second device. Your tablet is your phone, so it’s always connected.

This also means you won’t have to worry about sharing files between devices. If you want to edit a document on a larger display, or even open a web page on your tablet instead of your phone, you don’t have to perform any magic tricks between screens. You just open the small screen, and it becomes a tablet.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is more durable than any small tablet

You might not think of foldable phones as durable, but the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is one of the most durable mini tablets you can buy. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is water-resistant enough that you can dunk it in a pool or read your email in a bathtub.

There is no iPad you can buy with the same level of durability. Samsung makes water-resistant tablets (that are also more dust-proof), but only the larger Galaxy Tab S11 and Galaxy Tab S10 FE models.

You still have to worry about dust and small particles, so a trip to the sandy beach will require some care. Still, it’s impressive that Samsung’s foldable tablet has better ingress protection than Apple’s most portable iPad.

Samsung’s software is (shockingly) the best for multitasking

Samsung’s software doesn’t get the same accolades as Apple’s iOS 26 and iPadOS 26, but Samsung’s tablet software is the best you’ll find on any tablet - including the iPad. Samsung has done a great job making it easy to open multiple windows, to snap windows where you want them, and to move content between windows and apps.

Multitasking on a Samsung tablet is better than multitasking on any iPad, and it’s even better than multitasking on a Mac desktop with Apple’s macOS 26.

That makes the Galaxy Z Fold 7 a fantastic tablet for productivity and getting things done, much better than an iPad mini. Samsung’s version of Android is packed with useful tools and features, while Apple’s iPadOS tends to get out of the way and let app developers do the heavy lifting in the apps you buy and download.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 has better cameras than any tablet

Samsung has been using a big 200MP sensor on its best camera phones for a few years, and this year it figured out how to pack that beefy component into its thinnest phones. Both the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the thin Galaxy S25 Edge got the same camera module as the mighty Galaxy S25 Ultra, instantly vaulting those devices to the front of the class for camera image quality.

That means the Galaxy Z Fold 7 isn’t just the best foldable camera phone you can buy; it also packs a better camera than you’ll find on any tablet, especially an iPad mini. The iPad mini uses a single 12MP rear camera sensor. The photos it captures don’t match what you’ll get from a Z Fold 7.

Best of all, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 uses its cameras in versatile ways. You can take photos with the phone open or closed, using either the smaller or larger display as your viewfinder. You can use the hinge and fold to aim that camera at yourself and see yourself in the outer display, making it a 200MP selfie camera. There’s really no contest; the Galaxy Z Fold 7 blows away the iPad mini in camera capabilities, whether it’s open or closed.

Why would you want two separate devices? Two big (battery) reasons

Having two big batteries in a separate iPad mini and Galaxy smartphone is better than… well, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 technically has two batteries, but they amount to a smaller total capacity than what you’d get in two devices.

It’s not even close. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 has two cells that offer 4,400mAh of total battery power. The iPad mini alone has a battery that is larger than 5,000 mAh. In our battery tests, the iPad mini and the Galaxy Z Fold 7 offered almost the same amount of screen time - just under 11 hours for both. Still, if you carry an iPad plus a phone, you get all that battery life and more.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 still lasts through a normal day of use, but what’s normal for a phone and tablet combo? If you really need to use both screens all day, and you rely on your devices to get work done, I would recommend buying the two separately to maximize your battery.

Otherwise, it’s easier than ever to make a case for foldable phones. The price has finally dropped to a level that gives you more at once than you’d get buying a phone and a tablet separately.

2025 will be remembered as the year when, while we were still waiting on a truly smarter, AI-infused Siri, Apple introduced next-generation AirPods Pro, an ultra-thin iPhone, took its Pro iPhones to the next level, and delivered speedy Macs in several designs.

But perhaps the most exciting additions were to Apple’s iPad lineup. We got three new models: the entry-level 11th-Gen iPad, the iPad Air with M3 chip, and the iPad Pro with the M5. There was nothing new design-wise, but, with a nod to Bruce Springsteen, it was all about the fuel injection rather than the chrome wheels.

The fuel injection came courtesy of the latest Apple silicon, and Apple made the most of that extra power with arguably the biggest changes to iPadOS yet. With true windowing and the introduction of some of the best aspects of macOS, iPadOS 26 is what really made 2025 a landmark year for Apple's tablets.

Apple showed more of its cards with the iPad than ever before

It’s clear that Apple has been performing a balancing act with the iPad for many years – many users rely on their tablets for a mix of entertainment and productivity, and others want their iPad to be the one device to rule them all.

Much of what iPadOS 26 delivered was productivity focused, in the shape of a proper menu bar and dock; more flexible, reliable, and customizable multitasking; a major update to the Files app; and support for background tasks. It’s more macOS-like than ever before, including the red, yellow and green buttons for closing, minimizing and expanding windows, and even a menu bar that feels right out of macOS. We got a Mac-like experience in a form factor that offers easier portability, unique experiences, and – maybe most importantly – flexibility in terms of input.

You can operate the iPad with your fingers, a trackpad, the Apple Pencil, or even a connected mouse or trackpad. It’s a supremely versatile performer, but given how far Apple had taken performance – remember the redesigned iPad Pro launched in 2024 with the M4 chip, before that piece of silicon hit the Mac – the company needed to offer a more robust software experience. As my colleague Lance Ulanoff learned from senior Apple execs, it was something the company had been working on for quite some time.

iPadOS 26 shipped with most of its promised features in September 2025. I’ve used it across a broad range of iPad models, including the current lineup (11th Gen, mini, Air, and Pro) and the 9th-Gen entry-level iPad – while that model isn't as capable as the 11th-Gen iPads or the iPad Pro, the software upgrades have blurred the lines between models when it comes to performance.

As I wrote back shortly after Apple unveiled the fresh software, while it was still in beta, it was a purpose-built upgrade for the iPad – one that catered to the iPad faithful and stayed true to Apple’s ethos. It wasn’t blowing up the classic iPad experience, but it did introduce a familiar, easy-to-grasp way to manage windows. It also delivered some more advanced features that catered to users already maxing out the iPad experience.

Keeping the hardware ticking along

I reviewed all the iPads that Apple released this year, and the common theme is speed upgrades – to the point where the advantages you'll get from going Pro are less obvious than previously. The iPad Air comes in two sizes and is really a stunner, even if it’s not as ultra-thin as the iPad Pro.

In either an 11-inch or 13-inch size, with fun colors to pick from, long battery life, support for key accessories like the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil, and with the M3 chip now under the hood, it really feels like the model to choose if you want a larger size without the Pro price premium, and don't need sufficient power to use it as your main device.

It’s a strong performer, and a device I keep coming back to, even after testing the latest-generation iPad Pro with the M5 under the hood. If you don’t need the extra vibrancy or contrast capabilities of the OLED screen or Face ID – though I do wish this were on more models – it really comes down to budget.

Complicating your choices further is the 11th-Gen iPad – Apple Pencil quirks aside – which is an excellent model, and likely the best iPad for most users. The A16 Bionic chip under the hood provides plenty of headroom for both work or play, and while it doesn’t support Apple Intelligence, it doesn’t really matter here. It checks the boxes for what you’d want from an iPad, and at an approachable price point.

The iPad mini didn’t receive an update, which means the dream of an OLED screen in this size remains just that for now. But even that device supports iPadOS 26’s new windowing, which makes the case for a Magic Keyboard even more palpable than in years past. Please, Apple.

What’s to come in 2026?

While I can’t predict the future, the ever-churning Apple rumor mill gives us some idea of what we can expect to see from Apple in 2026, and it’s also instructive to look at what Apple did this year. I think the next entry-level 12th-Gen iPad could arrive at some point in the coming year, but don’t expect a treasure trove of new features.

I think the big upgrade here will be a better A-series chip from Apple that's not only more efficient but also adds support for Apple Intelligence. Hopefully, whatever version of iPadOS follows will also, finally, arrive with the AI-infused Siri. Similarly, rumors suggest the iPad Air will keep the same looks and feature set but gain a slightly faster M-series chip, likely the M4.

Basically, this would be a carbon copy of Apple’s approach to iPad upgrades that we saw this year and last year. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has reported that new entry-level iPad and iPad Air upgrades will likely arrive sometime in 2026.

The more exciting model we could see next year is an iPad mini with a refreshed design, a better chip, and an OLED screen. This likely wouldn't arrive until the second half of the year, and it’s also reported that it might get a more water-resistant case.

The smallest iPad will likely be the most exciting change next year, while the iPad Pro could receive a chip upgrade, although nothing major in terms of a redesign is planned until 2027, according to recent reports.

Where we might see more exciting developments is in a refinement of the new iPadOS experience and the introduction of new features – maybe more customization around windowing to start. It’s one of the biggest ways Apple can improve the experience for people who already have an iPad and potentially tempt others to upgrade.

But if Tim Cook is listening, let’s keep the list of supported models long when it comes to future updates. I think that’s a major reason why 2025 was so successful for iPadOS 26 and the iPad as a whole.

Few tech products are more consistently popular during big sales than tablets, and Black Friday 2025 is no different, with tablet deals trending once again.

If you’re one of the many people looking to snag a bargain slate this year, the big day is finally here and we’re happy to report that retailers are delivering the goods when it comes to tablet deals.

However, with sales from seemingly every retailer in the country to analyse, it can be hard to actually separate the good deals from the best ones. Luckily, we've been tracking tablet deals for nearly a month already, so we know what's what.

Whether you need an iPad that can handle your entire workload, a Galaxy tablet for watching Disney+ in the bath, or to snap up your last Christmas gift idea for a loved one, we’ve rounded up six Australian Black Friday tablet deals that cater to almost every use case.

Below, we've ordered them from cheapest to most expensive to make things even simpler.

Not looking for a tablet specifically? We're covering all sorts of November tech sales, including discounts on Apple devices, the top Samsung deals and just the all-round best Black Friday sales we've found.

• Apple has released iPadOS 26.1
• The new update brings back Slide Over multitasking, which was removed with iPadOS 26
• Fan-favorite Split View is still missing

Apple has released iPadOS 26.1, the first major update to iPadOS 26, bringing fixes and new features to the best iPads.

Many of the new features, like a tinted mode for Liquid Glass and new gestures in Apple Music, are shared between iPadOS 26.1 and iOS 26.1, which launched simultaneously, but there is one key feature exclusive to Apple's tablet lineup.

For iPad users specifically, the update brings marks the return of a much-loved iPadOS 18 feature, giving touchscreen-focused users back some of the multitasking power they lose with iPadOS 26.

iPadOS 26.1 brings Slide Over back to the iPad, serving up touchscreen users some extra multitasking power. The feature allows users to quickly access an app in a floating window on the edge of the display which can be swiped away off-screen when not needed.

Slide Over was a staple iPadOS feature for years up until the release of iPadOS 26, when it was quietly removed. Of course, iPadOS 26 also brought with it massively expanded multitasking capabilities with new free-floating windows and background processing. But for some users it seems that this shifted the priority to keyboard users, inspiring plenty of annoyed Reddit threads.

Luckily, Slide Over is back in iPadOS 26.1, and thanks to a new resizeable window could be considered more powerful than ever. As MacRumors reports, you can now access Slide Over by tapping the green full-screen button on the app window and pressing “Enter Slide Over”.

That’s sure to feel like a win for touchscreen users who felt left behind by iPadOS 26 – but there’s still more Apple could do to cater for its hands-on audience.

Split View is still missing

Apple didn’t just remove Slide Over with iPadOS 26 – it also took out Split View, which through iPadOS 18 allowed users to quickly and easily open two apps side by side, with a slider in the middle of the display controlling the size of each app.

And while Slide Over has made a return with iPadOS 26.1, filling the screen with two apps remains more tedious than before.

You can still do so, but now you’ll need to work with the new windowing system, dragging apps around and holding the full-screen button to access different app layouts.

As someone who uses their iPad with a keyboard and on its own in roughly equal measure, I’ve been missing Split View since the launch of iPadOS 26 – as much as I love the new windowed multitasking, I do think Apple needs to keep a good range of features available for people who want to use their tablet's touchscreen to get things done.

Will you be using Slide Over in iPadOS 26.1, or are you waiting for Split View to return? Let us know in the comments below.

The iPad Air is the long-serving middle child of Apple’s tablet lineup, and while mid-tier devices in the iPhone and Mac ranges have come and gone, the iPad Air has managed to hold down its position and shows no signs of leaving any time soon.

In fact, unlike the cursed mid-tier iPhone (think the iPhone mini, iPhone Plus, and dare I say it, the iPhone Air?), the iPad Air is the furthest thing from experimental. You take a base-model iPad, throw an M-series chipset in there, give it a 13-inch option, and boom: you've got one of the best iPads.

That’s been the formula for a few years now – more hardware power than a standard tablet without any of the design or display upgrades exclusive to the iPad Pro – all of which makes recent rumors of a major display upgrade for the iPad Air all the more surprising.

Bloomberg’s resident Apple analyst and tipster supreme, Mark Gurman, has shared fresh rumors that suggest the iPad Air, iPad mini, and MacBook Air could all get OLED displays in coming generations. That’d be the biggest display upgrade the iPad Air and iPad mini have ever received.

If we got shiny new OLED panels without any changes to brightness, resolution, or refresh rate, I’d welcome the upgrade – but if Apple is willing to go one step further, I think it has a shot at turning the iPad Air, specifically, into the best tablet for most people.

Once again, I am asking Apple to give another of its devices a ProMotion display.

For reference, ProMotion is how Apple brands its variable refresh rate displays. Refresh rate refers to how often a display redraws the on-screen image. The current-gen iPad Air has a 60Hz display. ProMotion displays, like the one on the iPad Pro, automatically modulate between 1Hz and 120Hz depending on the amount of movement on-screen – and that maximum 120Hz creates a much smoother experience.

In the past, asking Apple to fit the iPad Air with a ProMotion display might have seemed like a slightly pointless request; variable refresh rate panels were, up until recently, only found on devices with a Pro title – the iPad Pro, iPhone Pro and Pro Max, and MacBook Pro, to be exact.

However, with the release of the iPhone 17 series, Apple extended ProMotion to a non-Pro device for the first time by giving the standard iPhone 17 a ProMotion panel, which, in conjunction with those aforementioned new display upgrade rumors, gives me real hope that the iPad Air could be next.

Though the iPad Air’s 60Hz LCD display is nice enough, it’s perhaps the only thing holding the tablet back from true greatness. The M3 chipset is more than powerful enough for iPadOS, so much so that the vast majority of users won’t feel the difference between it and the iPad Pro’s M5 chipset. The Air’s design, while not as thin as the iPad Pro, is time-tested and pragmatic. And its accessory choices are excellent, with support for the Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard.

If Apple were to equip the iPad Air with ProMotion while retaining its starting price of $599 / £599 / AU$999 for the 11-inch model and $799 / £799 / AU$1,349 for the 13-inch model, it’d get my recommendation for all but the most budget-conscious users or the most power-focused professionals. Apple has shown renewed willingness to equip its everyday devices with Pro-grade tech – now it’s the iPad Air’s turn.

The tough part is that Gurman’s report suggests we might not see any kind of display upgrade for the iPad Air until after the expected 2026 refresh, as the iPad mini is apparently the priority (a great tablet in its own right, but not as universal as the larger iPad Air). Let us know if you want to see OLED and ProMotion come to the iPad mini or iPad Air in the comments below.

• Apple could launch an iPad mini with an OLED display in 2026, a report claims
• OLED might also come to the iPad Air and the MacBook Air
• The new screen might result in higher prices, though

Apple’s iPad mini has proved to be one of the best tablets around in recent years, with its combination of compact size and impressive performance making it an ideal choice for many people. And if the rumors are to be believed, it could soon get a significant upgrade that might give it a sizable edge on the competition.

In a post on the Bloomberg website, journalist Mark Gurman has claimed that Apple plans to bring an OLED display to the iPad mini as soon as next year. That follows a similar rumor from earlier this year and would usher in a marked improvement over the device’s current LCD screen, bringing better contrast and richer colors to content viewed on the device.

If that happens, it could help make the iPad mini a surprise hit in 2026. The pint-sized tablet already has a loyal following of users who are put off by the size of the iPad Air and the price of the iPad Pro, but the iPad mini has often missed out on features found in its more expensive siblings. With the introduction of an OLED screen, however, Apple’s smallest tablet would get a major visual upgrade to help it compete against rival products.

Adding to that is the idea that Apple wants to make the future iPad mini fully waterproof by redesigning its casing and adding “a new speaker system that uses vibration-related technology” instead of traditional speaker holes, Gurman says. The reporter points out that this is a different approach to the waterproofing used in all the best iPhones, but it could add another positive to the iPad mini’s list of features.

OLED arriving elsewhere

It’s not all good news, though, as Gurman’s report suggests that Apple might raise its prices in light of the iPad mini’s improved display. An increase of $100 would not be out of the question, Gurman asserts, potentially resulting in a starting price of $599 (around £450 / AU$900).

The iPad mini is not the only Apple device in line for an OLED upgrade, Gurman believes – Apple is also apparently planning to bring this display tech to the iPad Air and the MacBook Air.

The MacBook Air is unlikely to get the upgrade before 2028, Gurman says, with the iPad Air making the leap at some undetermined future date (but after in the generation after its expected spring 2026 refresh). In theory, that's when we could also see the new iPad mini.

OLED displays have already proven to be a hit in the iPad Pro and the iPhone and have been a fixture in the Apple Watch ever since it first launched. If the iPad mini joins these popular devices in adding OLED goodness next year, Apple could make a lot of iPad customers very happy indeed.

For mobile gamers, nowhere has better games than iOS.

Though almost all of the best gaming phones are Android handsets, Apple's mobile platform has the best selection of triple-A (big-budget) games, console ports, and creative mobile originals. Furthermore, Apple Arcade sits leagues above Google’s Play Pass service, thanks to the curation and quality of the titles on offer.

I grew up in the early days of the iPhone, and during that time my gaming console of choice was often my iPod Touch or the iPhone 5S that replaced it: I’ve always seen iOS as a unique home for some truly excellent titles.

That’s truer than ever today. iOS and iPadOS are the only mobile operating systems with a proper selection of console-class titles – I’m talking Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, Death Stranding, Sniper Elite 4, Control, and Resident Evil 4 Remake, among others. We’ve come a long way from the days when Jetpack Joyride was the most advanced game in the App Store (though Halfbrick's infinite scroller is still totally brilliant).

And even more recently, iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 saw Apple finally gave the iPhone and iPad a dedicated Games app and Game Mode overlay with specific controls and optimizations for gameplay. To me, this suggests a renewed and open dedication to iOS as a gaming platform, which gets me thinking about what could come next.

Folding iPhone intrigue

According to every credible tech leaker, tipster, and rumor aggregator, Apple is working on a folding iPhone.

What’s more, it could be a real oddity, with a wide iPad mini-style display and a squat passport-style cover screen. The latest rumors point to an inner screen of around 7.7 inches and an approximate aspect ratio of 14:10, which is just a bit squatter than the iPad mini’s 3:2 panel.

Most of the best folding phones – at least those with a booklet form factor – tend to emulate typical slab phone displays with their cover screens, with a large square-ish inner display, so this suggests Apple could be taking a different approach.

