iPad Mini 8: Four Major New Features to Expect

[dampfnudel]

120Hz ProMotion OLED please!

 

[dampfnudel]

iPad Mini is in a good spot at $499. An increase will make it sell at even lower volumes.

Apple could keep selling the iPad mini 7 at a reduced price ($399).

 

[svish]

Will be great to have water resistance for all iPads. OLED for the mini will be wonderful. With all these changes Apple might go for even a $150 to $200 hike. Think it might be released in April 2026.

 

[Lioness~]

i use a macbook pro with miniled, iphone with oled and ipad with LCD screen.
i dont know, i can barely ever notice that im looking at an inferior display when im using the ipad. sure when i watch a movie in bed in pitch plack at night i notice the greys and the non-blacks...but 99% of the use case, the difference in quality is not noticeable at all.

I think Apple nailed it with the mini 7.

I doubt that I will upgrade to 8 - I have both 6 and 7.
Might wait to 9 - it has to be more to it then a small yearly upgrade for me this time.

I wonder how the release of an iPhone Fold will affect mini sales?

We'll see, I'm at least curious about the fold, but not more.

For now I think I wait until Tim is gone, to buy more Apple-stuff, unless something breaks etc.

 

[zenmacx]

The iPad mini costs too much. It's less of an impulse iPad purchase than it used to be at the price it is now. I feel like I barely have seen any of the newer designed ones in recent years out and about, and I'd wager a guess it's because people don't see the value in a smaller iPad that costs $150 more than the base iPad.

I concur, the iPad mini is overpriced especially since they haven’t provided any significant upgrades in the last two versions. And as you pointed out it’s priced higher than the base iPad.

My real world experience comparing my old iPad mini 4 vs the iPad mini 7 I replaced it with, was one of sameness. Very little difference and certainly nothing significant.

This is an ideal example of Apple milking their buyers for all they’re worth. They can’t help themselves, it’s all about smoke and mirrors marketing and commanding prices they know buyers will pay if they want the product.

 

[zenmacx]

Don’t want a notch on my iPad or MacBook.

Due to demands of my work, I typically replace my MacBook Pro every couple of years. My current 16” M4 Max MacBook Pro has that dreaded notch. It’s literally the only “feature” that I find repulsive.

The Apple faithful and the apologists are quick to side with Apple and claim they don’t even notice it.

They can use their usual marketing language and claim it’s because of the components within the notch, but it’s quite obvious to long time Apple customers that the major reason is it makes the MacBook instantly recognizable as a Mac.

The same reason the notch was on iPhones and then replaced with the Dynamic Island, it’s all about product recognition.

 

[zenmacx]

To me, the iPad mini is the ideal iPad size… at least for very traditional usages of this form factor

I concur.

While I have an 11” iPad Pro for specific purposes, my iPad mini 7 gets daily use. It’s by far the most versatile and enjoyable for all around casual tasks and consuming content. It’s even replaced my Kindle for reading.

I do hope they retain the physical size on this next generation.

 

[zenmacx]

I wonder how the release of an iPhone Fold will affect mini sales?

I have had an unexpected experience since I bought my Z Fold7. Already owning an iPad mini 7 prior to taking delivery of the Fold7 I expected it might replace my mini.

Now that I’ve enjoyed using the Samsung since its release I still find they’re different enough that I often pickup the mini frequently when at home. It’s an interesting phenomenon.

 

[H_D]

Am I Theon’s Touch ID fan? Great for unlocking while reading in the dark or when holding the device not at arm’s length. And a notch or Dynamic Island would not improve my reading experience.

 

[Dirk Pieters]

The same reason the notch was on iPhones and then replaced with the Dynamic Island, it’s all about product recognition.

I don't think it's about product recognition. I honest feel that Apple is purposely slow to release their breakthroughs like a camera or fingerprint reader under the dispay. When I did freelance work for a software development company in 2020/2021 one of the guys there had an Android phone with a fingerprint reader under the screen.

Yet here we are in 2025 and Apple is still hiding behind their arguments for the notch or the dynamic island.

Which brings me to what bothers me most about Apple today: it's the annual real cycles which are - more often than not - an M chip upgrade. I'm not saying that the M chip upgrades are useless or unworthy ... I'm starting to find it an easy way to push their annual upgrades.

It feels like a squeeze to get more money from customers without actually giving them that little extra.

If the 20th ani iPhone comes with a camera under the display then we just know that they've been holding it back for that specific phone. No one will believe that it is a coincidence that Apple could make it work just in time for that specific iPhone, if you know what I mean.

 

[Xade]

I want an iPad Mini so bad. I'm buying the next one. I hope it has Promotion, alongside all of these other things.

I just got rid of mine after less than a year. Screen wasn't very good, touch ID was a pain, filled up the 512 gb storage and the apple cases were rubbish. The coloured ones would mark and they kept falling over unless on a totally flat surface. Plugged it into my monitor at work, nope, external display not supported. Took a massive loss on that item.

 

[Xade]

Very similar issues with pilots using it on/around/between yokes, as well as in various places on the panel.

I really hope Apple doesn't totally screw this up by "making it bigger".

They can't seem to stop making everything bigger.

I don't want a bigger one, I want a better one! The size is perfect.

 

[MarkMcCoskey]

Would LOVE to see Apple combine an iPhone INTO the iPad Mini 8, similar to Huawei's MatePad Mini, plus make it bezelless. A single device for communication and reading.

 

[boston04and07]

Promotion/OLED and FaceID would mean this is an instant addition to my lineup. I love the mini but really can’t go back to a device without those three things.

 

[BeerDrinkerDan]

Would LOVE to see Apple combine an iPhone INTO the iPad Mini 8, similar to Huawei's MatePad Mini, plus make it bezelless. A single device for communication and reading.

I was with you until "bezelless". While they are thicc, I still accidentally tap/touch the screen when I'm just trying to hold it.

-bdd