Apple unveils iPad mini 8 with OLED display, raises starting price to $699
Apple announced the first iPad mini with an OLED display, raising the starting price to $699 — a $100 increase over the previous model — and pre-orders begin on October 28.
Apple has revealed the new iPad mini, the first model in the series to feature an OLED display, with a starting price of $699 — an increase of $100, or roughly 17%, compared with the previous model’s $599 starting price.
Earlier in 2024 the previous iPad mini had held a $499 starting price after Apple doubled the base storage to 128 gigabytes, but the company later raised the starting price to $599 this year as part of broader price increases across its products due to shortages of memory and chips.
The iPad mini 8 retains the same 128GB base storage, meaning the current $100 increase is not accompanied by more capacity; however, the device offers an OLED screen instead of an LCD, according to media reports citing the device’s specifications.
The price for Wi‑Fi + Cellular models also rose by $100, from $749 to $849. Still, this increase is smaller than early speculation that suggested the price might rise by $200.
The iPad mini 8 carries an 8.5‑inch OLED display, an A20 Pro chip, and IP67 water and dust resistance. Apple added a new speaker system it calls "Acoustic Display," and equipped the device with an N1 wireless communications chip and a C2 modem in cellular versions.
Color options have been reduced from four to two — Midnight and Starlight. In addition, Apple introduced a new cover called the TechWoven Smart Folio priced at $79, up from $59 for the previous Smart Folio cover.
The company said pre-orders for the iPad mini 8 will begin on Wednesday, October 28, and the device is scheduled to go on sale starting Friday, November 6.