Those conventional booklet-style folding phones are great for reading, multitasking, and taking photos and videos, but aren’t that well suited to certain games – particularly console titles originally developed for TVs and monitors, or first-person games that rely on the player having a wide field of view. I’m sure Call of Duty Mobile runs well on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, but you’re at a practical disadvantage if you use the inner display over the wider cover screen, because of the hemmed-in visual field.

A wider folding screen, alongside a powerful A-series chipset and a healthy battery capacity, could make the folding iPhone an excellent mobile gaming machine. At its rumored screen size of about 7.7 inches, it’d offer a similar display size to the Nintendo Switch 2 while folding down to a size just a little bit larger than the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7. That’s a mix of power and portability that other gaming phones – nearly always slabs with large screens – don’t quite match.

Huawei ahead of the curve

Naturally, we can look to China to see that this general concept has already been attempted. Huawei released the Pura X earlier this year, around the time that iPhone Fold rumors were beginning to heat up. The Pura X sports a 6.3-inch inner display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, with a square 3.5-inch cover display.

Since the Pura X is a China exclusive, I’ve not had a chance to get any hands-on experience with it – but I appreciate its style from afar. The key here is the inner display, which at 16:10 is well suited to gaming, so this type of form factor combined with iOS’ superior selection of games could make for a really enticing combination.

Now, I’m not expecting Apple to centre its rumored folding iPhone around gaming – in fact, I’d expect any Apple folding phone to be aggressively marketed as a general purpose device, in contrast to Samsung’s focus on performance and productivity. I just hope Apple goes for the weird and wide design to make the most of this speculative phone’s gaming potential.

How should Apple design the rumored iPhone Fold? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Scroll through our list of the best tablets, and you’ll find a section dedicated to the best compact tablet – for as long as I’ve worked at TechRadar, that title has been held by the iPad mini.

When it comes to tablets with screens smaller than 10 inches, no tablet maker has yet been able to top Apple’s combination of beautiful design, responsive software, and software utility – but now, a challenger has appeared on the horizon.

Xiaomi has released the new Xiaomi Pad Mini, an 8.8-inch compact tablet that takes square aim at the iPad mini, and isn’t shy about taking inspiration from Apple’s compact powerhouse. Compared to the iPad mini, the Xiaomi Pad Mini has a larger, higher resolution screen with a blazing-fast 165hz refresh rate, more RAM in its top-end configuration, and an approximately 50% larger battery. Oh, and it has two USB-C ports.

So far, this sounds like a winning combination – and it probably would be, if it weren’t for the Xiaomi Pad Mini’s limited geographic availability. According to GSMArena, the tablet has launched in Singapore, Malaysia, and the UAE, with more countries to follow – but Xiaomi has confirmed that there are no plans to launch the tablet in the US, UK, or Australia.

Well, there goes Xiaomi’s chances at truly rivalling the iPad mini – or, indeed, making it onto our list of the best tablets.

Despite this, I’ve managed to get my hands on a Xiaomi Pad Mini, and even from my very first impressions I can say it’s one of the best Android tablets I’ve ever used – here are my hands-on impressions of this powerful would-be iPad mini competitor.

Portable powerhouse

The Xiaomi Pad Mini runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ chipset – this may be a mobile platform, but it’s no joke when it comes to performance. The tablet comes in two configurations, one with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and the other with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage – I tested the latter model.

That means the Xiaomi Pad Mini feels snappy and responsive in day-to-day browsing, and holds up well in games like Call of Duty Mobile as well. It helps that the tablet has a genuinely excellent display, too – its 8.8-inch panel has a resolution of 1880 x 3008, a peak brightness of 700 nits, and ludicrously smooth 165Hz refresh rate – that’s sharper, brighter, and more than 100hz faster than the current-gen iPad mini. The Xiaomi Pad Mini’s 16:10 aspect ratio makes it an ideal choice for videos, too, and the speakers offer good volume and range.

For a device that retails at roughly $500 / £450 / AU$900 depending on territory, the Xiaomi Pad Mini offers a frictionless and premium-feeling experience. Personally, 8.8-inches feels like a very natural size for a smart device – more portable than my personal 11-inch iPad Pro, but no less capable at the things I use my iPad for day-to-day (Apple still has total superiority over Android when it comes to pro-level app availability, but that’s for another day.)

The Xiaomi Pad Mini also comes equipped with a few neat conveniences. It runs Xiaomi HyperOS 2, an Android 15 wrapper that supports floating windows a la iPadOS 26, with support for external monitors via the DisplayPort-equipped USB-C port on the long edge of the device. Notably, that’s one of two USB-C ports – both can be used for charging, but only the long-edge port supports DisplayPort 1.4, and only the short-edge port supports data transfer (via GSMArena).

There’s also a single rear camera which takes serviceable pictures at 13MP and videos at 4K 30fps or 1080p 60fps, and a selfie camera that’s actually a little too wide-angled for my liking. Furthermore, the Xiaomi Pad mini is the first tablet I’ve ever used to have any kind of haptic feedback – it’s a really welcome addition that makes using the tablet feel more involving and much more phone-like, which lends itself well to the device’s portable form factor.

Ace accessories

I’m also a big fan of the accessories Xiaomi provided alongside the Xiaomi Pad Mini (all sold separately).

The Xiaomi Pad Mini Cover is a case that snaps onto the device’s rear panel, and features a rubber band that snaps into place as either a carry handle or kickstand. It’s not as stable as Apple’s Smart Cover or Samsung’s variety of keyboard cases, but it is very subtle.

The Xiaomi Pad Mini is also fully compatible with the Xiaomi Focus Pen, which feels a lot like the Apple Pencil with a few buttons attached.

I tried writing and drawing in the included Mi Canvas app, and found it very enjoyable – not quite as buttery as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra’s S Pen, but more controllable than the Apple Pencil. The buttons lend themselves to a variety of contextual tools, like switching paintbrushes in drawing apps and scrolling through slides in Google Slides.

The Xiaomi Pad Mini is a well-designed and well-equipped tablet that may well replace my iPad Pro for scrolling web pages and jotting down quick notes. With that said, I found myself wishing for one missing feature – a fingerprint scanner. Swiping and unlocking a tablet with a passcode just isn’t as fast as it is on a phone, and I don’t tend to use image-based face unlocks due to security concerns (Apple’s FaceID uses IR scans instead).

So, there you have it – my hands-on thoughts on the Xiaomi Pad Mini. As mentioned, this tablet won’t be coming to any Western markets under current plans, which I think is a real shame given how well this device competes against the 2024 iPad mini. If you'd like to see an in-depth comparison, let us know in the comments below.

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Despite its small size, the iPad mini is a mighty tablet, and that’s also what makes it a pricey purchase at its regular price. However, it's cheaper than theiPad Air and is a better performer than the more budget-friendly baseline 2025 iPad. It straddles a good middle line, but at full price it's best suited to those looking for a smaller tablet for travelling or working on the go.

However, now at just AU$687 on Amazon, it's the Goldilocks of iPads – providing the best of both worlds to those who want more power than the 2025 iPad offers, but don't quite have the budget for an Air or iPad Pro. You still get a premium tablet experience, just within a supremely compact build.

While Apple’s M-series chipsets are the masters of power, the iPad mini was upgraded with the A17 Pro chip instead – the same chip that powers the iPhone 15 Pro. This might seem elementary compared to the M3-powered iPad Air, but the A17 Pro is no slouch.

The 7th-gen iPad mini has no issue running pro-level image editing apps like Adobe Lightroom, and our tester easily edited 4K videos on it using Adobe Premiere Rush. You'll find smooth performance here thanks to 8GB of RAM, which doubles what we saw on the previous iteration of the mini.

The upgraded RAM was added even before Apple Intelligence was a thing, but now ensures it’s an affordable way to access AI functionality – and they're not just fun add-ons. Apple's AI features range from the ability to create your own Genmojis to complete writing and drawing tools, built-in ChatGPT for quick answers and Visual Intelligence – perfect for creative users.

The iPad mini 8.3-inch (2024) is the best compact tablet on the market, offering everything that most users could want – just on a smaller screen.

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• This would make it the second iPad to get the upgrade, after the iPad Pro
• The rumor is light on details, and Apple has not acknowledged it

When the iPad Pro M4 released in 2024, Apple made waves by equipping its premier high-end tablet with a stunning OLED display – the first on any iPad model.

Since then, we’ve been wondering which iPad will be the next to make the leap from older LCD tech to the increased contrast and color accuracy of OLED – and a new rumor suggests an unlikely candidate could be next up.

Noted tipster Digital Chat Station (via GSMArena) made a post on Weibo suggesting that “iPad is evaluating small OLED” in the context of mainstream tech companies producing 8.8-inch tablets.

Admittedly, that’s not a lot to go on, but Digital Chat Station has a fairly decent record and is considered one of the more reliable tipsters posting on Chinese platforms.

The current-gen iPad mini, released at the tail-end of 2024, sports an 8.3-inch display. The post isn’t clear enough to know whether Digital Chat Station is implying a screen size increase for the iPad mini, as well as the new OLED tech.

Our iPad mini (2025) review found the tablet very impressive overall, but an OLED screen upgrade would still be more than welcome.

The iPad mini is the second-cheapest iPad model by starting price. At $499 / £499 / AU$799, it’s only beaten by the base model iPad, which clocks in at $329 / £329 / AU$599.

This would leave the LCD-equipped iPad Air models sandwiched between the iPad mini and iPad Pro on Apple’s pricing ladder – but while this might seem like an odd choice, I think this strategy could actually be a realistic one.

Analysis: why an OLED iPad mini could make sense

Though the iPad mini does sit between the iPad and iPad Air on Apple’s tablet pricing ladder, it isn't really accurate to consider it as an intermediate option between the two.

It’s more realistic to think of the iPad, iPad Air, and iPad Pro forming a contiguous product line aimed at mainstream consumers, with the iPad mini offering a similar experience to a niche market of small tablet fans.

The trend across all mobile devices for the last decade has been larger screens. The iPhone has increased from 4.7 to 6.9 inches, and the iPad from 9.7 to a maximum 13 inches of screen size.

The iPad mini is unique in that it’s only increased very slightly in the same timespan, from 7.9 to 8.3 inches, most of which can be attributed to the adoption of the modernized, full-screen iPad design language.

That’s all to say that the people buying an iPad mini are probably buying it because it has a small display, not because they’re looking to save money versus an iPad Air or iPad Pro.

As such, it makes sense that Apple would begin extending some of those higher-end features to the iPad mini, as its target audience would probably never experience them otherwise.

And with the iPad mini enjoying popularity in certain professional and high-end leisure spaces – it’s a known favorite of pilots – there’s definitely scope for some feature upgrades.

As well as an OLED screen, I’d personally love to see the iPad mini get an M-series chipset. That might seem like overkill for such a small device, but when you consider the M1 chipset turns five years old this year, it’s not such a big ask.

For now, though, I think the addition of an OLED screen would be enough – a sign from Apple that their small tablet is still a priority, despite only comprising 10% of iPad sales (as MacRumors reports).

The only real sticking point could be price. A browse of Reddit suggests there are plenty of casual users who love the iPad mini for email, reading, web browsing – standard day-to-day stuff. I wouldn’t want to see these users saddled with any major price hikes as a result of the iPad mini getting closer to the Pro.

Of course, the above is pretty much entirely based on rumor at this point, so we’ve got a bit of a wait-and-see situation on our hands. For now, be sure to keep up with our iPad coverage and let us know what you’d like to see come to the iPad mini in the comments below.

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• Demand has reportedly been weak for the OLED iPad Pro
• This means there are some expected changes to Apple's OLED roadmap
• This year's iPad Pro upgrade is set to be a minor one

Our iPad Pro 13-inch (2024) review will tell you that we love the most recent version of the tablet – the first to sport an OLED screen – but it doesn't come cheap, and its price is reportedly leading to weak demand for the Apple slate.

This comes from the industry analysts at Meritz Securities (via @Jukanlosreve), with around 5.7 million units apparently shipping last year. If accurate, that figure is some way down on the nine million units Apple was originally hoping to shift.

What's more, the same report says there won't be many changes in the OLED iPad Pro rumored to launch later this year. While it is predicted to get an upgrade to an M5 chip, it sounds as though everything else will be more or less the same.

Given that the device isn't exactly flying off the shelves right now, and won't get a big upgrade this year, Apple is said to be revising its OLED tech plans – with some products coming forward and some getting pushed back.

What's coming next

Under the new schedule, the OLED iPad mini will make an appearance in 2026, while the OLED iPad Air is going to jump forward from 2028 to 2027 – that's if Meritz Securities and its sources have got their information correct.

An upgrade to the OLED tech in the iPad Pro – incorporating something called Capsule OLED Encapsulation, for improved performance and durability – has apparently been pushed back from 2027 to 2028.

While the starting price of $999 / £999 / AU$1,699 might be putting potential buyers off the 2024 iPad Pro, it seems Apple will continue to use the most expensive OLED displays for it. The iPad mini and iPad Air are thought to be getting cheaper OLED tech.

We most recently saw a new 7th-gen iPad Air and a refreshed entry-level iPad from Apple – neither of which come with an OLED display. If you're wondering which one is the right pick for you, check out our guide to the best iPads.

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Right now, Apple’s iPad lineup is a strong four, two of which come in two sizes. Just this morning, Apple ushered in the next generation of the iPad Air and the entry-level iPad, which is now dubbed iPad (A16).

Even with the gorgeous Dynamic OLED display on the iPad Pro, the bite-sized build of the iPad mini, and the sheer value of the iPad Air – now with M3 – the entry-level iPad is still a perfect balancing act.

On paper, the most recent upgrade seems minimal – it’s a jump from the A14 Bionic chip to the A16, which Apple promises delivers up to 50% better performance and a doubling of the internal storage from 64GB to 128GB. Both of these keep this iPad ticking, but what it doesn’t bring is support for Apple Intelligence.

It's kind of a surprise, yes, but it also shows that Apple isn’t necessarily on a quest to bring it to every device, or at least not at this time. Further, I think it’s a sign of what this entry-level iPad is all about and a testament to the fact that the rest of the hardware here makes it a pretty perfect package.

High-end looks with likely stellar performance

There is no knocking the iPad (A16) for its looks – it still comes in some fun colors and boasts an iPad Air-esque design with rounded edges and a healthy bezel around the now-called 11-inch Liquid Retina display that’s still 10.86 inches. It looks modern in every sense of the word, even though it’s stuck in the design language that was used when it was the tenth Generation.

This was also the first iPad with a front-facing camera on the landscape side and Apple’s still sticking with that placement on everything but the iPad mini. You also get an easy way of unlocking and purchasing with Touch ID built into the power button, and there is a camera on the back should you want to take photos with your iPad.

The Apple Pencil situation here is still a little complicated as the iPad (A16) has a USB-C port but supports the first-generation Apple Pencil even though it has a Lightning port built-in. To charge it, you’ll need an adapter and a USB-C to USB-C cable – it’s incredibly clunky, but it works.

You can also opt for the Apple Pencil with USB-C, which you can slide the top over to expose the USB-C port to plug it in for charge. That’s equally clunky. It does magnetically attach to the side of the iPad (A16) for safe-keeping, but that won’t charge it.

Once you figure out how to keep it charged, it works like an Apple Pencil should – giving you an experience that’s close to writing with pen to paper or drawing on a surface. Scribble is supported here, letting you write a message, and the iPad automatically translates it to text. It was kind of an Apple Intelligence-like feature before that was dubbed the name for Apple’s suite of AI functionality.

The A16 chip here should be plenty powerful for all the major tasks one would want to use an iPad for, like:

• Following a recipe
• Browsing the web
• Playing a game from the App Store or Apple Arcade
• FaceTiming with friends or family
• Reading a book
• Listening to Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run
• Scrolling through photos or editing some
• Typing a story … maybe even this one?
• Taking notes with an Apple Pencil
• Endless other things
• Streaming movies and TV shows

You get the point, but the vast majority of things that one can do on an iPad are all possible here (with the notable exception of Apple Intelligence). No, it might not replace a high-performance workflow that you’d need an iPad Air or iPad Pro for, but for the basics and even some more fun processes, the iPad (A16) is more than capable.

After all, to deserve the name of iPad, it needs to be an iPad. But when my friends or family ask me which one is best, if they aren’t doing anything crazy and simply want an iPad to join the bandwagon, as a secondary device, or as one for streaming content, this entry-level iPad checks off the boxes.

It has the better Magic Keyboard

If you want to use the iPad for email, spreadsheets, or other productivity tasks, it also works with my favorite Apple keyboard accessory. The Magic Keyboard Folio has two parts: one that magnetically snaps to the back with a kickstand that you can prop up at various heights, and a keyboard on the front complete with function keys and a good-sized trackpad.

When you don’t need the keyboard, that front piece can snap to the back with the keys facing inward so you don’t accidentally have the keys pressed. It’s great and super functional; it’s not the cheapest, though, at $249.

The previous tenth-generation iPad is our pick for the ‘Best iPad’ overall, and on our Best Tablets page, is the best for most. I expect that this iPad (A16) will quickly shuffle into that spot with better performance after we go hands-on, even without Apple Intelligence.

So if you can live without Image Playground, summarized notifications, or writing tools and want an iPad for drawing, browsing the web, FaceTiming with friends or family, gaming, and streaming your favorite content, don’t dismiss the entry-level iPad … it’s pretty awesome. And I can’t wait to test one out, hopefully in Yellow or Pink.

Apple's taking preorders now for the iPad (A16) with a starting price of $349 / £329, and it will formally launch on March 12, 2025.

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Apple’s had a busy 2024, and alongside Apple Intelligence, new Macs, and a whole family of iPhones, there’s been the iPad. In fact, the iPad Pro and iPad Air were the sole focus of the company's first ‘Special Event’ in 2024, and a new iPad mini was central to the launch of Apple’s AI features.

And now that 2024 is coming to a close, it’s time to reflect on the iPad this year. Yes, we got the thinnest device Apple has ever made in the form of the iPad Pro, and the iPad Air trickled down a supersize iPad for the masses, and the new iPad mini, well, was a new mini in a very similar form factor. Even so, though, the 9th Gen iPad and 10th Gen iPad were left untouched.

iPadOS 18 brought some new tricks, including the arrival of Apple Intelligence – mainly Scribble and Type to Siri, a new look for Siri, and Clean Up – but those yearning for a more desktop-class experience were left waiting.

So, as we look to 2025 and likely the arrival of a few new iPads, including an entry-level and iPadOS 19, let’s look back at 2024's highs and lows, and what we want to see next year.

Apple’s iPad in 2024

Let’s roll it back to May 7, 2024, to Apple’s ‘Let Loose’ event – the technology giant dropped the 11” and 13” iPad Pro and the 11” and 13” iPad Air. Both devices tested very well in our reviews, but the iPad Pro was a skinny, lightweight powerhouse. The iPad Pro is the thinnest product Apple has ever shipped, besting the iPad Nano, but it was also the first product with the M4 chip. The iPad Pro was super speedy and arrived with Apple's first-ever Tandem OLED display.

Seriously, we described that screen as “the most exciting thing about the iPad Pro” and further that Apple’s flagship tablet as an “incredibly accomplished and versatile device.” The M4 power, which made iPadOS run swimmingly, also extended a runway for more ‘Pro” creative workflows like music creation in Logic Pro for iPad and movie-making within Final Cut Pro. You can also do more in ProCreate with the Apple Pencil Pro.

