Apple has unveiled its “most capable and versatile” iPad Mini ever, but how does it compare to the 2024 version?

Considering the 2024 iPad Mini 7 earned a four-star rating from us, and spots in our best tablet and best tablet for kids round-ups, the new iPad Mini 8 has a lot to live up to. 

Ahead of our review, we’ve compared the specs of the iPad Mini 8 to the iPad Mini 7 and highlighted the key differences between the two. Read on to see what’s new with Apple’s flagship iPad Mini and decide whether it’s worth the upgrade or not. 

Price and Availability

At the time of writing, the iPad Mini 8 will be available to pre-order from this Wednesday, October 28th, ahead of its official launch of November 6th. Available in two colours, Midnight or Starlight, the iPad Mini 8 has a starting price of £699/$699.

Although the iPad Mini 7 is no longer available to buy from Apple’s website, it can be found on third-party sites like Amazon or Argos. Its RRP remains at £599, although it is possible to pick the two-year old tablet with a price cut too.

The new iPad Mini has a slightly larger, OLED display

One of the biggest differences between this year’s iPad Mini and the 2024 version is with the display. The iPad Mini 8 is not only slightly larger, at 8.5-inches compared to 8.3-, but it also benefits from an OLED display, which means you should see deeper blacks and more vivid colours too. However, and quite surprisingly, there’s still no ProMotion technology here, so you’ll have to make do with a 60Hz refresh rate.

Otherwise, this year’s iPad Mini benefits from a new nano-texture display option – also found on the iPad Pro. Only on the 256GB or 512GB versions, the nano-texture display reduces glare in bright environments. Though we’re yet to specifically review the display of the iPad Mini, we can confidently say that the iPad Pro’s nano-texture coating is worth upgrading to.

Finally, the iPad Mini 8 also benefits from 24% thinner bezels than its predecessor, for a more immersive viewing experience.

Powering the iPad Mini 8 is Apple’s A20 Pro chip, the same that’s found within the iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max and iPhone Duo, and promises to deliver a “giant leap” in performance. Built using Apple’s latest 2nm process technology, A20 Pro promises to enable the iPad Mini to deliver up to 4.5x faster AI performance than its predecessor, while everyday tasks like photo editing and scrolling between apps should be 60% faster too.

This isn’t to say that the iPad Mini 7’s A17 Pro is something to be sniffed at. Not only do everyday tasks run smoothly but it also supports higher-end gaming features like ray tracing, and can play AAA titles as a result. In addition, both the iPad Mini 8 and iPad Mini 7 also support Apple Intelligence, and the new Siri AI too.

That means regardless of whether you buy the newer model or stick with the 2024 version, you’ll benefit from smarter and more natural sounding conversations with Apple’s voice assistant.

iPad Mini 8 has a landscape selfie camera

One of our biggest issues with the iPad Mini 7 was that its front camera is portrait rather than landscape. Fortunately, Apple has rectified this by including a landscape selfie camera for the iPad Mini 8, which means it’s better suited for FaceTiming and Zoom meetings. 

Either way, both selfie cameras are 12MP and are fitted with Apple’s Center Stage technology which ensures you’re kept in frame during video calls.

The iPad Mini 8 features an Acoustic Display which Apple promises enables better audio when gaming or streaming. Apple examples that specially designed woofers are paired through the display to produce “punchier bass and more volume”, while tweeters are hidden between the glass and aluminium enclosure for “clearer highs”. 

Speaking of the enclosure, the Acoustic Display features a sealed enclosure that boosts the iPad Mini 8’s IP rating to IP67. That means it’s dust-tight and can withstand a temporary submersion in water too.

iPad Mini 8 features Apple’s N1 chip and C2 modem

Alongside the brand’s latest processor, the iPad Mini 8 features the Apple-designed N1 wireless networking chip that enables Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread. First found in the iPhone 17 series and iPhone Air, N1 also promises to improve the reliability and performance of tools like Personal Hotspot, AirDrop and AirPlay too. 

Instead, the iPad Mini 7 supports Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.

The iPad Mini 8 also benefits from Apple’s C2 modem system, which promises up to 50% faster cellular speeds compared to the iPad Mini 7. Keep in mind that you’ll need to upgrade to the Wi-Fi and Cellular iteration of the iPad Mini 8 to benefit from this, which has a starting RRP of £899 and supports eSIM. 

The upcoming iPad Mini 8 promises to be a solid upgrade over the iPad Mini 7. Not only does it see an OLED panel, but its display is larger but with slimmer bezels and offers a nano-texture screen on its larger models. In addition, the iPad Mini 8 sees a flagship processor and plenty more Apple-designed chips too. 

Having said that, given that the iPad Mini 7’s processor is still speedy and reliable, the tablet supports Apple Intelligence and is fitted with a solid screen, there’s arguably little reason to upgrade – especially as the new model is £100 more.