John is a writer at Pocket-lint. He is passionate about all things technology, and is always keeping up with the latest smartphone and PC releases. John has previously written at MobileSyrup. When he’s not reading and writing about tech, he enjoys listening to history podcasts and watching documentaries.
It's been two years since the release of the seventh generation iPad mini, and the compact tablet's age is really starting to show. While its A17 Pro chipset is reasonably powerful, and the device is capable of running Apple Intelligence features, its 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display is long in the tooth with a slow 60Hz refresh rate and with LCD-based technology.
That's where the rumored eighth generation iPad mini comes into the picture. According to reports, this next-generation model is expected to land with an OLED display panel, a new speaker system, a landscape-oriented front-facing camera, and some degree of water and dust resistance. What isn't known is whether the display will be upgraded to 120Hz, or if it'll remain stuck at 60Hz.
Thankfully, we won't have to wait long to find out. Apple has announced a "Pro and tell" product announcement for October 28 in Los Angeles, where the company is widely expected to unveil not only a new iPad mini, but also an upgraded MacBook Pro with a touchscreen for the very first time.
The next iPad mini could leave its predecessor in the dust
It'll cost a pretty penny, however
With all these rumored technical enhancements slated for the iPad mini eighth generation, it could make the existing seventh generation model appear antiquated overnight. Of course, this would likely come with a price hike in the same vein as other recent hardware products from the company, perhaps by as much as $200. Everything in tech is getting more expensive at the moment, and iPads aren't immune to these same market pressures.
Adding credence to the price hike hypothesis, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman suggests the upcoming OLED iPad mini will be "considerably more expensive" than the outgoing model, with a price tag in the ballpark of "something closer to $799." This would be a bummer considering the iPad mini's current $599 starting price, though I'd hope to at least see the next-gen device start with 256GB of storage rather than 128GB to compensate ever so slightly.
Time is ticking for the iPad mini seventh generation
The compact tablet's time in the sun is coming to an end
The existing iPad mini seventh generation has served the market well as a miniature-sized tablet, but it has also overstayed its welcome. The device's 60Hz LCD panel is fine enough in a vacuum, but it pales in comparison to the 120Hz ProMotion OLED panels found on our modern iPhones, or even the Mini-LED panel found on the current-gen MacBook Pro.
ProMotion elevates the entire user experience of using a tablet, with silkier animations, smoother response times, and lower latency. If the iPad mini eighth generation ultimately lands with a 120Hz refresh rate, it'll leave the seventh generation model looking decidedly old-fashioned right from day one. OLED, too, will help differentiate the new model, with punchier colors and deeper, inkier blacks on the whole.
The seventh generation iPad mini, then, is nearing its expiration date. The tablet has served its duties well as a nearly-pocketable companion slab for two years, but it's time for the mini to evolve. In a world where the iPhone Duo exists, which brings the mini tablet experience directly to your pocket, the eighth generation mini needs to reaffirm that the mini line itself has the continued chops to remain relevant in the tablet scene.