While the iPad Pro was top-of-the-line, with a flashy, ultra-thin look, the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air packed a ton of value into a lower-priced package. Furthermore, it finally trickled down to a bigger screen with less Apple tax. Our review called the 13-inch iPad Air an “attractive and very portable slab that’s ready for just about anything.” Sure, it only has an M2 chip inside, but it still can run rings around most other tablets on the market

Both the Pros and Airs supported the new Apple Pencil Pro, which felt like an accessory that had been coming for a long time. The two headline features it delivered were haptic feedback, allowing one to squeeze the Apple Pencil Pro to trigger an action or open a menu, but thanks to a gyroscope, you could also barrel roll the souped-up styles. We’ve seen Apple update its apps to take advantage of this, as well as third parties like Procreate.

Maybe the most surprising thing Apple did with the iPad in 2024, though, was support the new Apple Pencil Pro on the iPad mini (A17 Pro or 7th Generation). It made the latest iPad mini jump beyond just being fit for note-taking but also leveled up its ability for drawing even if the display stayed the same.

And that about sums up the latest iPad mini – it keeps a familiar form factor, actually the exact measurement and the same 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display with Touch ID built into the power button and a CenterStage capable camera, but leaps with processing power. Like the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, the A17 Pro powers the iPad mini and makes it run quite well, but most importantly, it supports Apple Intelligence.

It’s still excellent and scored four and a half out of five stars in our review, but we – like many others – can’t help but hope that a redesigned iPad mini with an OLED display like the tandem one in the iPad Pro might be on the horizon.

What’s to come in 2025?

While we can’t fully predict the future, the rumor mill for the iPad lineup certainly comes in handy. Considering Apple ushered in new versions of every iPad except the entry-level in 2024, we’re fully expecting the iPad's 11th generation to arrive in 2025. Much like the current 10th Generation, it should stick with a familiar look, mimicking the iPad Air with a 10.9-inch Retina display.

As far as what could be upgraded, as Apple tends to do with the entry-level iPad, it will likely be a spec bump, and if you guessed AI, it might just support Apple Intelligence. This means it could jump from the A14 chip, currently found in the 10th generation, to an A17 Pro or even an A18 to support Apple’s latest software suite.

Expect it to stick with 64GB as starting storage, something that’s a win for us all, and a USB-C port for easy charging and data transfers. Might it get support for the Apple Pencil Pro? That remains a bit more uncertain, but it’s certainly not off the table with that accessory being supported on the latest iPad mini.

While we wouldn’t expect a new iPad Pro, iPad Air, or iPad mini in 2025 – remember, these were all upgraded this year – we should get iPadOS 19 for all these models. It will likely continue the Apple Intelligence rollout, but it could also be the software upgrade that brings better multitasking and possibly better interoperability with other devices.

Apple’s iPad lineup is looking pretty good now, but we might just get a surprise or two in the next year; we’ll all just need to stick along for the ride. As always, keep an eye on TechRadar for the latest on all things iPad, Apple, and tech as a whole.

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• OLED would bring major benefits over the tablet’s current display

There was a time when the iPad mini was Apple’s forgotten tablet, but those days seem to be long behind us. With a powerful A17 Pro chip and a pocketable design, the iPad mini is returning to glory. Now, it looks like that trajectory could continue with a major upgrade that’s due to arrive in the next couple of years.

According to a report published by industry analysts Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), the iPad mini will get an 8.5-inch OLED display in 2026. Not only would that be a slight size increase on the current model’s 8.3-inch screen, but it'd incorporate OLED technology for the first time in Apple’s miniature tablet.

That would be a significant step up over the current LED screen that the iPad mini uses and would bring better contrast, deeper blacks and wider viewing angles, among other benefits.

An update like that could help to make the iPad mini the dark horse of Apple’s tablet range. Not only would it be more affordable than something like the iPad Pro or iPad Air, but its improved screen could make it the ideal device for watching content on the go, giving you a beautiful display on your travels without weighing you down. When you look at it like that, 2026’s iPad mini looks like a very attractive prospect, on paper.

OLED on the way

The iPad mini wasn’t the only device mentioned in DSCC’s report. The company also touched on the iPad Air, where both the 11-inch and 13-inch models are mooted to get an OLED upgrade in 2027 – an idea backed up by an earlier leaked roadmap from analysts Omdia. If correct, it means only the entry-level 10.9-inch iPad will be without an OLED display by 2027.

Also in 2027, DSCC believes that Apple will launch a new iPad Pro with an 18.8-inch foldable display. This would be Apple’s first foldable device (ahead of the folding iPhone) and could take the high-end tablet into new territory.

While many recent rumors have focused on this large foldable iPad Pro, including those from Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, the Wall Street Journal, and Omdia, little attention has been paid recently to the iPad mini.

But with an OLED display apparently on the way, it’s likely that a lot more people will sit up and take notice of Apple’s tiniest tablet over the coming years.

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Apple’s recently released iPad mini 7 is the cheapest device in the company’s lineup that offers Apple Intelligence, the new suite of AI tools. Starting at $499, which is $100 less than the next cheapest Apple Intelligence-compatible Apple device, the brand-new M4 Mac mini or the M2 iPad Air, the iPad mini is more compelling than ever and it has piqued my interest.

As TechRadar’s Senior AI Writer and someone who’s either worked for Apple or written about Apple products for a combined decade, I felt a duty to give the new iPad mini a try and see if it’s the perfect entry point to Apple Intelligence, or if you’re better investing in Apple AI elsewhere.

After using the iPad mini for a few days, getting to grips with iPadOS 18 in a smaller form factor, and testing out everything Apple Intelligence offers in iPadOS 18.1, it’s fair to say that I’m impressed with the mighty, but mini, tablet. So, here are three reasons why I think the cheapest Apple Intelligence-compatible device might also be the perfect entry device for you to give AI a try.

The perfect size for Writing Tools

Writing Tools is the standout feature of Apple Intelligence’s first wave of features and while it works flawlessly on my iPhone 16 Pro Max, I’ve found that it’s far more useful on the slightly larger display of the iPad mini 7. Interestingly, I never used Writing Tools on my M2 iPad Pro, but I’ve found the iPad mini with the A17 Pro chip to be the perfect form factor for note-taking. Combine the iPad mini with the Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Intelligence Writing Tools and you’ve got the best portable note-taking device Apple has to offer.

I’ve found Writing Tools to be a great addition to Notes on my iPad mini 7, making it very easy to format text into easy-to-read summaries and bullet points. While Writing Tools is identical on this device to other Apple Intelligence-compatible products it really stands out in the mini’s perfect pocketable format.

It’s just as good as my $1000+ iPhone

One of the main reasons I wanted to try Apple Intelligence on the iPad mini 7 was to see how it would compete with my more expensive Apple products like the iPhone 16 Pro Max or my M3 Pro MacBook Pro. While I’ve only been testing the tablet for a few days, I’m happy to say that the speed difference between the products is almost imperceptible.

I decided to launch Clean Up in Photos to compare the speed difference between my $500 iPad mini 7 and my $1200 iPhone 16 Pro Max with Apple’s A18 Pro chip. To my surprise, both were able to easily remove subjects from the background of my test photo, and if I didn’t see both side by side I’d never have noticed the speed difference. Yes, my iPhone 16 Pro Max was slightly faster at all the Apple Intelligence features I tried, but it was a far closer contest than I expected and ultimately emphasized just how good a bang for your buck the new mini is.

Try Apple Intelligence for less

I touched upon this earlier, but I want to go into more detail about why the iPad mini being the cheapest Apple Intelligence-compatible product is such a big deal. Not only can you pick an iPad mini up for under $500 and get a fantastic Apple Intelligence-powered tablet experience but it’s the perfect trial to see whether or not you really need Apple Intelligence in your life.

Let me explain. Imagine you own a very capable iPhone 15 or iPhone 14 Pro and are a bit annoyed at the lack of Apple Intelligence on your smartphone. You have a few options: Either you upgrade your iPhone which can be costly and often difficult to do due to phone contracts and monthly payment plans, you could opt to wait a few years before getting an Apple Intelligence-compatible device, or you could buy an iPad mini to fill the gap and give you everything Apple Intelligence has to offer without completely breaking the bank. Obviously, $500 isn’t cheap but you could get an incredible tablet with all of Apple AI’s bells and whistles and use it as a test to see if you should upgrade your iPhone when the iPhone 17 comes around next year.

I never thought an iPad mini would fit into my workflow, especially considering the 6.9-inch display of my 16 Pro Max. After using this mini powerhouse for a few days, however, it has given me a new insight into what Apple Intelligence is capable of and also become one of my favorite Apple products to date. Not only is it the perfect device for Apple Intelligence, but it’s the cheapest too, and one I’d recommend to anyone looking to take a leap of faith on Apple AI.

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The internet was flooded with iPad mini 7 reviews this week after Apple's quiet announcement of the mini tablet on October 15. Given it's been three years since we last saw Apple launch an 8.3-inch iPad, surely it's a must-buy for tablet fans? According to those reviews, the answer is a little more complex than you might expect.

This is because the mini 7 is, most agree, something of a mixed bag. It now has an A17 Pro chip (for Apple Intelligence), supports the Pencil Pro, boosts its base storage to 128GB, and comes in fancy new colors. But its design and screen are also, among other things, the same as before. And that's disappointing to some who had lofty expectations for the tablet.

So, how did the iPad mini 7 perform in its various benchmarking tests and real-world scenarios? And what exactly can you use it for? We've gathered and summarized the biggest iPad mini 7 reviews so far in one handy place so you can decide if it's worth spending $499 / £499 / AU$799 – starting, of course, with TechRadar's own iPad mini 7 review.

TechRadar: 'A premium mini tablet experience that still captivates'

Our iPad mini A17 Pro (2024) review praised the performance of Apple's new mini tablet, despite its inclusion of an older A17 Pro chip. In our GeekBench 6 tests, the scores show a significant performance jump from the iPad mini 6, which also supports Apple Intelligence features.

On the downside, the iPad mini 7 is otherwise largely identical to its predecessor. As we noted, "Apple didn't bother to upgrade the design, the screen, the cameras, or the speakers."

Our battery life tests showed that it also provides just over ten hours of battery life, which is about par for an 8.3-inch tablet. Still, while it isn't an exciting upgrade, we enjoyed our time with the iPad enough to give it four-and-a-half stars and a 'recommended' rating.

The Verge: 'The new Mini isn't much of an upgrade at all'

The most critical take on Apple's new mini tablet so far has come from The Verge. It even says the mini 7 "represents a new low for the product," while also stating "if you want an iPad mini, buy this one."

Those two statements can coexist in the same review because The Verge has grand visions of what the iPad mini could be, which the new version falls short of. The mini 7 "feels like an iPad designed by a supply chain," its review notes, and is best for those who want a small screen combined with a great Apple Pencil experience.

Like our tests, The Verge's benchmarking showed some useful real-world performance boosts from the mini 6, noting that everything is "one beat faster than the last model." But the elephant in the room is Apple Intelligence.

We don't yet know how good that will be, and The Verge concludes that unless it's "game-changingly incredible, there are few good reasons to buy the new iPad Mini instead of the old one."

CNET: 'Not really taking amazing strides into new territory'

CNET's take on the iPad mini 7 is that while it is underwhelming in many ways, it's also good enough if you've been waiting a few years to buy one.

A couple of interesting points that haven't been widely raised include a lack of new accessories to suit the tablet's form factor. CNET notes that a small Pencil or a small keyboard case would have been nice complements to the mini 7, but neither has arrived.

More annoyingly, the review also notes that the Apple Pencil 2 doesn't work with the new tablet – you need either the Pencil Pro or the cheaper USB-C Pencil. Still, aside from those gripes, CNET concludes that if you've been waiting to get an iPad mini, "it's a great time to get one." Even if, for owners of the iPad mini (2021), "these upgrades may not be that meaningful to you."

Engadget: 'Safe, boring and everything I want in a small tablet'

Engadget's iPad mini 7 review is something of a 'glass half full' take on the tablet. While it acknowledges the same limitations as other reviews – the dated screen, old-school design, lack of Face ID and no M-series chip – it still thinks Apple has done enough to deliver "the full iPad experience in a compact package."

The review also discusses in depth what you might actually use the iPad mini for. On a broad level, Engadget says, "It’s an enjoyable secondary device that I mostly used after the workday was done, in place of my MacBook Pro or iPhone."

More specifically, it highlights reading, messaging, gaming, and watching videos as the main use cases – alongside digital art and sketching, if you're inclined that way.

The verdict: Could be better, but good enough for most people

The iPad mini 7 has received a pretty lukewarm reception from reviewers (so far). The general consensus is that, while it's far from the best iPad mini that Apple could have made, it is the best small tablet you can buy. And that could be enough for you, depending on your needs.

All the reviews agree that it is a good time to buy an iPad mini for those who have been waiting patiently to do so. Where the conclusions differ slightly is on whether it represents a worthwhile upgrade for current Mini 6 owners.

The answer seems to largely depend on your expectations of the tablet. If you've been waiting for an iPad mini that delivers real-world boosts for gaming, apps, and photo or video editing, the benchmarking results show it delivers that. But if you were hoping for a Pro-level experience, you may still find it wanting.

The iPad mini 7 also supports Apple Intelligence, and while it isn't clear how future-proofed that A17 Pro chip will be down the line, it is another bonus if you're prepared to wait for Apple's AI features to flourish.

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• The iPad mini 7 comes with a handy RecoveryOS partition
• It can be restored with any iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 device
• There's no word yet on whether older tablets will get it

We've just awarded four-and-a-half stars out of five to Apple's newest tablet in our iPad mini 7 (2024) review, and we're even more enamored with the device after hearing it's borrowing a very handy recovery trick from the iPhone 16 series.

As spotted by 9to5Mac, the iPad mini 7 – like the iPhone 16 before it – comes with a special RecoveryOS partition. That means it can be restored and reset wirelessly with another iPhone or iPad, so there's no need to hook it up to a Windows or macOS computer.

When the feature was discovered on the iPhone 16 – the first iPhone to get the functionality – it wasn't clear whether or not it required the latest A18 chip to work. Now we know it'll operate fine with the A17 Pro chip inside the iPad mini 7 too.

Hopefully, it's a feature you're never going to need. However, should your iPad freeze up completely and become unresponsive, this does make the recovery process significantly easier if you've got another Apple phone or tablet to hand. It could also save you a trip to a repair shop or the Apple Store.

Recovery time

For now, the four iPhone 16 handsets and the iPad mini 7 are the only devices that can be restored wirelessly, because they have the dedicated RecoveryOS partition on board. However, the actual restoring can be done from any device running iOS 18 or iPadOS 18, so you've got more options there.

It's not clear whether older devices are going to get this feature via a software update, though at this stage it seems unlikely. With iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 having been recently pushed out to devices, Apple has made no mention of this capability.

You can, though, restore several other Apple devices without plugging them into a computer – specifically the Apple Watch and the Apple TV 4K. It looks as though we're going to get it on all iPhones and iPads going forward, as well.

Your iPad mini 7 may automatically launch recovery mode if it's in trouble, or you can manually trigger it by pressing volume up, then volume down, then holding the power button. Apple offers full instructions for iPads and iPhones if you need them.

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iPad mini 8.3-inch (2024) review: one-minute review

The variety in iPad sizes is impressive. You can get everything from a 13-inch giant iPad Pro down to an 8.3-inch iPad mini. Most people probably live in the middle with the popular 10.9-inch iPad Air or the new 11-inch Air, but that little one with the 8.3-inch Liquid Retina Display has its adherents.

It's an almost pocket-friendly device that's popular with pilots, artists, ardent notetakers, social media scrollers, students, and readers. It's the color reading screen for those who don't want to read comics on a black-and-white Kindle (though that new Colorsoft does change things, am I right?). It's sometimes the second multipurpose slab in your arsenal, small and light enough to join you on vacation, and it's sometimes the perfect back-porch streaming companion.

The iPad mini is also a product that's been on the bubble. Many worried that Apple might simply cancel it. It was among the last two iPad holdouts to not get an M-class Apple silicon chip, and also the last mobile device to still include the 'mini' name (RIP iPhone mini) – the only other Apple product with that designation is the Mac mini.

Instead of killing it, Apple has essentially done a brain transplant, upgrading the previous model's A15 Bionic mobile CPU to the much more powerful A17 Pro. The choice is surprising, because Apple seems almost anxious to stuff its latest Apple silicon into every new device (see the M4-running iPad Pro); but this time Apple tapped the brakes a bit. There's nothing wrong with the A17 Pro, which is the same chip you'll find in last year's iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. It's Apple Intelligence-capable, and has more than enough power for a screen of almost any size.

If I have a frustration with the latest iPad, alternatively known as the iPad mini 7th Generation or iPad Mini A17 Pro, it's that it's virtually identical in every respect to the three-year-old iPad mini 6th generation. Apple didn't bother to upgrade the design, the screen, the cameras, or the speakers. The only hardware change that expresses itself on the outside of the tablet is one you can only see if you have an Apple Pencil.

The new iPad mini supports just two styluses: the Apple Pencil USB-C and the new Apple Pencil Pro. I wouldn't expect it to support the original Apple Pencil, but I am a little surprised that there's no support for the Apple Pencil 2. You can't even properly seat that Pencil on the charging base that sits on one long edge of the iPad, because Apple has reengineered the hardware underneath.

It's a small thing, really, and you will appreciate all the cool stuff you can do with a Pencil Pro, like squeeze it or use gestures to change tools and Scribble. And with 18.1 and Apple Intelligence, you can even Scribble to Siri.

What might matter most to iPad mini fans, though, is its ability to support Apple Intelligence. Only the A17 Pro and above (along with all M-class Apple chips) supports it, but you need to be running iPadOS 18.1. If you buy this new iPad, it will likely arrive with iPadOS 18 and, like my test unit, not yet support Apple Intelligence. That speaks to the general frustration many of us have when it comes to Apple's own brand of AI. It's dribbling out slowly, and still lacks core features like Siri with app access, user activity knowledge, contextual awareness, and ChatGPT access.

Some of these features may arrive by the end of October; others might not arrive until 2025. It's a mystery to me why Apple is moving so slowly in this regard. Eventually, I got a developer beta of iPadOS 18.1 onto the iPad mini, and it performs just as well as I hoped, enabling you, among other things, to quickly summarize notes or change the tone of an email with Writing Tools, have your Notifications summarized, and even get a priority look into your inbox. Hand-writing queries to Siri is pretty much tailor-made for the iPad, and you can be more precise when cleaning up photos.

Even without Apple Intelligence, the iPad mini is an excellent tablet. It's also a premium device, and priced like one, starting at $499 / £499 / AU$799 for 128GB of storage. At 9.7 inches, that iPad was larger and heavier (it weighed a pound and a half). The nice thing about the modern iPad mini is that the screen isn't much smaller than the one on the OG iPad, but it's a much higher resolution, and the device is so much smaller and lighter.

Few tablets are as versatile and powerful as the iPad mini. I used it for all kinds of work, creative, and entertainment activities and was never disappointed. It remains one of my favorite drawing devices.

