Apple has unveiled a redesigned iPad mini, introducing an OLED display, a faster processor, and improved durability. The update brings significant changes to Apple’s smallest tablet while retaining its compact form factor.

The new iPad mini features an 8.5-inch OLED display, up from the previous model’s 8.3-inch LCD screen. The upgrade promises deeper blacks, improved contrast, and a better viewing experience for videos, games, and other content.

Apple has also equipped the tablet with its A20 Pro chip, delivering improved performance and enhanced capabilities for artificial intelligence tasks.

Bigger OLED display, improved performance

The new iPad mini features a Super Retina XDR OLED display with a peak brightness of 1,200 nits for HDR content. It can also reduce its brightness to just 1 nit, making it more comfortable to use in darker environments.

Apple has reduced the tablet’s thickness to 5.4mm while retaining its compact design. The redesigned model also features slimmer bezels.

For video calls, the tablet features a 12-megapixel Center Stage front-facing camera positioned along its landscape edge. This makes video calls more convenient when using the tablet horizontally.

The new model also introduces IP67 water and dust resistance, offering additional protection against everyday accidents.

Improved AI capabilities

The A20 Pro chip powers the new iPad mini, bringing improvements to CPU and graphics performance.

Apple says the processor delivers up to 60 percent faster multithreaded CPU performance and up to 4.5 times faster AI performance compared with the previous generation.

These improvements support Apple’s expanding Apple Intelligence ecosystem and its latest Siri capabilities.

The upgraded hardware should also benefit users who edit photos, multitask across applications, and run demanding games on the compact tablet.

Pricing and availability

The new iPad mini starts at US$699 for the Wi-Fi model and US$849 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular variant in the United States.

In Singapore, the tablet starts at S$999 for the Wi-Fi model and S$1,229 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular version. Eligible customers can get the Wi-Fi model starting at S$929 with education pricing.

In the Philippines, the new iPad mini starts at PhP 49,990 for the Wi-Fi model and PhP 59,990 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular variant. Eligible customers can purchase it with education pricing starting at PhP 45,990.

The tablet comes in midnight and starlight finishes, with 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage configurations.

In the United States, preorders begin October 28, 2026, with availability starting November 6. Singapore preorders open October 29, with availability also beginning November 6.

Apple has yet to announce a specific preorder or release date for the Philippines. The company says the new iPad mini will be available soon through its Philippine online store and authorized resellers.

In the Philippines, it’s illegal to cut down a single tree without a permit. It’s a constant reminder that the preservation of nature should be a civil, besides being a moral, obligation. And yet, corporations are seemingly immune from obligations and morals. Google, the company that used to stand for “Don’t be evil,” shows off its true colors by illegally cutting down 250,000 trees in Finland for a datacenter.

As first reported by The Guardian, Finland is now staring at 330 hectares of land suddenly denuded of around 250,000 valuable trees, all thanks to Google. A local ecologist has also said that the company killed a further 150,000 trees at a separate site.

The environmental desecration is part of Google’s multibillion-dollar push to build data centers all over the world for artificial intelligence. Google has since been ordered to stop the development in the country after Finland found that the company acted without securing the needed assessments and permits to clear the area.

Google brushed away the report by saying that they acted “on the best understanding we had of the legislation at the time.” The company also said that they are protecting the water quality at the affected sites and committed to replanting trees across 130 hectares, a pale comparison to the total area affected.

Other AI companies are also trying to weasel their way into other countries to build data centers. An example is the controversial Pax Silica in the Philippines. Finland now stands as a cautionary tale against the unimpeded and unsupervised growth of data centers for a service that no one asked for.

Don’t be evil, my ass.

As one of the wisest sages of the 2000s once said, “He was a punk, she did ballet. What more can I say?” Sometimes, opposites attract. Now, two of those opposites in the audio space are coming together: the punk Skullcandy and the ballet-loving Bose.

Today, Bose has announced its acquisition of Skullcandy. The latter will continue to operate as a separate brand but now officially under the Bose umbrella. Although, it’s not a new collaboration as the two brands have previously worked together on devices before. Skullcandy will just have more access to Bose’s technologies moving forward.

Alternatively, Bose will now have access to Skullcandy’s more varied audience. Compared to Bose’s focus on premium products, Skullcandy caters to more alternative lifestyles. Though the brand has since mellowed from its more radical roots, it is still known as one of the alternative brands.

Bose, on the other hand, is still a household name for home audio and noise-cancelling headphones. The new relationship between two polar opposites might be seen as a weird one, but it’s ultimately beneficial to both parties. Besides, both brands were very strong in the 2010s. Keeping both brands going is a boon to audiophiles of the past decade.

SEE ALSO: Sony unveils three premium Walkman music players