Apple is staying quiet, but the insiders have shared almost everything. As of October 8, 2026, the iPad mini 8 officially doesn’t exist, yet the rumor pile is already huge. Here is everything in one place, with an honest look at which leaks are solid and which are shaky.
When will the iPad mini 8 come out?
There is no official date. According to Bloomberg, the OLED iPad mini is expected by the end of October. There’s a catch: Mark Gurman ties a possible October 13 event to the home hub, HomePod mini and Apple TV 4K, and says nothing about a tablet. MacRumors adds that a second wave of products may land in the last week of the month, most likely Macs. So the mini could arrive by press release with no big presentation, just like in 2024.
iPad mini 8 with OLED: the biggest change in five years
If Bloomberg is right, the mini is finally getting an OLED display instead of LCD. That means deeper blacks, richer colors and higher contrast. On a tablet people use for reading, watching shows and gaming, the difference will be easy to see. Korean leaker Yeux1122 even names a size, 8.4 inches, and Samsung Display has reportedly started producing the panels. MacRumors, however, only talks about a “slightly larger” screen, so the final size is still an open question.
A20 Pro chip in the iPad mini: a two-generation leap
This is the strongest rumor of the bunch. MacRumors found a reference to the A20 Pro in Apple’s code, the same chip as in the iPhone 18 Pro. Chinese leaker Kang, who has a decent track record, even gives the codenames J510 and J511. That would mean the mini jumps straight from the A17 Pro to the A20 Pro, skipping the A18 Pro and A19 Pro. The chip is built on a 2nm process, and MacRumors estimates roughly 1.5× faster CPU and 2.5× faster GPU performance. That is the outlet’s estimate, not Apple’s data. For mobile gaming and Apple Intelligence, it sounds very promising.
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What else could change: camera, speakers, water resistance
The rumors here are weaker, but still interesting.
- Camera: the front camera may move to the long edge of the body.
- Speakers: Bloomberg says they could use a vibration-based system with no openings.
- Water resistance: reportedly tested “like on iPhone,” but the level of protection is unknown.
- 12 GB RAM, Wi-Fi 7, a new modem: these are only MacRumors’ guesses, not something found in the code.
iPad mini 8 price: expect it to cost more
Not great news. On June 25, Apple raised the price of the current mini from $499 to $599, citing more expensive memory. MacRumors thinks an OLED model could cost up to $100 more. That is an estimate, not an announced price. There is no official price for Ukraine, and converting $599 at the National Bank of Ukraine rate gives about UAH 26,990, before taxes and retailer markups.
Wait for the iPad mini 8 or buy the iPad mini 7?
It depends on why you need a tablet.
- Need one right now? Get the iPad mini 7: A17 Pro, iPadOS 27, Apple Intelligence and Apple Pencil Pro support.
- Excited about OLED and the A20 Pro? Then it’s worth waiting a few more weeks. The end of October isn’t far.
- On a tight budget? The new model definitely won’t get cheaper, so look at the base iPad instead.
The most likely scenario
OLED, A20 Pro, an October launch and a higher price. Everything else is still just rumor. Apple can still surprise us, so stay tuned for updates.
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