If you own an iPad mini 6th generation, hold onto it and upgrade to iPadOS 18. Even without Apple intelligence, you'll be happy. If you've never owned an iPad and think the new iPad Air 11-inch and 10.9-inch iPad 10th gen are too large, and a 6.9-inch iPhone 16 Pro Max is too small, perhaps the iPad mini is the sweet spot you've been looking for. Plus, it supports a stylus, and even though the iPhone screens are getting mighty big, that's one thing they still don't offer.

iPad mini 8.3-inch (2024) review: price and availability

• Pricey for its size
• Fresh new colors

Apple unveiled the iPad mini A 17 Pro on October 15, 2025. It starts at $499 / £499 / AU$799 for 128GB of storage – that's the same price as the 2021 iPad mini in the US, but a £20 increase in the UK and AU$50 more if you’re in Australia. It costs $150 / £170 / AU$200 more than a 10th Gen iPad, which only has an A14 Bionic, and $100 / £100 / AU$200 less than the base iPad Air. There are cheaper mini-tablet options on the market, like the 8-inch Amazon Kindle Fire HD, which starts at $99.99 / £99.99 (it's not currently available in Australia), although you're only getting 32GB of storage, a pair of not-so-great 2MP cameras, and a Hexa-core CPU. Apple is essentially asking you to pay a premium price for a well-equipped product to perform premium and professional tasks. The new iPad mini is available in four colors: Space Gray, Blue, Purple, and Starlight (somewhere between silver and rose gold).

• Value score: 4 / 5

iPad mini 8.3-inch (2024) review: specs

iPad mini 8.3-inch (2024) review: display

• Still a brilliant and colorful screen
• 500 nits max

When Apple first introduced the iPad mini 6th generation in 2021, it was a big deal not only because of the wholesale redesign that brought the mini more in line with the iPad Air 4th Gen, which was released a year earlier, but also because was fitting a relatively large screen into a much smaller body.

The new mini also came with new display technologies, introducing the 326ppi Liquid Retina Display and LED backlighting to the mini line.

It's an excellent and responsive touchscreen that offers a wide color gamut, and, of course, Apple Pencil support. It has an antireflective coating, and is somewhat resistant to fingerprints. I'm not thrilled that the peak brightness is stuck at 500 nits when Apple's other mobile devices are pumping out, under certain conditions 2,000 nits. Still, this is a three-year-old technology, so I should not expect 2024 display updates.

My experience with the iPad Mini A 17 Pro was, in many ways, no different than with the 6th Gen model, and this is a good thing. As before, everything looks fantastic on the 8.3-inch display; games, photos, movies, apps, and web browsing are all great (I especially enjoyed perusing photos of baby animals on National Geographic – it tells me we're all hardwired to love baby animals, and I totally believe it).

The iPad mini truly shines, though, when you add an Apple Pencil. The mini now only supports the Pencil Pro and Pencil USB-C, and only the former can magnetically charge on the edge of the iPad Mini. The pens are optional extras though, so you'll pay an additional $129 for the Pro or $79 for the USB-C model – I think they're a worthwhile investment.

Apple Pencil Accessory

As an amateur artist, few things make me happier than drawing on an iPad, usually in Procreate. I alternate between drawing on a large 13-inch iPad Pro and the pint-sized mini, and even though the screen on the latter is comparatively small, I never find it constraining.

I can understand how some might think the 8.3-inch screen is too small a canvas or not large enough to multitask, but I'd have to disagree. I spent hours drawing the puppy you can see below in Procreate, and I did most of it on a split screen. I dragged the Safari browser window with my reference images up to the left and gave two-thirds of the screen to Procreate. It's enough space, I promise you.

One of the reasons why sketching on the iPad mini works is the feel of drawing with an Apple Pencil on the screen. Even though the screen is perfectly smooth, the Pencil tip provides just enough friction to make it feel like I'm drawing on something other than glass. In some apps, I can hover my pencil over the screen and see the cursor or drawing dot move with the Pencil. I can also squeeze it to change tools.

The Pencil is not just for drawing. For those who don't want to type, you can scribble words in various fields and, depending on the quality of your writing, the iPad will convert them to text. In Notes, I used the new Math Notes to write equations and had the iPad solve them for me in something that looked like my own handwriting. I wrote '200+36=' and the iPad quickly returned '236'. When I added a line under my original equation and the number 2 under that, Math Notes automatically knew to divide by two and updated my sum to '118'. Impressive – and fun.

With Apple Intelligence you'll be able to double tap near the bottom of the screen to open the Siri Text window, but instead of typing you'll write in your query with the Apple Pencil.

• Display score: 4.5 / 5

iPad mini 8.3-inch (2024) review: design

• This looks familiar

I've spent quite a bit of time examining the new iPad mini 7th gen from every angle, and there's virtually no difference between it and the previous model. I'm fine with that – this is a good and solid design. The 100% recycled aluminum chassis is thin, 6.5mm, and light, just 293 grams. To put that in perspective, the iPhone 16 Pro Max weighs 227 grams, so Apple's smallest iPad is just 66g heavier. I have big hands, and I can comfortably hold the 7.69in x 5.3-inch tablet in one hand; I usually have the Apple Pencil in the other.

The bezel around the screen is perhaps a bit thick by modern iPad standards, and I'm surprised that the FaceTime camera still lives on the narrow side of the display (Apple moved it for the iPad Pro). This means that if you want to make eye contact during a call you need to look at the left side of the iPad mini.

On one short edge is the very effective Touch ID (also power and sleep) button that I use not only to unlock the device but to sign into myriad accounts. Opposite it are the two volume buttons, and in between are a pair of speaker grilles; the other half of the stereo speaker system is on the other side of the iPad, which also houses the USB-C port.

The iPad mini offers no water resistance and doesn't have a dust rating. If you plan to take it to the beach, buy a case. There are still four colors to come from, but joining Starlight and Space Gray are new Purple and Blue shades. At first, I was very drawn to the Blue, a sort of light anodized take on the color that can change depending on how the light hits it, but Apple's latest take on Purple is surprisingly airy in lower light and can really pop when under direct light. These two new shades and Starlight – perfectly match the new AirPods Max.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

iPad mini 8.3-inch (2024) review: cameras

• Decent 12MP cameras
• Centerstage
• No telephoto

The iPad mini is just small enough that I could imagine people carrying it and taking pictures wherever they go. With a single 12MP wide-angle camera on the back, it will get the job done, and the photos it produces are rich in detail and color. However, they don't hold up to close scrutiny as well as photos from the iPhone 16 Pro Max's 48MP main camera.

The front camera takes nice selfies, but not portrait-mode shots. It's far more useful as a FaceTime camera and, when I used Centerstage, the ultrawide camera auto-cropped the frame to follow me around. It's a nice feature, especially if you like to walk and talk while conducting Facetime calls.

• Camera score: 3.5 / 5

iPad mini 8.3-inch (2024) review: software

• Control Center customization
• Home screen and widgets are more customizable
• Calculator
• New Photos app

The iPad mini A17 Pro ships with iPadOS 18, which brings with it many of the same features you'll find on iOS 18, including a customizable Control Center, the Photos app redesign, the new Passwords app, updated Messages, and the aforementioned Math Notes (one of my favorites).

Apple Intelligence is coming, too, bringing writing tools to help you craft better prose in almost any situation, Siri with a completely new look, and, eventually, better insights into how you use your iPad.

Aside from what's coming with Apple Intelligence, none of these changes will radically alter your iPad experience, though I do think most of them will make it better. I'm still on the fence about the Photos app, which is so different that I can't seem to find anything. At least it now includes natural language search queries that should make finding photos across vast libraries far easier.

In my brief time with Apple Intelligence on the iPad mini, courtesy of a developer beta of iPadOS 18.1, I was mostly impressed. Similar to the Apple Intelligence experience on the iPad Air, iPad Pro, Mac, or iPhone, it's currently a well-rounded set of firsts.

You can summarize notifications automatically, which makes it easier to triage them after your device has been in sleep mode overnight, or while you have 'Do Not Disturb' engaged during a long meeting. I especially like how it summarizes Slack and Group messages, generally providing a good gist and summary. The same goes for Mail in Apple's own app or third-party ones in Gmail.

The Apple Pencil Pro (or the Pencil USB-C) really shines when it comes taking notes, and while it's not an Apple Intelligence feature, Smart Script is still really impressive in use, as it cleans up your handwriting in a way that matches your style. I also still desperately wish I had Math Notes when I was growing up.

Maybe the most purpose-built part of Apple Intelligence for the iPad is Scribble to Siri, though, and it's handy for those times when you're taking notes or just using the Apple Pencil. You can double-tap on the bottom of the screen and start writing in the Siri box that appears to get answers – it could be a question about your calendar, the weather, a sports score, or even a smart home command.

Of course, there are still many Apple Intelligence features we're still waiting for, from the completely redesigned Siri with personal context and the ability to work within apps deeply, to Genmoji, Image Playground, and ChatGPT integration. When those do arrive, the iPad mini will be able to handle them all, and will be the cheapest way to get any of these or future Apple Intelligence features.

• Software score: 4.5 / 5

iPad mini 8.3-inch (2024) review: performance

• A17 Pro is a generation back
• Still has ample power
• Double the RAM

While I'm surprised the iPad mini 7th generation is not running on top-of-M-class Apple silicon (not even a now last-gen M3), the A17 Pro is no slouch. Plus, it's the first A-class chip that could support Apple Intelligence.

Adding a Pro-level chip to the mini is almost a recognition of the iPad's mini place in the creative and professional world. Pilots run apps like ForeFlight on it to plan trips. It's a complex and rich app that's not for the faint of heart (me) or a lightweight CPU. The iPad is also a popular drawing and image editing platform, and running pro-level image editing app Adobe Lightroom on it is no problem.

Similarly, I edited four streams of 4K videos at once in Adobe Premiere Rush. And when it came time to unwind, I played Asphalt Legends Unite, Madden NFL 25 Mobile, and Fallout Shelter.

The performance boost you'll see in the new iPad mini is borne out in its Geekbench 6 numbers. The CPU scores are all measurably higher.

It's not just the CPU that's powering all this performance – Apple has doubled the RAM from 4GB to 8GB. Most people believe this has to do with Apple Intelligence support, which appears to require at least that much RAM to perform Apple Intelligence's generative AI tasks locally (some tasks will still have to be done in Apple's encrypted Private Cloud Compute).

• Performance score: 4.5 / 5

iPad mini 8.3-inch (2024) review: battery

• A long work or play day

Apple rates the iPad Mini 7th Gen at about 10 hours of battery, and in my anecdotal tests that's about right. It's not great battery life, and I wonder if we might have gotten more had Apple made the switch from the A17 Pro to a more efficient M2.

In our Future Labs tests, the new iPad mini managed around 10 hours and 36 minutes.

There's no wireless charging, which is a shame since this iPad seems like the perfect size to rest on a Qi MagSafe charger. At least the iPad ships with a woven USB-C cable and a nice 20W adapter.

• Battery score: 4 / 5

Should you buy the iPad mini 8.3-inch (2024)?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

iPad mini 8.3-inch (2024): Also consider

How I tested the iPad mini 8.3-inch (2024)

• Drew
• Watched TV
• Played Games
• Browsed the web
• Edited movies
• Edited photos

I used the Apple iPad mini A17 Pro as I would any other iPad, for every activity I do throughout the day, including Slack, email, conducting video meetings, drawing, editing, videos, and photos, playing games, and watching the Mets lose through the my favorite streaming platform.

I also spent several hours with the iPadOS 18.1 developer beta installed on the iPad mini seventh-generation, testing the currently available Apple Intelligence features, to get a sense of how they perform here.

Read more about how we test.

In our iPad mini (2021) review, we didn't notice any major issues with the display on the sixth-generation version of the tablet, but the slate did attract complaints about a 'jelly scrolling' problem – which Apple has now apparently fixed with the iPad mini 7.

If you're new to the saga, jelly scrolling is where one side of the screen refreshes slower than the other, causing a jarring effect when scrolling up and down – especially on pages of text. Apple has said it isn't an issue, but it has continued to be an annoyance for some.

Our review of the 7th-gen iPad mini (2024) is still on the way, and it goes on sale October 23. In the meantime, well-known Apple commentator Jason Snell has said on his Six Colors podcast (via MacRumors) that he believes the issue has now been sorted out.

Snell didn't go into specific details about the tweak, or say where he got his information, but his close connections to Apple make this a credible tip-off – even if the new iPad mini comes with an 8.3-inch LCD panel that appears to be almost identical to the screen on the previous model.

Smoother scrolling

Quite how big of a deal this is depends on how much the jelly scrolling on the iPad mini 6 spoiled your viewing experience. Apple has remained adamant that there's no issue, and it was only noticeable in portrait mode – but once you did see it, it was then difficult to unsee it while using the tablet.

It was certainly enough of a problem for us to mention it in our list of 5 potentially annoying iPad mini 7 limitations. Apart from a performance bump, there aren't too many upgrades on the new slate – though it will be able to run Apple Intelligence.

According to a rumor that surfaced last year, changes in the way the iPad mini is assembled are responsible for eradicating jelly scrolling. Whatever has happened behind the scenes, it's going to be a welcome improvement.

You can preorder the iPad mini 7 right now from Apple, or wait until Wednesday to go and pick it up in stores. Pricing starts at $499 / £499 / AU$799 – that gets you 128GB of storage, with 256GB and 512GB models also available.

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• Apple Intelligence, explained

Apple has formally announced the new iPad mini with the A17 Pro chip and Apple Intelligence compatibility. As an iPad mini fan since the original first launched in 2012, the tiny tablet has a soft spot in my heart, and this new model could have one in yours, too.

Up until today, the M2 Mac mini was the cheapest way to try Apple Intelligence, but it’s not portable and needs extra peripherals to use, which ramps up the price. Mac mini aside, the iPhone 16 was the next cheapest entry point into the world of Apple Intelligence, but that device starts at $799 / £799.

Now, that’s all changed with Apple’s iPad mini announcement; the new tablet brings everything Apple Intelligence offers, starting from $499/£499 for the 128GB model. This means the new iPad mini is the cheapest entry point for those looking to try Apple Intelligence, almost a system seller in itself.

Apple Intelligence for less

I’ve been using Apple Intelligence on the iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1 betas since Apple first announced the AI features in June, and I’ve been scratching my head at the price of entry since.

To use Apple Intelligence on an iPhone you need one of the best iPhones from the iPhone 16 lineup or the previous flagship iPhone 15 Pro or 15 Pro Max models, none of these smartphones are cheap, however, and even iPhone 15 owners are left in an AI-less past. On the iPad side, until today’s announcement, you needed an M-series iPad, with the lowest price offering being the M2 iPad Air for $549/£549, a much lower entry point to Apple Intelligence compared to the iPhone but still above that $500 mark.

With the arrival of a sub-$500 iPad mini capable of Apple Intelligence, there’s now an accessible entry point for anyone who wants to give Apple’s AI tools a go without forking out for a more expensive product. Yes, that’s only $50 less than the Air, but $50 matters, especially when you’re not sure you’ll even use the AI features you’re upgrading for.

Since Apple Intelligence’s reveal at WWDC, I’ve thought that the software’s success will be based on how many people actually use it, and one of the biggest reasons people won’t be using Apple Intelligence is because of the initial cost of upgrading to a compatible device. Apple’s strategy with the new iPad mini could work out massively in the company’s favor as people opt for the small tablet as a first exposure to Apple Intelligence before forking out on a new iPhone or iPad in the future.

My partner is a great example of this; she owns the iPhone 15 and was left disappointed when she found out that her not-even one-year-old device wouldn’t be compatible with the next evolution of Apple software. She’s not in the market for a new iPhone at the moment and Apple Intelligence hasn’t even been released yet, and she’s not sure she’ll even use it. Still, an iPad mini with Apple Intelligence functionality could work as a gateway to seeing what Apple AI is capable of. She won’t be the only one tempted to try the iPad mini to get cheaper access to Apple Intelligence, and if those consumers are impressed, they might be first in line for the iPhone 17, unable to live without an Apple Intelligence-compatible smartphone.

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Jus over three years on from the iPad mini (2021), Apple has finally revived the little tablet by announcing the new iPad mini 7 – and it packs an A17 Pro chip for Apple Intelligence.

That new chip isn't the only new feature for the 8.3-inch tablet. Apple has announced two new colors – blue and purple – alongside starlight and space gray – and has beefed up the storage options.

The mini 7 starts with 128GB storage, and there are now 256GB and 512GB options, too. Naturally, it also runs the latest iPadOS 18. You can pre-order the iPad mini 7 from today, with pricing starting at $499 / £499 / AU$799 (for the Wi-Fi model) and $649 / £649 / AU$1,049 for the Wi-Fi and Cellular model.

Another big bonus for the mini 7 is that it supports the Apple Pencil Pro, making it a tempting little digital notebook for creatives. Apple says that the A17 Pro chip – which debuted in the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max – doubles the speed of the tablet's Neural Engine compared to the mini 6 and delivers a faster CPU and GPU.

Like before, the iPad mini 7 has a 12MP rear camera, but this time, it's been upgraded to Smart HDR 4 processing. There's also now support for Wi-Fi 6E for speedier wireless connectivity.

But the biggest software boosts will come from that Apple Intelligence support, which will be landing fully "later this month" in the US. That includes new AI-powered writing tools in apps like Mail, Notes and third-party apps, plus imaging tricks like Apple's Clean Up tool.

If you've been patiently waiting for the iPad mini 7, you can finally order one now from the Apple Store. We'll soon give you our full verdict on where the dinky tablet ranks in our guide to the best iPads.

Worth waiting for?

Considering we were close to giving up on Apple launching a new iPad mini, seeing a refresh of the little tablet is great news – and the new model has everything we could have asked for.

The main benefit is that new A17 Pro chip, which future-proofs it not only for future iPadOS updates, but also Apple Intelligence. Even if you're not particularly blown away by the Apple Intelligence features so far, it was hard to recommend investing in an iPad mini 6 without the spec bump.

The added support for the Apple Pencil Pro is also a welcome bonus. The previous iPad mini (2021) supports the Apple Pencil, but the Pencil Pro brings some major benefits for digital artists, including a barrel sensor and haptics support. The only downside is that it doesn't come bundled with the tablet and costs a fairly punchy $129 / £129 / AU$219.

Also, while Apple promises an "all-day battery life" with the iPad mini 7, we don't yet have an estimate for how long it'll last. That was a notable weakness with the previous model, so we're looking forward to testing it out.

Those weaknesses aside, the iPad mini 7 does – on paper – have a strong shout for being the best 8-inch tablet you can buy, and it's good to see Apple sticking with the format despite the increasing size of the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro.

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Numerous leaks have suggested that the iPad mini 7 is fast approaching, with the most telling sign perhaps being the clearance of iPad mini 6 stock, and now we have a specific date for when Apple’s next mini slate might ship.

According to Mark Gurman, writing for Bloomberg, the iPad mini 7 could ship on Friday, November 1, following an announcement around the end of October. So in other words this tablet could be announced in just a few weeks, and ship in less than four weeks.

While we’d always take release date leaks with a pinch of salt, Gurman has a solid track record for reporting Apple information, and this isn’t the first time we’ve heard mention of an October Apple event.

So we’d say there’s a high chance this date is accurate – and if so it’s welcome news, as the iPad mini (2021) is long overdue a successor.

No sign of the iPad 11

If you’re interested in new models of other Apple tablets though you’ll probably have to wait until the first half of 2025, when Gurman says Apple might launch new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air models, along with the iPhone SE 4.

He makes no mention of new iPad Pro models, but with the iPad Pro (2024) having only landed this year that’s not too surprising. What is slightly more surprising is that there’s also no mention of the iPad 11, despite the current standard iPad model – the iPad 10.9 (2022) – being almost two years old.

So if you’re hoping for a new model in Apple’s base or high-end iPad lines, it looks like you might be waiting a while yet.

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The dust has barely settled on the iPhone 16 launch, but it looks like Apple is readying itself for yet another major product showcase in 2024.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, a redesigned Mac mini, M4-powered MacBooks, and a new iPad mini (aka the iPad mini 7) could launch “by the end of 2024,” with October looking the most likely month for a third major Apple Event of the year.

This isn’t new news, per se – Gurman has long hinted at the potentially imminent arrival of a new iPad – but a new Best Buy leak has added more fuel to the fire. Per a now-deleted product listing (via MacRumors), Best Buy is reportedly preparing a clearance sale for an unnamed “mini Wi-Fi” Apple product in the Tablets section of its website. The product in question will supposedly be available for a clearance price of $359.99, and since the iPad mini 6 usually starts at $499.99, it’s highly likely that this is the device on the chopping block.

In other words, Best Buy is liquidating the last of its iPad mini stock, which could, in turn, be interpreted as the retailer clearing a path for the arrival of the iPad mini 7.

Incidentally, the iPad mini 6 is now on sale for $399 at Best Buy – which wasn’t the case when the above leak was first reported – so it’s not clear whether Best Buy is preparing to cut the price further, or whether this mysterious clearance sale has already begun. In either case, though, the iPad mini 6 is no longer at full price.

Apple is known for not replenishing model stock when a replacement device is on the horizon, so we’re quietly confident that an iPad mini 7 will indeed debut before the end of 2024.

As for what upgrades this new tablet could bring, Gurman has already admitted (via X) that he “wouldn’t be surprised to see [the iPad mini] updated for AI” (read: Apple Intelligence). We know that Apple Intelligence only works with the iPhone 15 Pro’s A17 Pro chipset, the iPhone 16’s A18 chipset, the iPhone 16 Pro’s A18 Pro chipset, and Apple's top-end M-series chipsets, so the iPad mini 7 will likely get one of these powerful brains, if not a new chipset entirely.

The current iPad mini 6 uses an outdated A15 Bionic chipset, so regardless of whether the iPad mini 7 has Apple Intelligence capabilities, the iPad mini line needs a power refresh.

Older rumors hinted at a larger 8.7-inch iPad mini with an OLED screen (the current model uses an 8.3-inch LCD display), but we’re not holding out hope for such a dramatic dimension change.

In any case, here’s what we want to see from the iPad mini 7 – and we’re keeping a close eye on our inbox for any imminent Apple Event invites.

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The launch of the iPhone 16 is less than 24 hours away, but according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter, Apple's Glowtime event won't be its last major unveiling of the year – more announcements are expected in October.

We’ve already been teased by the potential arrival of a redesigned Mac mini, as well the possibility of seeing M4-powered MacBooks, but now Gurman expects an October reveal of a new iPad model as well.

The iPad mini 7 has been rumored for quite some time. While initially expected to debut alongside the iPhone 16 and Apple Watch Series 10 at today’s (September 9) event, Gurman’s prediction makes sense as we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's Glowtime event. 

No matter when the rumored iPad mini is announced, this is good news as the last model was the iPad Mini (2021), so a refresh is long overdue.

iPad Mini 7: what to expect

We have a wishlist of what we want to see from the iPad mini 7, but the key rumors suggest a new chipset and a more compact design than its predecessor. While we’re not expecting the rumored M4 chip to power an iPad mini like it does the iPad Pro models, Gurman speculates that it might include Apple Intelligence support, which means it could be powered by the A17 Pro chip at the very least.

Gurman's use of "iPad models" in his speculations also makes us question the whispers of a larger 8.7-inch iPad mini with an OLED screen (compared to an 8.3-inch LCD display in the standard model), which we had previously written off as early iPad mini 8 rumors. But do we really need multiple iPad mini models?

There’s a reason we’ve questioned whether the iPad mini can survive. With plus-sized iPhones, the iPad 10.9 (2022) and the 11- and 13-inch iPad Air and iPad Pro already having carved a place for themselves, most use cases are covered. Still, a mid-sized and mid-priced tablet around eight inches might just be the sweet spot for users who want a decent tablet for gaming, streaming and reading – while still being able to hold in one hand.

October’s announcements, potentially featuring a whole new Mac lineup and new iPads, are certainly something to look forward to but, before that, there’s still a big event happening today at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST (or 3am AEST September 10 AEST) that will see the debut of the latest Apple flagship phones and wearables. As always, we’ll have boots on the ground covering the event, and you can follow along with our live blog to ensure you don't miss a thing.

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The next major Apple event is scheduled for September 9, and we expect to hear news of the iPhone 16 lineup, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and new Apple Intelligence features at the Cupertino-set showcase.

Naturally, rumors and predictions regarding which other products may appear at the company's upcoming ‘It’s Glowtime’ event are circulating rapidly. 

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, several Apple products are currently in short supply, including the iPhone SE (2022), the iPad mini, and several FineWoven faux leather accessories. This could suggest that refreshes are on the way for any or all of these products. 

The iPhone SE is the oldest product of the bunch, having gotten its last spec bump in 2022 and its last design overhaul in 2020. The first iPhone SE launched in 2016 with a design reminiscent of the iPhone 5S, so a refresh in September would continue the trend of a four-year gap between major design updates.

However, the iPhone SE is usually revealed and launched in the spring, and rumors from established sources including leaker Jeff Pu and MacRumors point to a 2025 release date for the iPhone SE 4. But that's not the only reason why an imminent iPhone SE launch seems unlikely.

A simpler software experience

As for why Apple would even consider releasing a new-generation iPhone SE, the iPhone SE 4 may find its niche as Apple’s only non-AI phone.

Apple typically stratifies access to software features based on SoC power, and it seems that the A17 Pro chipset inside the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max is the baseline for Apple Intelligence. 

It would be genuinely surprising to see Apple give its ‘budget’ (heavy on the quote marks) phone the chip from last year’s flagship, not to mention the 8GB of RAM that all phones capable of running Apple Intelligence either already have or are expected to launch with.

This would put the internals of the iPhone SE 4, which we speculate could cost around $429 / £500 / AU$820, nearly on par with the new iPhone 16, which we think will launch at $799 / £799 / AU$1,499. 

Add to this Apple’s tradition of offering last year’s base iPhone – in this case the A16 Bionic-equipped iPhone 15 – for $699 / £699 / AU$1,299, and an A17 Pro-equipped iPhone SE makes even less sense.

However, some rumors suggest that the same A16 Bionic chip will make its way into the iPhone SE 4, so it’s not quite clear how Apple intends to balance the value proposition of its phone lineup.

Previous iPhone SE models held on to past designs and hardware features like the home button and Touch ID, but with the next model touted to inherit a modified iPhone 14 chassis, Apple may switch its emphasis to a more familiar software experience.

As much as manufacturers like Apple, Google, and Samsung are focusing on AI at the moment, it remains a controversial subject and a new technology, so the more opinionated and less tech-savvy in Apple’s fanbase may prefer a device that runs a simpler version of iOS. That said, Apple will likely place a heavy focus on Apple Intelligence and the new iPhone 16 series at its September 9 event, and an AI-free iPhone SE doesn’t quite fit into that strategy

Of course, all of the above is based on rumors, and it remains up to Apple to find a place and time for the launch of any new iPhone SE model. 

An AI power play?

The strongest justification for an early (read: September) iPhone SE release would be a desire for consistency across the iPhone lineup.

We expect to hear a lot more about Apple Intelligence when Apple reveals the iPhone 16 lineup next week, as all four of this year’s expected models are predicted to get full AI integration. For comparison, the only previous iPhones confirmed to receive Apple Intelligence are the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Launching an AI-equipped iPhone SE alongside the iPhone 16 series would bring software parity across the entire iPhone lineup.

Apple always discontinues its Pro iPhones as soon as the new generation is announced, so if this trend continues, the only way to get an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max will be through third-party retailers. 

As prices for the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max fall over the coming years, and especially as these models enter the refurbished and second-hand markets, Apple may be able to tempt budget-conscious consumers towards an AI-enabled iPhone SE.

However, this is complete conjecture. The only substantial rumor we’ve seen to support a 2024 iPhone SE launch is Gurman’s report of low stock, which does not include a strong suggestion that the SE is launching early.

We continue to predict that the iPhone SE 4 will launch in 2025 due to a range of credible rumors suggesting as much. In any case, be sure to check out our dedicated iPhone SE 4 rumors hub for the latest updates. 

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There hasn’t been a new iPad mini in years, with the iPad mini (2021) being the most recent model. So an update is arguably overdue – and now there's evidence to suggest that the iPad mini 7 could be arriving soon.

Reputable leaker and journalist Mark Gurman claimed on X (via Apple Insider) that many Apple stores are running low on stock of the current iPad mini, and that the device is considered “constrained” internally within Apple.

Now, it’s unlikely that Apple would let that happen unless it plans to soon discontinue the iPad mini (2021), which in turn means either the end of the iPad mini line (at least for now) or the launch of a new model.

Gurman says this could be a sign that a new model is on the way, and that he “wouldn’t be surprised to see it updated for AI.”

But updating the iPad mini for Apple Intelligence (Apple’s take on AI) would also mean substantially improving the chipset, as Apple Intelligence only works with the iPhone 15 Pro’s A17 Pro chipset and Apple's tablet and laptop line’s M-series chipsets, while the iPad mini (2021) has a much older A15 Bionic chipset.

So if Gurman is right, a potential iPad mini 7 should be substantially more powerful than the current model.

A new chipset and not much else

That’s in line with previous leaks, which suggested the iPad mini 7 might have a new chipset but otherwise be very similar to the current model, so if it does indeed launch don’t expect too many changes elsewhere.

In any case, if these stock shortages are a sign of the iPad mini 7’s imminent arrival, there’s a chance that we could see it at Apple’s September 9 event, at which the iPhone 16 line is being unveiled. Failing that, we might see it later in the year, either at a separate event or announced via a press release.

On the other hand, it’s always possible that Apple is discontinuing the iPad mini line, or has simply let stock fall short before building it up again.

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Apple has just equipped its iPad Pro with an OLED display for the first time, and the results have been remarkable – in our iPad Pro 13-inch (2024) review we praise the screen as “easily the best you’ll get on a tablet device.” Now, it looks like Apple could be planning to bring OLED to the iPad Air and iPad mini – but we may have to wait a while.

The rumor comes from a machine-translated article on Korean news site Naver (via Wccftech), which states that Samsung Display “has recently begun developing panels for the iPad mini.” As well as that, the website claims that “Apple plans to apply OLED to the iPad mini and Air models,” meaning that almost the entire iPad range could be in line for a serious screen upgrade.

Yet the report also notes that mass production isn’t expected to begin until the second half of 2025 at the earliest, with the tablets then being released in 2026. That’s potentially a two-year wait for the Air and mini to catch up to the iPad Pro.

While that makes sense from a business perspective – Apple wants the iPad Pro to stand out as a clear top-end option – it will no doubt be frustrating for anyone who wants to get their hands on an OLED iPad in a cheaper package.

It takes two to tandem

According to Naver, the only iPad that will apparently miss out on OLED tech is the 10.9-inch iPad. After a recent price drop to  $349 / £349 / AU$599, this device is currently Apple’s most affordable tablet (costing less than the smaller iPad mini). Without an expensive OLED panel, Apple will be able to keep its cost down and offer a more accessible entry into the iPad lineup.

Still, adding OLED to nearly every iPad would be great news for Apple fans. The last time Apple introduced new high-end screen tech was in 2021 with the launch of the mini-LED iPad Pro, and this display never made it to any other iPads. Rolling out OLED displays to the iPad Pro, iPad Air and iPad mini would signal Apple’s dedication to the tech.

Apple doesn’t just employ any old OLED panels in the iPad Pro either – it uses a custom 'tandem OLED' setup that far outstrips the competition and notches several industry firsts. However, it’s unclear whether this tech will make it into the upcoming iPad mini and iPad Air.

That’s because tandem OLED panels are more expensive to produce than regular OLEDs, owing to the fact that they consist of two displays sandwiched together. This results in much improved brightness and a thinner overall display, but the cost is most likely why Apple has limited it to the iPad Pro for now. Display industry expert Ross Young was very surprised by the iPad Pro’s $999 / £999 / AU$1,699 starting price, commenting that the use of a tandem OLED screen could have raised the iPad Pro’s price by 50% or more.

This all means it’s unlikely that the iPad Air and iPad mini will come with tandem OLED screens, at least until Apple can bring the price down. But the fact that they’re getting OLED at all is great news for Apple fans, even if there’s a bit of a wait until the devices finally make an appearance.

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The new iPad Pro (2024) and iPad Air 6 are both long-awaited upgrades to Apple's biggest tablets, but the launch event was worryingly quiet for the iPad mini. Does that mean Apple's smallest tablet is on the chopping block? Not necessarily, according to the latest rumors, though its future does remain uncertain.

We confirmed with Apple that the current iPad mini 6 is the same model as before Apple's iPad 2024 event, and has the same pricing. So despite the big changes we saw for its larger siblings, including an M4 chip for the iPad Pro, Apple hasn't given its 8.3-inch tablet any kind of bump.

That's a little disappointing for fans of the compact tablet, but all is not lost. Last month, Bloomberg's reliable Mark Gurman claimed that Apple "is also working on new versions of the low-end iPad and iPad mini", but that those won’t be coming "before the end of the year at the earliest". 

This echoed an earlier report from respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who stated that mass production of the iPad mini 7 had merely been "delayed" rather than canceled. These remain the last credible rumors we've heard about an iPad mini 7, so there is still a chance we'll see it arrive later this year, even with only a minor processor upgrade. 

That said, Gurman did predict that Apple's low-end iPad would be "a cost-reduced version of the 10th generation model from 2022", and that's what happened at yesterday's event (albeit earlier than he predicted). Apple killed its ninth-gen iPad, and cut $100 off the price of the 10th-gen version. 

So as it stands, the iPad mini lives on with rumors still predicting a refreshed iPad mini 7 is in the works. But as the only iPad-related product in Apple's Store that doesn't have a "new" label on it, its future does still look a little uncertain.

Is the iPad mini still relevant?

The iPad mini is now clearly caught in between Apple's larger tablets and the increasingly large iPhone. The iPhone 16 Pro series, for example, is expected to grow in size this year to include 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch screens (on the Pro and Pro Max models). 

Apple's reluctance to give the iPad mini 6, which arrived back in 2021, even a minor specs upgrade also suggests that interest in the compact tablet has waned. But the tablet does also continue to have something of a cult following, with many finding it to be an ideal size for note-taking and watching movies while on the move.

The current iPad mini is also a great size for reading books and playing games, so a future-proofed specs bump with a new processor (most likely the A16 chip from the iPhone 14 Pro and Max) would likely be enough to keep fans happy. An M1 chip would be even better, of course, but could push the price too high.

Right now, this remains the most likely scenario according to the latest speculation, even if Apple's iPad 2024 event may have understandably dented those hopes. Still, while Apple's new tablets look like dead certs for the top of our guide to the best tablets, the iPad mini does live on – with the iPad mini 6 still a solid option, particularly if you pick up a cheaper refurbed version, if you need a compact tablet.  

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Not many of us own a Mac Studio, iPad mini and a 3D printer – but even if you don't, it's hard not to admire the gloriously nerdy combination of all three in a new 'MacIntosh Studio' project.

The concept, dreamed up by designer and YouTuber Scott Yu-Jan, is effectively an iPad mini dock in the shape of the original MacIntosh, with room in the base for a Mac Studio and a rear drawer for your external SSDs.

It may not be functionally anything more than a dock and an elaborate desk tidy, but the 'MacIntosh Studio' is full of neat little touches. On the side, there's a pull-out handle to hold headphones (it's the right size for the AirPods Max, of course), while on the top there's a groove for an Apple pencil.

Yu-Jan says the two main reasons he wanted to make the MacIntosh Studio was to move his bulky Mac Studio from under his screen and also create a dock for an iPad mini. Slide the latter into the 3D-printed project, and you can use the iPad mini as a second screen using screen mirroring, while keeping it fully charged.

The project also highlights some intriguing design consistency in Apple's products, notably that the Mac Studio is exactly the same width as the iPad mini. In other words, those two products were seemingly destined to be brought together in an enthusiast 3D printing project.

How much are 3D printers again?

If you want to print your own MacIntosh Studio, or tweak the design, you'll naturally need one of the best 3D printers – and the project's creator actually used a Bambu Lab P1 model, a series that currently sits top of our guide.

As for the STL files, you'll need to subscribe to one of Scott Yu-Jan's membership tiers (from £4.99 a month, around $6 / AU$10 per month), although this will get you files for his other projects including 3D-printed drawer organizers and more.

The video also gives you a peek at the brainstorming process for the MacIntosh Studio's design, which takes place in the Shapr3D app for iPad. And Yu-Jan says he's working on a tweaked design to make it work of Mac mini.

It's inspiring stuff and one of the better iPad mini docks we've seen – theoretically, it should also work with iPad mini 7, which is expected to land sometime in 2024 with a similar design to the current model. The project has also got us a little misty-eyed about the original Macintosh, which turned 40 this year.

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The answer to my titular question is a tentative ‘I doubt it’. And that’s a pity, as I’ve long been a fan of the iPad mini. 

Apple last updated its smallest fondle slate back in September 2021, which saw a specs boost and the removal of the sort-of iconic iPad Home button in favor of narrower bezels and Touch ID integrated into the power button, much like the iPad Air. I’m currently using the sixth-generation iPad mini, which replaced my decent if a tad long-in-the-tooth iPad mini 5, and I’ve got no real complaints about the latest mini other than a 90Hz or 120Hz display would be nice. 

However, infrequent iPad mini updates and a lack of any solid rumors surrounding the iPad mini 7 have me and others on the TechRadar team thinking that the iPad mini’s days are numbered. I doubt Apple will explicitly kill the compact tablet, more that it'll slowly leave it to fade into obscurity like that one difficult family member no one really hears much about and is awkward at gatherings. 

I don’t want to see the iPad mini get ignored. It’s a wonderful little device, serving as a great digital notepad while I'm at events, a decent ereader and a rather neat gaming device, especially with an ever-expanding clutch of Apple Arcade games. But then I’m just one person, and arguably an odd one at that - I’m usually one of the few tech journalists tapping notes into an iPad while others prefer to go old-school and put pen to actual paper or type away on a laptop. So I doubt Apple will cater for just little ol’ me. 

Furthermore, the iPad consistently sells less units than its larger brethren – according to data from the likes of Consumer Intelligence and Research Partners. That’s hardly surprising when smartphones have gotten bigger, with the likes of the iPhone 15 Pro Max offering a 6.7-inch display that’s not too far off in terms of diagonal space compared to the current iPad mini’s 8.3-inch screen. Some of the best foldable phones also work well as forms of Android-based iPad minis, albeit without the robust ecosystem. 

Mini tablet, shrinking appeal

So there’s an argument that the iPad mini no longer has a place in the market it once did when smartphones were smaller and tablets were chunkier.

I got a taste of this when I was using an iPad Air, which, while not as paperback-size friendly as the mini made for an excellent digital magazine reader, as well as gaming device – thanks to its refined design, I got all the benefits of a bigger screen without much extra weight, meaning when I had the Air I didn’t really give the mini much attention.

I’m also not sure where the iPad mini can go next. It’s too small to justify the extra peripherals that the standard iPad has been equipped with. Giving it an improved display and much more power could see it not only step towards Air territory, but also increase to a price – Apple being Apple – that could be hard to justify for a compact tablet. An entry-level iPad mini already costs $499 / £479 / AU$749, which is more expensive than the 10.9-inch iPad 2022 that starts at $449 / £499 / AU$749.

If Apple doubled down on Apple Arcade and made the iPad mini into more of a handheld console, say with a dock that added physical controls and a connector so it could output to a TV, then I could see a gaming-centric future for the iPad mini. But the likelihood of Apple doing that when devices like the Apple TV 4K exist is slim.

The 2024 version of Apple isn't the company to come out with surprises like it once was, but there’s always a chance it could have something up its sleeve, and writing off the mini wholesale might be unwise. But I’m of the opinion that the iPad mini, as much as I like it, is on its way out.

However, that’s no reason not to get one as I still think it’s a fantastic tablet, especially if you get it at a good price. So if you fancy giving it a spin before it potentially disappears, go check out our collection of the best iPad deals to see if you can snag a mini bargain.

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Apple took a year off from launching iPads in 2023 – for the first year in the iPad's history – and that probably means a stacked tablet schedule in 2024. Now a new chipset leak has given us a better idea of what's coming our way in the next few months.

This leak comes courtesy of a private social media post seen by MacRumors, and includes a list of 16 Apple devices together with the chips they're running. Most importantly for our purposes, eight of those devices haven't been released yet.

Two are listed as having the A14 Bionic chip inside, first seen in the iPad Air 4 and the iPhone 12 from 2020: it's also in the current 10th-gen iPad launched in 2022, so if the next entry-level iPad uses it as well, it'll be a running a chip that's four years old.

Alternatively, they might refer to reconfigured versions of the current iPad that will appear when the next version arrives this year. Another possibility is these devices are actually variants of the HomePod-with-a-display that's been rumored for a while.

Chips with everything

Moving on, we've got two devices with an A17 Pro chip, which made its debut in the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max last year. This piece of silicon could well be powering the iPad mini 7 when it arrives, which would be a hefty upgrade.

Lastly, there are four devices with the M2 chip inside, and MacRumors reckons these are the four iPad Air 6 models – the two rumored 10.9-inch and 12.9-inch sizes, with either Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity on board.

The M2 chip was launched in 2022 and first found its way into the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro, before featuring in the latest iPad Pro models. You can also find it powering the Apple Vision Pro that went on sale earlier this year.

All of these various iPads were expected to show up this year, and the new leak doesn't tell us anything new in that regard – but we've now got a better idea of the specs that they'll come with, and more evidence that they are indeed launching soon.

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The Cyber Monday deals have been and gone, but that doesn't mean you still can't grab an iPad at a great price, as there are still deals that stick around for some time after the main sales day. And some deals may remain as we head into the holiday season. 

So below you still find some discounted iPads that represented the best Cyber Monday iPad deals. And like the Black Friday deals before them deals can be had on the high-end iPad Pro models, as well as older standard iPads, which can be found for serious discounts at the likes of Best Buy and Walmart in the US, and Very in the UK. 

A word of caution, though – there are still deals that might look attractive on paper but which are really just discounts on a product's initial launch price. We track price history year-round at TechRadar, so we'll tell you when a deal is not what it seems and make sure you score a genuine saving. Read on for our pick of the best Cyber Monday iPad deals still available at the time of this update. 

Best Cyber Monday iPad deals - Quick links US

• Amazon: competitive prices for all iPads
• Best Buy: $50 off select iPads
• B&H Photo: has some discounts on the iPad Air M1
• Newegg: save on refurbished iPads
• Walmart: good deals on older iPad models

The best Cyber Monday iPad deals in the US

Best Cyber Monday iPad deals - Quick links UK

• Amazon: early price cuts on select models
• Argos: wide selection of competitively priced iPads
• Box: early deals on a range of iPads
• Currys: discounts on select iPads
• Very: early deals on older iPad models
• John Lewis: two-year guarantee included

Best Cyber Monday iPad deals in the UK

Best Cyber Monday iPad deals – Quick links AU

• Amazon: discounts on select models
• The Good Guys: all iPad models in stock
• JB Hi-Fi: competitive prices across the full range

Best iPad Cyber Monday deals in Australia

The last Apple event, entitled Scary Fast, came and went with no mention of new iPads. Despite the rumors, the only iPad-centric thing we got in October was a new Apple Pencil… hold the front page. 

So that’s left us wondering what’s next for the iPad, and what can we expect come 2024. Well, everything is open to speculation, as Apple keeps its product plans very close to its corporate chest. 

However, based on the various rumors we've seen, and years of experience covering tablets and Apple launches, we can take a good guess at what we can expect to see from the next generation of iPads. 

An iPad Air with an M3 chip  

The iPad Air has gone some 18 months without a refresh – not that it particularly needs one as it’s a very capable tablet – so is likely the next candidate for an upgrade. Given that the Apple M3 chip was revealed at the Scary Fast showcase, we’d predict that a next-gen iPad Air will skip the M2 generation and go straight to M3 chips. 

A decent performance gap between the M1 chip in the current iPad Air and the M3 chip, as touted by Apple, would make for a rather compelling upgrade. 

We don’t predict any major design changes, though it would be nice if the display got a boost from 60Hz to a 120Hz refresh rate. And there have been some rumors of a larger iPad Air in the works, potentially serving as a more affordable alternative to the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

If Apple does indeed upgrade the iPad Air, we’d cautiously posit that it may do so early in 2024, say between February and April. 

A refreshed iPad mini

Like the iPad Air, the iPad mini has gone a while without much attention from Apple. Again, one could argue that it doesn't need a refresh as it’s got a neat design, a good display, a still-powerful chip and USB-C connectivity. 

But there’s scope for it to get an upgrade from its A13 Bionic – we’d say it would likely get a chip like the A16 Bionic as found in the iPhone 15, or potentially the A17 Pro as found in the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max in order to bolster Apple’s push to support more demanding console-quality games. 

Equally, as we now live in a world where smartphones have sizable displays, there’s an argument that the need for an iPad mini is somewhat mitigated. So Apple could simply let the smaller tablet fade away gracefully. If it doesn’t, then we’d speculate a reveal and release early in the first or second quarter of 2024. 

New iPad Pros with M3 

While both iPad Pro models got an M2 chip upgrade late in 2022, so are still reasonably up to date as Apple tablets go, they would also be ripe for an M3 upgrade next year. 

Ideally, Apple would push the envelope a bit and add in a chip like the M3 Pro to give the high-end iPads even more power, and thus make them more convincing laptop replacements. We’d also like to see the 11-inch model get a mini-LED display; currently the display tech is only available on the 12.9-inch variant.

Then again, OLED iPads have been touted by reasonably reliable tech tipsters. OLED screens would likely debut in the iPad Pros before filtering down to less-premium models, but whether these would arrive in say the second half of 2024 or in 2025 or later, isn’t abundantly clear. Plus, the mini-LED displays Apple uses are pretty impressive, so it may double down on that tech in order to make such panels cheaper to produce, thereby giving itself more scope to bring mini-LED to the likes of future iPad Airs.

Potentially a refreshed 10.9-inch iPad  

The standard iPad 10.9 got a bit of a nip and tuck in the latter months of 2022, so isn’t the most obvious candidate for a refresh. But, as it’s using an A14 Bionic chip, it does have some room for an upgrade. 

Much like the iPad mini, we could see Apple opting to give its basic tablet an A16 Bionic or A17 Pro chip – the former seems more likely than the latter in order to keep the price down. 

We’d also like to see Apple trim the display bezels of the standard iPad to expand its screen space without making its overall footprint bigger. A higher screen refresh rate would also be good, but knowing Apple it would likely boost the iPad Air’s screen speed before it did the same for the entity-level model. 

Incremental steps  

Overall, the near future for iPads has a strong scent of incremental upgrades to it, rather than major redesigns. This is to be expected when it feels like much of the tablet tech on offer has plateaued; Apple’s next big move would more likely be on the software side, and enable better harmony between iPadOS and macOS, but it seems keen to keep the two operating systems at arm’s length. 

OLED iPads and a bigger embracing of mini-LED screens could offer more notable upgrades, but it doesn't look like 2024 will be the year those things happen. 

So, in conclusion, if you’re after an iPad in the here and now, check out our round-up of the best Black Friday iPad deals, as you can be reasonably confident that an iPad you get today won’t be hugely superseded for a good while yet. 

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Apple isn’t done with announcements this year, because following the recent launch of the iPhone 15 line, the Apple Watch 9, and a separate announcement for a new Apple Pencil, the company is now about to hold a ‘Scary Fast’ event. Most of what we’re expecting there is new Macs and Macbooks, but a regulatory filing hints that we might also see the iPad mini 7.

MacRumors spotted that recently a filing for the battery used in the iPad mini 6 was resubmitted to a Chinese regulatory database, which is a move that could point to a new iPad mini model being on the way.

Previously for example this happened with Apple Watch 8 batteries being resubmitted ahead of the Apple Watch 9 launch.

The reason old batteries might hint at a new model is that Apple could be reusing them for the iPad mini 7, meaning in other words that it might have a 5,124mAh battery like the current model. Indeed, other leaks suggest that the iPad mini 7 will have a more powerful chipset than its predecessor but otherwise be very similar.

More likely in March

However, we wouldn’t count on seeing it at today’s Apple event, because while this regulatory filing certainly points to the possibility, multiple reputable leakers have suggested otherwise, with the latest such claim coming from Mark Gurman, who says not to expect any new iPads until March.

It would also seem strange for Apple to announce a new Apple Pencil on its own, and then announce a new iPad a couple of weeks later. Surely it would make more sense to announce those things together?

So we doubt there will be a new iPad mini unveiled today – or any other iPads for that matter – but it would certainly be a not so scary surprise if one was unveiled.

The event kicks off at October 30 at 5pm PT, or 12am GMT / 11am AEDT on October 31, and if you'd like to tune in, here's how to watch the Apple October 'Scary Fast' event live. 

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If you own an iPad mini 6 then you might be familiar with 'jelly scrolling' – the screen tearing effect that makes text and images look tilted because of varying refresh rates. Well, the rumor is that Apple plans to fix the problem on the iPad mini 7.

This comes from a tipster called Instant Digital on Chinese social media site Weibo (via MacRumors), and apparently there's been a switch in the way the iPad mini screen is assembled that means the effect won't be as noticeable on the next model.

Apple has gone on record as saying this 'jelly scrolling' is normal behavior for an LCD display, because of the way the screen is refreshed – although there does seem to be something about the size of the iPad mini that means it's easier to spot.

What's more, the issue only shows up in portrait mode and not in landscape mode. It certainly doesn't make the iPad mini 6 unusable – we gave it four out of five stars – but the problem is difficult to unsee once you know it's there.

New camera, new chipset

The same tipster, who has made accurate predictions in the past, also says that the iPad mini 7 is going to come with an upgraded front-facing camera. The selfie camera on the current model is a 12MP ultrawide model.

Instant Digital also suggests that the next iPad mini could launch later this month, along with an updated first-generation Apple Pencil that uses USB-C, and the iPad Air 6 (a prediction that has previously been reported).

There's still quite a bit of uncertainty about when Apple's next iPad refresh will happen, but considering the iPad mini 6 launched in September 2021, a new model is somewhat overdue at this stage. We have heard rumors it would appear before the end of 2023.

When it does arrive, there might not be much in the way of upgrades: a faster chipset has been mentioned, though the design could stay the same. It seems likely that any launch announcement will be made via an Apple press release, rather than a special event.

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We’ve been hearing for a while that Apple might finally bring OLED to the iPad Pro in 2024, replacing the current mini-LED screens with displays that are more like what you’ll find on an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max. But it seems that might just be the start, as a new report suggests that an OLED iPad Air and iPad mini are also under consideration.

This is according to a report from research firm Omdia (via 9to5Mac), which states that Apple is “continuously discussing the possibility of widely adopting OLED technology for the iPad mini and iPad Air.” However, this apparently wouldn’t happen until 2026 or later, so don’t expect this in the iPad mini (2023) or the iPad Air 6.

Still, if and when it does happen, it would be an even bigger upgrade for these iPads than for the iPad Pro line, as the current models – the iPad Air (2022) and the iPad mini (2021) – both use LCDs, which is generally considered an inferior tech to both mini-LED and OLED.

The main advantage of OLED over both LCD and mini-LED is that it can deliver truer blacks, so colors appear more accurate and the contrast between lights and darks can be greater. That said, mini-LED can deliver superior contrast to LCD, and also has the potential to be brighter than OLED.

In any case, the upshot is that OLED should be an upgrade for any and all iPads, but especially those currently stuck on LCD, like the iPad mini and iPad Air lines.

OLED from next year

Better yet, you probably won’t have to wait until 2026 for an OLED iPad if you’re happy to shell out on a Pro model. As noted above, we’ve heard rumors that an OLED iPad Pro will land in 2024, and this report corroborates that, stating that Apple plans to launch an 11-inch and a 12.9-inch OLED iPad Pro next year.

Those are the same sizes as the current models, though notably we’ve elsewhere heard that Apple might have a larger iPad Pro model planned, either instead of or as well as a new 12.9-inch model.

In any case, whether or when Apple launches OLED versions of the iPad mini and iPad Air will apparently, in part, depend on how well these OLED iPad Pros do, though it doesn’t sound like Omdia expects them before 2026, regardless.

And if you can’t wait for a new iPad then there are plenty of great options already in our list of the best iPads – you’ll just have to do without an OLED display.

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We saw four iPhone 15 models, the Apple Watch 9, and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 make their debuts last week, but it seems Apple may not be finished with new products this year – and the iPad mini 7 has been tipped to make an appearance before 2023 is out.

This comes from Taiwanese outlet DigiTimes (via MacRumors), a publication with close connections to sources inside Apple's supply chain partners. It has a better-than-average record at Apple product predictions, though not a perfect one.

In an article on market demand for tablets, DigiTimes mentions a "new small-size iPad" due to launch in the fourth quarter of the year, which sounds to us very much like a successor to the iPad mini 6 we got back in 2021.

This particular DigiTimes report doesn't give us any other real information about what to expect from the iPad mini 7, but we've got our own ideas on that. It'll clearly be faster than its predecessor, though perhaps not by much.

More to come in 2024

This isn't completely out of the blue. There has previously been chatter around a 2023 appearance for the iPad mini 7, and one leaker had suggested that the smaller slate would launch with the iPhone 15. That didn't happen, but we may not have much longer to wait.

Also, well-respected industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has gone on record as saying that an iPad mini 7 could ship by the end of 2023 or early in 2024. Perhaps Apple is keen to get the tablet out on sale in time for the holiday season.

An announcement could come any time in that fourth quarter window – October, November, or December – but we're thinking that we'll just get a press release from Apple rather than a full-on event at Cupertino headquarters.

And that may well be it for Apple for the calendar year: the next iPad Pros, complete with OLED displays and M3 chips, aren't expected until 2024. It also seems that the M3 Mac upgrades are going to be scheduled for 2024, as well.

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Apple might be releasing a new iPad mini this year, according to a new report. The report follows analyst statements earlier in 2023 that the company was planning to update the iPad mini with a spec bump. Apple's small tablet was last updated with the iPad mini 2021, alongside the iPhone 13.

Today's report comes from ShrimpApplePro, a leaker on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. According to the leak, Apple is considering releasing a new iPad mini this year. It would reportedly debut with the Apple Watch Series 9, so likely around the same time as the iPhone 15 launch, or a month later if not. The leaker does not expect Apple to make big changes to the iPad mini this year, instead restricting the updates to a spec bump.

The recent report tallies with what other Apple watchers, including Mark Gurman and Ming-Chi Kuo, have said in the past. The substance of what a minor spec refresh could constitute has not been shared. It could be as simple as updating the A15 Bionic chip powering it, giving the 2023 iPad mini more headroom in the future.

It would be about time

It's rough out there for mini product lovers. The few mini products out there that hit a niche are infrequently updated; the others are simply taken out back unceremoniously, as was the case with the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 mini phones.

Apple updating the iPad mini this year would at least give the impression that it is committed to at least one line of mini products, training people who want to invest in small tablets to wait for a release cycle that falls every other year.

It's not as if Apple's other tablets don't have a similar cycle. It's simply that with the bulk of the tablets being 10-11 inches, waiting your turn in the tablet release cycle will certainly feel longer than ever.

What with the iPad mini 6 launching in September 2021, it would be reasonable to expect a follow-up appearing in September 2022 – but of course we haven't seen any such tablet, and the rumor is that we might not get one until early in 2024.

This comes courtesy of reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who reckons that the next small slate that Apple releases is going to start shipping by the end of 2023 or in the first half of 2024 (though it's not clear what that's dependent on).

Kuo goes on to say that the "main selling point" of the iPad mini 7 is going to be a new processor. The current model carries the A15 Bionic chipset that also appeared in the iPhone 13 series that Apple unveiled at the same time as the iPad mini 6.

Folding iPads

This iPad mini claim was actually preceded by another bit of crystal ball gazing by Kuo: he says that a foldable iPad is  "unlikely" to replace the iPad mini in 2025, a move that has been "previously predicted" in some quarters of the industry.

The analyst points out that a foldable iPad is going to cost substantially more than the iPad mini – the model on sale now goes for $449 / £479 / AU$749 and up – and that suggests that the future of the iPad mini is safe for the time being.

We've heard plenty of talk about a foldable iPhone in recent years, but less so about a foldable iPad. They might in fact be one and the same device: an iPhone-sized gadget when it's folded, and an iPad-sized tablet when the screen is opened out.

Analysis: Apple evolves its product line

There's clearly one area where Apple lags behind Samsung at the moment: foldable devices. Apple doesn't have anything to match the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 or the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, and that's something of a problem.

Apple being Apple, it's not going to want to dive into the foldable device market until its sure that the technology has reached a satisfactory level – and we'd say that's definitely the case with the foldables on the market at the moment.

With that in mind, a prediction of 2025 for the launch of something foldable by Apple – whether it's marketed as an iPhone or an iPad – looks about right. We suspect the first Apple foldable will run iPadOS, so a folding iPad seems more likely right now.

Meanwhile the iPad mini lives on, apparently – at least for the time being. It doesn't appear to be one of Apple's top priorities (with no product refresh this year), but we imagine that there are still plenty of people out there who prefer the smaller form factor.

• We can direct you to the best iPad for you

It’s the week before Black Friday, and now’s the time when we see early deals rolling in. This deal on the iPad 10.2 (2021) is the first to catch our attention this week – it’s 15% off the retail price, which might not sound like much, but we rarely see discounts of more than 10% on Apple products. 

The 15% saving comes courtesy of Amazon and it brings the price down to AU$879, which is AU$150 off the retail price. Even with the discount, this iPad deal is still quite an investment, and that’s because it’s an iPad that comes with the lot – 256GB of storage, plus Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity.

If you don’t need large amounts of onboard storage, you can also opt for this iPad with 64GB of storage, plus Wi-Fi and cellular. The 64GB model is only 10% off though, making the final price AU$699 (down from AU$779). In either case, these deals on last year’s iPad work out cheaper than what you’d pay for the newer iPad 10.9 (2022).

It’s not only the regular iPad that’s discounted ahead of Black Friday – we’ve also spotted a deal on the iPad mini (2021). The maximum discount that’s now available on the petite iPad mini is 13% off, bringing the price down to AU$719 (that’s AU$110 off).

The mini version of Apple’s tablet is designed to be compact, easily portable and able to use in one hand. It’s got an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display, which some may prefer to the 10.2-inch Retina display found on the regular iPad we’ve highlighted above. The mini is also more powerful, with an A15 Bionic processor compared to the standard iPad’s lesser A13.

If you’re keen to see what November 25 will bring on other Apple products, you can follow our dedicated guide to Black Friday Apple deals.

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Off the back of new entry-level iPads and iPad Pros being released on October 18, non-US markets have seen a significant price increase for the existing iPad mini models on Apple’s website. 

In the UK the 64GB iPad Mini is now listed at £569, up from £479, while the 256GB model now costs £749 from £619. All in all that's a 19%-21% increase, which is no small amount. Similar price hikes can be seen across the EU market, and no explicit reason for this has been given by Apple as of yet. 

Raising the prices of the existing iPad models to make the newer versions appear more budget-friendly is bad news for non-US consumers and not particularly consumer-friendly in general. The same thing happened not too long ago with the iPhone SE when the iPhone 14 was released, though at a smaller scale in comparison.

There seems to be a pattern emerging here, with Apple dropping new products on us with heavier and heavier price tags. In our review of this year's M2 MacBook Air, we made a note of the startling new asking price for the MacBook Air compared to the MacBook Air M1 when it launched in 2020. It will be interesting to see if this trend will continue across new launches and products in the future and if we should get accustomed to dreading a new product dropping with the suspicion that its predecessors will become more expensive.

The scary thought creeps in and we have to wonder: will MacBooks and iPads continue to go up in price from here on out, and by how much each time? With rumors flying around that we might be getting a new fleet of MacBooks any day now, this costly consistency does not bode well for those of us itching to get a new MacBook anytime soon.

Analysis: If you want a cheap Apple device, wait until Black Friday

If MacBooks are indeed getting more expensive - does it make sense to buy one now? With Black Friday approaching, there’s a good chance that we’ll see prices drop for existing MacBooks. A cheap MacBook is a relative thing - they're not inexpensive laptops at the best of times - but now more than ever are you likely to find the best MacBook for you at a less painful price.

In fact, if Apple does indeed announce new laptops, perhaps followups to the MacBook Pro 14-inch and MacBook Pro 16-inch, Black Friday could be a superb time to get the older models, as retailers clear stock ahead of the newer versions going on sale.

Buying a new MacBook or any big tech purchase so close to Black Friday is risky, as you don’t want to risk buying something that ends up getting a price cut a few weeks later. We have a feeling there will be plenty of Black Friday MacBook deals later this year - so more expensive iPads might not be the awful news you might have expected.

The best student tablet blends performance and portability to keep you productive in class, on campus, and on the go.

Our expert review team has tested the best tablets and the best student laptops - and we can help you find the right tablet for you. The Apple iPad Air is our pick for best student tablet - a lightweight, extremely powerful tablet that's ideal for use at school, college, and university.

We've rounded up our top student tablets, reviewing performance, comparing specs, and testing each one across a range of different tasks, from basic office app usage to photo and video editing to see which ones come out top.

For more savings, check out our hub for the best back to school sales.

The quick list

The best student tablet in 2026 in full:

Below you'll find full write-ups for each of the best school tablet picks on our list. We've tested each one extensively, so you can be sure that our recommendations can be trusted.

The best student tablet overall

The Apple iPad Air with the M1 chip is nearly perfect for a student. The M1 chip is still more than powerful enough to push through late-night study sessions or create presentations for biology. With the advancements of iPadOS 16, the iPad is becoming more and more capable while still staying a light, simple piece of glass. Adding a keyboard, whether Bluetooth or an Apple Keyboard, unlocks even more productivity power.

Candidly, the iPad route won't give you access to everything like you may be used to with a traditional laptop. However, more and more people are making the switch and finding that with a few simple shortcuts or even just a different app, just about everything can be done from an iPad.

Read our full Apple iPad Air 5 (2022) review.

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The best student tablet for university

The iPad Pro 13-inch is Apple's biggest and best tablet right now. Packing an M4 processor, performance is excellent - making it a great choice tablet for college and university students who need a device that can keep up with heavier workloads.

Its design is thinner and lighter than previous models, while still feeling robust and durable in the hand. You might not be slinging it around, but it'll comfortable slip into your bag and take a few knocks as you take it around campus and to class. Boasting Tandem OLED technology and an impressive 2752 x 2064 resolution, we found the screen bright, dazzling, with outstanding image quality.

Powered by the M4 chip, Apple says the tablet features 20% better thermal performance, four times the rendering performance of the previous iPad, and 50% faster CPU performance compared to the M2. In our own tests, we found performance was excellent, breezing through a range of AI tools and music editing software. But what really impressed us was the ability to conduct complex content creation tasks that ordinarily would require a MacBook Pro.

We were disappointed to find only a single USB 2.0 cable in the box, and the lack of ultra-wide rear camera is also unfortunate. And yes, it's an expensive bit of kit - but highly capable and well-equipped to deal with almost every task a student could throw at it.

Read our full Apple iPad Pro 13-inch review.

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The best Android tablet for students

If you're looking for a tablet outside of the Apple Ecosystem, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is the best option right now for school use and beyond. The included S Pen unlocks so much for creative students, as well as those who would prefer to handwrite notes or draw diagrams. These tablets can expand their storage thanks to a micro-SD card slot.

This tablet packs a good amount of power, while also having an impressive battery life. All in all, if you choose this tablet for your academic endeavors or otherwise, you shouldn't be disappointed, especially if you're deep into the Android ecosystem and you want to have the best compatibility across your devices.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra review

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The best student tablet for online classes

If you're mostly taking online classes, then you won't need am ultra-performance tablet - the light, impressive Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite will more than suffice.

With this student tablet, you can easily stream movies, take notes with the included stylus, and thanks to the 8MP rear camera and 5MP front camera, you can join online lessons and video calls and collaborate without worrying if anyone can see or hear you. You can connect Bluetooth headphones for more privacy, and the tablet also includes a 3.5mm audio jack for wired headsets.

This is tablet is our daily driver, so we can attest to the fact that it's pretty robust, generally fast, and we've experienced has no major issues using the S Pen stylus for graphic design, sketching, and note-taking. The biggest problem we've encountered is with the battery life. While you can squeeze a whole day out of it with some battery optimization, we found it best to use it while plugged into the mains - which makes sense for a student tablet for online classes.

If you are looking to save money on a Samsung product, check out our Samsung promo codes for the latest deals on top-rated tech and gadgets.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite review

How to choose the best student tablet for you

When choosing which student tablet is best for you, there are a number of factors to consider.

Operating system

The first choice is whether to opt for an Apple, Android, or Windows tablet. iPads can be expensive, but they're a popular choice for performance and power. The range of Android tablets is more extensive, from affordable student tablets to higher-end models that compete with Apple. When it comes to Windows tablets, check out the Microsoft Surface. To help you decide, we've reviewed the best Android tablets and the best iPad tablets available.

Specs

As with buying a laptop, you'll want to check the specs of your chosen tablet. The more CPU and RAM is has, the faster it should be. This will make it easier to run more resource-intensive apps like Photoshop. For devices with even better specs, see our review of the best business tablets.

Screen

Selecting the right screen size is important, as you'll want one with plenty of space to work, without being too large to carry around campus. For that reason, 10-12in models are very popular. Also check resolution - Full HD is preferable for running standard office apps, streaming movies, and video calls.

Features

Student tablets come equipped with a range of features that are worth checking. Check the webcam and camera quality if you're joining online classes. If you're planning on using the tablet for sketching and note-taking, select a model with stylus support (not to be confused with the best drawing tablets).

Battery life

Some tablets have notoriously low battery life, running out well before the final bell rings - so you'll want to explore this area if you need a reliable school tablet to last throughout the day. During our hands-on testing, we always test battery life, so you can get an idea of what to expect.

Design

Ok, the best student tablets look fantastic, but design goes deeper than that. Make sure to assess the dimensions and weight of your device. You'll want to be certain it's portable and won't weigh you down the whole day. Screen panel type can make a difference here. For more durable models for field-work, we've compared the best rugged tablets.

How we test the best student tablets

Our expert review team has tested, reviewed, and rated everything from the best laptops for engineering students to the best cheap tablets you can get right now - and we take our testing process seriously.

To accurately assess how well these school tablets perform, we compared their tech specs and their real-world performance.

We looked at their weight, dimensions, OS, CPU, resolution, battery life, and camera quality. We checked if they had stylus compatibility, if they came with a stylus, how much storage they offered, and SD card support.

We tested their battery life by running different apps on them and seeing how many hours we could get out of them. We also considered their screen size and pricing, among other things.

Today's best deals on tablets for school

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Apple's small-scale tablet is surprisingly expensive given its size, but it's still a powerful little device. The good news is that small discounts are regularly available at most retailers. We've gathered up all of today's best iPad mini deals so you can pay the lowest price possible.

To put the current offers in perspective, the starting price of the most recent iPad mini is $499 / £499 / AU$799. That's actually slightly less than the starting price of the previous generation version – and I've already seen it discounted a handful of times in multiple regions.

You could also save more if you're eligible for the Apple student discount or by using one of the latest Apple promo codes.

In terms of specs, this latest iPad mini sports an 8.3-inch screen, 12MP front and back cameras, and the new A17 Pro chip that gives the tablet a massive performance upgrade. Effectively, it's more in line with what you would expect from an iPad Air, albeit in a much smaller form factor.

Of course, you can check out our guide to all the other tablet deals out there on cheaper and small slates if you need something for more basic or lighter use. However, with Apple's excellent OS and Retina display on this tablet, it's certainly in its own class.

So, here are all the best iPad Mini prices available right now. Check out our best iPad guide for a comparison of all Apple devices or our more comprehensive iPad deals page for the cheapest prices available today on all models.

When are the best iPad Mini deals available?

There are usually a handful of iPad Mini deals available at any one time throughout the year. These tend to be small, though, with anywhere between $50 - $100 / £30 - £80 off the standard price of the tablet.

However, there are regularly more significant discounts during bigger sales periods. With that in mind, you'll want to keep an eye out for savings during these major events such as Amazon Prime Day, September's back-to-school sales, Black Friday in November and Cyber Monday in December.

It has been an extremely long wait for a new iPad mini, with the previous model – the iPad mini (2021) – landing back in September of 2021. But now, just over three years later, the iPad mini (2024) – or the iPad mini 7 as it's sometimes referred – has arrived.

Despite the long wait this new tablet isn’t a drastic overhaul, but it does include some significant upgrades, perhaps most notably a far more powerful chipset – one which ensures the slate also supports Apple Intelligence.

There’s more that’s new here too, and you’ll find full details of the iPad mini (2024)’s specs, features, release date, and price, below.

iPad mini (2024): what you need to know

• The iPad mini (2024) was announced on October 15 and ships on October 23
• It starts at $499 / £499 / AU$799 for 128GB of storage
• It has a more powerful A17 Pro chipset
• It supports Apple Intelligence
• It works with the Apple Pencil Pro
• Storage now tops out at 512GB
• The camera has gained Smart HDR 4
• Faster data speeds through Wi-Fi 6E
• It can deliver 10 hours of battery life
• It has an 8.3-inch screen
• It's available in Space Gray, Blue, Purple, and Starlight
• It ships with iPadOS 18

Release date and price

• Pre-orders are now open
• Ships from October 23
• Starts at $499 / £499 / AU$799

The iPad mini (2024) was announced on October 15, 2024, and you can pre-order it now, with the tablet shipping from October 23.

It starts at $499 / £499 / AU$799 for a 128GB Wi-Fi model, and you’ll find full pricing for every configuration below.

iPad mini (2024) specs

We’ll look closer at the iPad mini 7’s specs and features below, but first, here’s a brief overview of just the headline specs:

New colors, same screen

• New blue and purple colors
• 8.3-inch LCD screen
• Supports the Apple Pencil Pro

The iPad mini (2024) looks a lot like the iPad mini (2021), and in fact at 195.4 x 134.8 x 6.3mm and 293g, its weight and dimensions are exactly the same.

It’s also the same shape, and has similarly large bezels around the screen, and once again a single-lens camera in the top left corner of the rear.

The main visual difference is just the colors, with the iPad mini 7 being available in Space Gray, Blue, Purple, and Starlight (white) shades, even then though it’s only the blue that’s really a new shade, though its shade of purple is also much lighter than the purple of its predecessor.

As for its screen, the iPad mini 7 has an 8.3-inch 1488 x 2266 LCD display with 326 pixels per inch, and a peak brightness of 500 nits. This again is the same as the previous model.

However, this time around the display supports the Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil hover.

Better HDR for the cameras

• 12MP f/1.8 rear camera
• 12MP f/2.4 front-facing camera
• Supports Smart HDR 4

There isn’t much new on the camera front either, with the iPad mini (2024) having a 12MP f/1.8 rear camera, though it has been upgraded to Smart HDR 4, which delivers increased dynamic range, and which Apple says should make your photos more detailed and vivid.

The iPad mini (2024) can also record video in up to 4K quality at up to 60fps, and it has a 12MP f/2.4 front-facing camera.

A powerful A17 Pro chipset

• Its A17 Pro chipset provides a big performance upgrade
• Supports Wi-Fi 6E
• 10 hours of battery life

The main upgrade on the iPad mini 7 it its chipset. It has an A17 Pro chipset, just like you’ll find in the iPhone 15 Pro, and this delivers up to 30% faster CPU performance and up to 25% faster GPU performance than the A15 Bionic in the iPad mini (2021).

It also features hardware-accelerated ray tracing, and has a neural engine that’s up to two times faster than the previous generation.

So the iPad mini (2024) should be capable of running graphically intense games, as well as generally feeling faster whatever you’re using it for. All this extra power also enables AI – more on which below.

Data is also faster, as the iPad mini (2024) supports Wi-Fi 6E, for up to two times faster Wi-Fi speeds than the previous model.

And you can get the iPad mini (2024) with twice as much storage than the previous model, at up to 512GB. The starting capacity is also twice as big at 128GB. For the operating system, you’re unsurprisingly getting iPadOS 18, which is the latest release.

As for the battery, Apple hasn’t revealed the capacity, but has said that the iPad mini (2024) can last for up to ten hours of surfing the web or watching video. Or if you’re using mobile data on a cellular model then you should be able to get up to nine hours of life when web browsing. That’s the same as the iPad mini (2021).

To charge it back up you’ll be plugging it in via USB-C, and there’s no wireless charging.

Apple Intelligence

• Supports Apple Intelligence

Perhaps the biggest new feature on the iPad mini 7 – and the reason Apple released it now – is AI, as Apple Intelligence is about to land, and the previous iPad mini won’t support it.

But thanks to the newer chipset here you’ll get access to all sorts of AI features, like Image Wand, which turns a rough sketch into a related image, Writing Tools to help you optimize your writing, and AI-enhanced document scanning.

There’s also Genmoji, which lets you create new emoji by typing a description or feeding it a photo, a Clean Up tool to remove distracting objects in photos, and improvements to Siri.

These features aren’t here yet, but Apple Intelligence will start rolling out to the iPad mini (2024) and other compatible devices before the end of October, though not every AI tool will be available on day one.

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The iPad mini (2021) was a big upgrade from Apple, sporting a new design for the range. But it wasn’t without issues, including reports of ‘jelly scrolling.’ Apple could fix that for the iPad mini (2022) though, by upping the refresh rate to 120Hz.

That’s according to a user posting on Clien (a South Korean social media site), who claims that Samsung Display has shipped an 8.3-inch 120Hz display sample to Apple.

The source adds that this next iPad mini may be called the iPad mini Pro, but that aside from the refresh rate it will do little to justify the name, with 4GB of RAM just like its predecessor and the same A15 Bionic chipset - albeit with a slightly higher clock speed of 3.23GHz.

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One other upgrade though will apparently be a starting size of 128GB, rather than the 64GB of the iPad mini (2021). That would be nice to see, as 64GB simply isn’t enough in this day and age.

Finally, the source says that the iPad mini 2022 will cost slightly more than the iPad mini (2021), which for reference starts at $499 / £479 / AU$749.

We would however take all of this with a huge helping of salt. This is a new source so they don’t have a track record yet, and we’d think it would be early to be hearing about new iPad mini rumors – we’ve referred to this as the iPad mini (2022) since that’s probably when it would be landing if Apple is already getting screen samples, but the company doesn’t normally refresh the range that quickly.

Analysis: jelly scrolling begone

We’d also think it’s unlikely Apple would bring a 120Hz screen to the iPad mini anytime soon – though perhaps if it did launch an iPad mini Pro it could justify one there.

That said, the move could make sense if it really fixes the jelly scrolling issue. Jelly scrolling refers to an issue where lines of text appear to tilt or wobble when you’re scrolling through them, such as when reading a web page.

This is only visible in portrait orientation, and Apple claims it’s normal behavior for LCD screens, caused by the fact that the screen refreshes line by line, leading to a delay which can make the text look wobbly – like jelly.

It’s not super noticeable to most people, but a move to a 120Hz refresh rate could feasibly fix it, as while it wouldn’t remove the problem entirely, it would mean the screen could refresh twice as fast, making the jelly effect far less visible.

So there’s some logic to this rumor, but we’d remain skeptical for now.

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Via PocketNow and @FrontTron

Two-minute review

The defining feature of the iPad mini (2021) is its small stature, and like the iPhone 13 mini this is a device that marries a scaled-down design that will be popular with many users with top-end specs and power.

Think of it like an iPad Air 4, but shrunk down and with a more powerful chipset inside. It inherits a similar design to the iPad Air 4, with square edges, no home button and a USB-C port on the bottom edge.

The 8.3-inch display is crisp, and it’s bright enough for outdoor use, as well as for everything you’d want to do with your tablet indoors. Apple calls this an “all-screen design”, but we’d argue that the thicker bezels mean that’s a rather bold claim.

That said, this iPad mini is easier to hold because of these bezels, so they’re not necessarily a negative. You’ve got the choice of four colors – Purple, Pink, Space Gray or Starlight.

Apple has ensured that the iPad mini shines in the specs department, thanks primarily to the new A15 Bionic chipset, which has impressed us with its performance during our testing time. 

There’s also either 64GB or 256GB of storage, depending on which model you opt for.

5G is also now available on the iPad mini, which is a first for Apple’s smaller tablet. That means you can connect to next-gen networks, if you opt for the cellular version and have a supporting carrier.

The changes here over the iPad mini 2019 are incremental, but the sixth iteration of the iPad mini brings improvements in a variety of areas. It isn’t the absolute-best iPad, but it’s out-and-out the best tablet you can buy if you’re looking for a small device.

iPad mini (2021) release date and price

The new iPad mini (iPad mini 6) was revealed alongside the iPhone 13 range at Apple’s launch event on September 14, 2021 and it came out in the US, UK and Australia 10 days later.

You can order it now from Apple’s website, and we're seeing it in stock at a variety of other retailers too. The price for the iPad mini 6 starts at $499 / £479 / AU$749.

You can see all the prices for the new iPad mini models below, for both the 64GB and 256GB storage sizes, and the Wi-Fi-only or Wi-Fi + cellular options. It’s worth noting that the 2019 iPad mini came in 32GB or 128GB options, so storage has been doubled for the 2021 model.

Design

The new iPad mini isn’t quite mini enough for one-handed use, but it’s noticeably easier to use than even the iPad Air 4 because of its small size. This feels like the perfect compromise, in terms of form factor, between the iPhone 13 Pro Max and a larger tablet like the iPad Air 4.

Its dimensions of 195.4 x 134.8 x 6.3mm (that’s notably smaller than the last-gen mini) make it one of the smallest tablets we’ve ever used, and it’s an enjoyable experience for anyone who doesn’t need a larger screen for watching video and more.

The design here is more like the iPad Air 4 or the new iPhone 13 than the previous mini – it’s a flat-edged design that looks and feels premium, with a brushed metal effect on the rear of the tablet.

There are four color options: Purple, Pink, and Space Gray, plus a cream-like color that Apple is calling Starlight – you’ll see the Purple model pictured throughout this review.

The Purple and Pink colors are more bold and vibrant than the options for the iPad mini 2019 or the iPad Pro 2021, and we’d recommend choosing one of those shades over the more conservative Space Gray if you’re looking for a more eye-catching design.

The iPad mini weighs 293 grams (a touch less than the 2019 model), which means it’s easy to slide into a bag – and even a large jacket pocket – and not feel the extra weight.

Apple has moved the buttons slightly on the new iPad mini, and you’ll now find the volume buttons are on the top edge, at the top right-hand corner. On previous versions, you’d find these on the right hand edge of the device.

There’s also no home button on the iPad mini 2021, which was a staple of past versions of this tablet. Instead, there’s a power button on the top edge in the left hand corner, and this is also home to the Touch ID sensor that enables you to use your fingerprint to unlock the tablet.

We’d recommend setting up fingers on both hands so that the unlock button is always within easy reach of one of your digits, whether you're using the tablet in portrait or landscape orientation.

On the bottom edge of the tablet is the USB-C port, which is used for recharging the device as well as for connecting accessories. The iPad mini supports a variety of accessories such as the Apple Pencil, although it’s not as functional as the iPad Pro 2021 with its Thunderbolt connector.

The right edge houses the charger / connector for the Apple Pencil (second-gen), as well as the SIM tray. Note that the Apple Pencil doesn’t come with the tablet, so you’ll be spending more if you want Apple’s stylus.

The iPad mini also gets upgraded stereo speakers, which we found gave full and clear audio when listening to music or watching video on the tablet.

Display

The iPad mini features an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display, which offers good picture quality.

Apple says it's an “all-screen design”, but we’d argue that that isn’t strictly the case, as there are thick bezels around the outside of the screen. These bezels aren’t necessarily an issue though, as they allow you to more easily hold the tablet without touching the screen. It’s far from an “all-screen” look, though.

The resolution is 2266 x 1488, which works out to 326 pixels per inch. That’s good for a tablet, but it isn’t the best resolution we’ve seen on a slate, and – most noticeably when you’re watching video – the resolution isn’t as strong as on some Android tablets or even the iPad Pro 2021 line.

It’s unlikely that you’ll find this is an issue though, and the screen is suitably bright and the picture quality is clear. Unlike the 120Hz iPad Pro line, the iPad mini features a standard 60Hz refresh-rate display, so you’re not getting a super-smooth experience when scrolling social feeds or playing games.

If you’re looking for a tablet with a smaller screen, the panel here will suit you very well; we’d have liked to see a 120Hz refresh rate, but it isn’t too much of an issue.

Specs, performance and camera

The iPad mini 2021 is powered by Apple’s new A15 Bionic chipset – that’s the same processor as in the iPhone 13 series, and it’s powerful enough to run any app or game you’ll find on the App Store, as well as for multi-tasking.

It isn’t as powerful as the iPad Pro’s M1 chipset, but we found it to be more than capable for everything we wanted to do on the iPad mini. If you need top-tier power, you may want to opt for the iPad Pro line instead, but most people will be happy with what’s on offer here.

We don’t yet know how much RAM is inside the iPad mini, but in our testing it proved more than adequate for everyday takes.

The Geekbench 5 benchmarking software gave us a multi-core score of 4700, which is similar to what we’ve seen for the iPhone 13. That’s significantly better than the iPad mini (2019), which scored 2680, but nowhere near as high as the iPad Pro 2021 on 7297.

That iPad Pro 2021 score is remarkably high, and we never expected the iPad mini to be able to compete with the M1 chipset – and the average user won’t need that sort of performance, even if they’re using a lot of power-hungry apps.

You can buy the tablet with 64GB or 256GB of storage – as usual there’s no microSD support, so you’ll be using the built-in storage plus whatever iCloud storage you have. If you’re planning to store a fair amount of media on your device you’ll likely want to go for the 256GB model.

That said, serious power users are likely to find that 256GB of storage isn’t enough. The new iPad Pro goes up to 1TB of storage, so it may be worth looking at that model if you’re intending to fill your tablet with apps and media.

There’s also 5G connectivity on the iPad mini for the first time – although the tablet won’t be compatible with mmWave 5G, so if you’re a Verizon customer you may want to look into this before you purchase the tablet.

The rear camera on the iPad mini is a 12MP wide snapper with an f/1.8 aperture and digital zoom up to 5x. It’s fine, and while it’s no substitute for your smartphone camera, if you’re using it for augmented reality experiences, or with other apps that need to use the rear camera, it’ll be satisfactory.

On the front of the tablet is a 12MP ultra-wide camera with a 122-degree field of view and an f/2.4 aperture. This is a very effective camera for video calling, and we found the quality here is better than from the shooter on the rear of the device.

Apple has also brought its Center Stage feature from the 2021 iPad Pro to the iPad mini. This enables the camera to track you when you’re on video calls, and ensure that you’re always in the center of the frame.

We found this to work well, and it’s especially useful when someone else enters the frame and you want them to be included in the video too.

Camera samples

Software

The iPad mini comes running iPadOS 15 out of the box, and Apple’s tablet-optimized operating system works well on Apple’s smaller-screen tablet.

iPadOS 15 brings updates such as widgets for your home screen, which are welcome on the new iPad mini. There’s also a new way to enable split-screen mode with just a tap, which is another nice improvement.

Both the iPad mini 2015 and iPad mini 2019 are capable of upgrading to iPadOS 15, so it’s likely you’ll see many years of software support if you buy this tablet; that’s not guaranteed, but Apple has a strong record in this area.

Battery life

Don’t expect super-long battery life from the iPad mini 2021, but it’s good enough to last you for a full day of typical use. We don’t yet know the size of the cell inside the iPad mini as Apple doesn’t reveal these details, although we wouldn’t be surprised if an enterprising teardowner finds out before too long.

Apple estimates that you’ll get up to 10 hours of use when browsing the web or watching video over Wi-Fi, and we found that to be about right. Your iPad mini likely won’t last that long if you’re using the tablet on full brightness and swapping between multiple apps – we were getting around eight hours of battery life with more intensive use.

So the battery life is okay, but it isn’t going to blow your mind. We found that things like sketching with the Apple Pencil also drained the battery life more quickly, and it’s likely to drop even faster if you’re using mobile connections as well.

A USB-C charger and cable are included in the box for recharging your tablet. There’s 20W fast charging here, which we found was able to recharge the tablet pretty quickly, but it’ll still take over an hour and a half to fully recharge your slate.

In our testing, the iPad mini recharged from zero to 17% in 15 minutes, and after half an hour it was up to 36%.

There’s no wireless charging here, and the iPad mini isn’t compatible with the company’s MagSafe accessories that work with a variety of iPhone models.

Should you buy the iPad mini 2021?

Buy it if… 

Don't buy it if… 

First reviewed: September 2021

Just one week after the iPad mini (2021) had a widely-reported jelly scrolling issue on the display, which affected the way text was shown on-screen when a user was scrolling, yet another problem with the new tablet's panel has been discovered.

As reported by a user on Reddit, Apple's newest small-body slate has a 'Discoloration and Distortion' issue, according to the title of the thread.

The original poster noticed that, if you press harder than a gentle tap on the tablet's display, some dots of discoloration appear across the screen - a couple of commenters in the thread report they've had the same issue.

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Apparently, this problem can be found if you hold the tablet in portrait orientation, and push on the screen - there are three dots across the top in separate areas. The poster says it's most noticeable in dark mode, and recommends heading into the Notes app to test it out.

Our iPad mini reviewer didn't notice this issue, so it doesn't seem to be affecting every unit, but the original poster says they found the issue with their tablet, a replacement they were sent, and lots of other models in an Apple Store, so it doesn't seem to be a singular occurrence either.

If enough iPad users have noticed this kind of display issue, it seems it's not just a minor and hard-to-replicate design quirk, but an actual issue with the device. We've reached out to Apple for comment on the issue and will update this article when we hear back.

Analysis: will there be a recall?

In the Reddit post, the OP states the Apple store Genius technician "was very surprised and mentioned that I should keep my eye out for a recall - he said he wouldn’t be surprised if there is one."

Of course this is reported speech from a private conversation, and can't be taken as confirmation a recall will happen. But between the jelly scrolling and discoloration issues, it's clear there are a few issues with Apple's iPad mini 6.

Apple doesn't have much of a precedent for wide recalls, but on its website you can find a list of limited recalls for specific problems with its devices. These don't seem frequent, as there were only four in 2020 and there has only been one in 2021 so far. This was for an issue with certain iPhone 12 devices which didn't make sounds when you were on a call.

So it's very possible that, if it deems the problem widespread enough, Apple will add affected iPad minis to its recall list. That doesn't mean you'll have to send your slate back if it's unaffected, and if you don't mind the problems, you don't necessarily need to send it back either.

Either way, if the experiences of the Reddit poster show us anything, it's that you can already get a replacement if you want. But you should probably wait until the discoloration issues have been solved before you do.

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Update: Apple has commented to Ars Technica on the 'jelly scrolling' issues, and it says that this is normal behavior for LCD screens. This means the company isn't intending to fix the problem in future.

Apple says that because the screens refresh line by line, there is a delay. This effect is definitely more noticeable than we've seen it on other LCD screens, so it seems like that's something you'll have to deal with if you want an iPad mini 6.

Original story: Some iPad mini 2021 owners have noted a display issue called 'jelly scrolling' on the tablet's screen when using it in its portrait orientation.

That term 'jelly scrolling' refers to an effect where lines of texts tilt left when you're scrolling through a webpage or a document. It's easier to understand by watching the effect, and you'll find an example in the tweet embedded below.

The tablet went on sale on on Friday, September 24 so more and more users have begun to notice an issue. Apple has yet to comment on the problem, but TechRadar has asked for clarification from the company.

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In the tweet below, you can see the issue in slow motion. It's much harder to spot when you're normally using the tablet, but it's certainly visible and that's especially true when you know it's there.

Since hearing these reports, TechRadar has tested the same issue and found it is noticeable on certain occasions with the iPad mini 2021.

It isn't clear if this is a hardware issue, or if it's something that Apple would be able to fix with a future software update.

A similar issue also impacted certain iPad Air 4 units, according to tech leaker Jon Prosser. However, this wasn't a problem we saw in our time with that tablet so it may be that not every model is affected.

Analysis: what can Apple do?

Previously when we've seen a similar issue, it has been a hardware problem so it may not be something that can be simply fixed.

The OnePlus 5 saw a similar issue, and it's thought it was down to the screen being mounted on the wrong way around. That meant it wasn't an issue that could be fixed by a software upgrade.

We won't know what Apple will be able to do until we hear directly from the company, and that's if we get a response at all. If you've bought an iPad mini 2021, it may be a problem you have to get used to, or you may need to swap your tablet for an alternative.

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iPadOS 15 is now available to iPad users. In fact, you can now get all the way up to iPadOS 15.6, with iPadOS 16 now on the horizon.

A sister update to iOS 15, the new iPadOS has lots of the features of that iPhone operating system, but with a few extras that make the most of the tablet form factor.

iPadOS 15 improves upon iPadOS 14 features (and adds some that were curiously absent from 2020's update despite already being on iPhone). If you're unsure in how to update your iPad, we've created a short guide for you to take advantage of what the new update offers.

Below though, we've detailed all the significant updates included in iPadOS 15, along with those in iPadOS 15.1 through iPadOS 15.6.

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Cut to the chase

• What is it? The third version of iPadOS, an operating system for iPads
• When did it come out? September 20
• How much does it cost? It's free

iPadOS 15 release date

Alongside announcing the iPad (2021), iPad mini (2021) at the September 14, 2021 event, Apple also announced that iPadOS 15 would launch on September 20, which it did.

Since then, we've seen a variety of smaller updates, with iPadOS 15.6 - a July 2022 release - being the most recent. That might well be the last update we get before iPadOS 16.

If you're not yet up to date then head to Settings > General > Software Update to grab the latest available version of iPadOS.

iPadOS supported devices

Apple confirmed iPadOS 15 will come to 'iPad mini 4 and later, iPad Air 2 and later, iPad 5th generation and later, and all iPad Pro models'. So what does that mean? Well, all the iPads listed below:

• iPad Pro (2015) / Pro (2017) / Pro (2018) / Pro (2020) / Pro (2021)
• iPad Air 2 / Air 3 / Air 4
• iPad (2017) / (2018) / (2019) / (2020)
• iPad Mini (2015) / Mini (2019)

The same is true of all the iPadOS 15.x releases, so all of those devices will also be able to get iPadOS 15.6.

iPadOS 15 features

Lots of the new iPadOS 15 features are actually features of iOS 14 that have received a rejig. Below we've highlighted the key changes coming to your iPad.

iPadOS 15 widgets

Widgets were added in iOS 14, but they were locked to the home screen in a panel on the left... for some reason. That wasn't the case for iPhones, and it made the iPad widgets hard to use.

That's changed in iPadOS 15, so you can put widgets wherever you want. There are also widgets for more apps than before, including new widgets for the App Store, Find My, Game Center, Mail, and Contacts, and widgets now come in different sizes than they did before.

Two examples shown were a Photos app that shows you snippets of the pictures you've taken, and a Files widget that's pretty big, so you can see lots of files at once.

iPadOS 15 App Library

An iOS 14 feature that we're finally getting on iPadOS is the App Library, which is a menu where you can list all your apps on a separate screen, much like the app drawer on Android.

It also sorts your apps into categories, so this is a good way to keep all your tools organized if you're a disorganized person, and file your apps by their function or frequency of use.

On iPhones you have to swipe to the end of your home screens to get to the app library, but on iPads you can also bring the thing up easily from any page via the dock.

iPadOS 15 multitasking

Another 'new' feature that isn't actually new is multitasking, so you can dual-screen apps and keep them off to the side if you're not using them.

It's not clear how this is different from the current split-screening feature, as the 'shelf' or list of apps to swap between when you're multitasking already exists in prior iPadOS builds.

The way to enable split-screen is different though, as instead of dragging or dropping apps around, a separate menu at the top of the screen lets you enable Split View or Slide Over with a tap.

There's also now quick access to the home screen from Split View, and the ability to use keyboard shortcuts to set up and switch between Split View and Slide Over.

iPadOS 15 Notes app

The iOS Notes app has turned into Google Docs, by the sounds of it. You can tag people into documents, see a revision history and more.

One other new improvement is the ability to easily bring up a Quick Note by swiping up on the screen with the Apple Pencil, giving you a way to easily sketch a note or write down an idea.

You can use this while another app is on the main screen, and then copy some data from the app that's open, like the URL of a website.

There are also new ways to tag notes, which means you can categorize your notes and find them through a new feature called the Tag Browser.

iPadOS 15 new apps and other features

iPhones have access to Apple's Translate app, which is basically like Google Translate but made by Apple.

This app is now coming to iPadOS, so you can convert text and spoken words between languages. You can also translate things in other apps, like emails in foreign languages for example. And with Auto Translate the app will detect when someone is speaking and in which language, and translate it without having to hit a microphone button.

FaceTime has a variety of improvements, and the biggest of them is a feature called SharePlay that allows you to listen to songs together over Apple Music or watch TV shows in sync, with shared playback controls.

It's sort of like Netflix Party, a feature many used during the Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020, but specifically for Apple devices and through the company's services like streaming platforms.

There's a new Live Text feature too, which recognizes text in a photo and allows you to take a relevant action, such as calling a phone number in a picture, or translate the text. This pairs with Visual Look Up, which can identify objects in a photo.

Updates to Safari meanwhile include a new tab design, and a Tab Groups feature for saving and managing tabs.

There's also a new Focus tool, which is designed to filter out notifications when you want to concentrate on particular tasks. For example, you may want to make sure you don't have Facebook pinging you while you're working. This can be customized so that it only filters out the types of notifications that you don't want to be distracted by.

Plus, like iOS 15, notifications summary will gather together particular notifications at the time of day you choose them to. Find you get lots of notifications during work that you don't want to see until you finish? You can set this up with iPadOS 15.

You can also develop your own apps straight from the tablet with Swift Playgrounds 4. Pus you can move seamlessly between an iPad and a Mac with a single mouse and keyboard, Memories in Photos has a new look and personalized song suggestions, Maps includes new and enhanced details, and there are new privacy and accessibility tools.

iPadOS 15.1: SharePlay

With iPadOS 15.1, the headline new feature was SharePlay. This allows you to stream films and TV shows or listen to music while on FaceTime calls, and to have the content in sync for everyone.

iPadOS 15.2

iPadOS 15.2 includes a number of small features and improvements, such as an App Privacy Report feature that lets you easily see how often apps are using the permissions you've granted to them.

There's also a Legacy Contacts feature, which lets you assign someone to get access to your Apple ID, iCloud account and iPad data after you pass away. There are other smaller changes too, which you can read about in our iOS 15.2 guide, as they're the same for both iPhone and iPad.

iPadOS 15.3

iPadOS 15.3 was a tiny update dedicated to bug fixes and security updates, so it was worth downloading, but didn't add any new features.

iPadOS 15.4: Universal Control

With iPadOS 15.4, users finally got access to Universal Control, which allows you to connect your iPad to a Mac and use the iPad's screen like an extension of the Mac's display, with one keyboard and mouse controlling both devices.

iPadOS 15.4: other changes

There are various other iPadOS changes with version 15.4, but they're largely the same as we've seen on iOS 15.4 for iPhone, so head to our iOS 15.4 guide for full details of them all.

iPadOS 15.5: Apple Podcasts improvement

There's not much in iPadOS 15.5, but one change is a new Apple Podcasts setting to limit episodes stored on your iPad and automatically delete older ones.

iPadOS 15.6: a TV update

iPadOS 15.6 is another small update, but along with bug fixes it also includes the ability to fast-forward, rewind, pause, and restart live sports games that are currently in progress from the TV app.

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