Apple's new iPad mini has blown me away after testing – its OLED display is stunning

Fresh from the folding iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 launches, Apple has just announced its latest iPad mini. Slimmer, thinner and more diminutive than other Apple tablets in the mini series, the company has now squeezed its biggest display into the device. What’s more, the display uses OLED technology, superior to the LCD on the iPad and iPad Air. However, all of these upgrades come with a price increase. I’ve been using the new iPad mini, which goes on sale on Friday 6 November, for around a week and have put it through its paces to help you know if it’s worth the upgrade. How I testedThe iPad boasts a sharper, larger display than previous models David Phelan/The StandardSet-up is the first task for any of us when we buy a new piece of tech, so I looked at how simple this was, both for newcomers to the brand and those with an Apple Account already. I checked out how long it took to install apps from a previous iPad.I noted how easy the new tablet is to use, and how portable and lightweight it is to handle. I also looked at how well the new features – including the OLED screen and enhanced audio – worked in practice. How fast is the tablet, and how capable?Finally, I checked the battery life – was it as good as the 10 hours that previous iPads of all sizes have offered, or did it disappoint?Apple iPad mini OLED Apple ★★★★★What we love: Super-slim design and stunning OLED displayDesignDavid Phelan/The StandardThe iPad mini design is very different from the first iteration released 14 years ago. Back then, the display measured 7.9 inches. In 2021, Apple switched to a flatter, thinner design with an all-screen look: the Touch ID fingerprint sensor moved from the front of the device to be mounted in the power button. That’s where it is now, though a thinner sensor has had to be developed to fit into the noticeably skinnier new model. Although it’s a little less than 1mm thinner than the previous iPad mini released in 2024, the difference in how it feels in your hand is enormous. That’s helped by it being significantly lighter than before, too, knocking 38g off an already light gadget.This is the first iPad mini with an 8.5-inch display, up from 8.3 inches last time around and made possible by visibly narrower bezels around the display. This means that the new tablet is no taller than before, and smaller in other dimensions.While the changes to make the tablet thinner and lighter are what stand out here, there are other design updates. The front-facing camera is now on the long side of the screen, not the short one. This brings the iPad mini into line with other tablets in Apple’s range. The speakers on the iPad mini have had a striking upgrade thanks to Apple’s ‘Acoustic Display’, which means the woofers and tweeters release their sound through the display itself. It works well, with no distortion to either the screen or the audio. In fact, it sounds clear, bright and emphatic.And the new design contributes to the fact that the iPad mini is the first Apple tablet with advanced water- and dust-resistance. It has an IP67 rating, which means it’s dust-tight, and while it’s not fully waterproof, it can survive being submerged in water up to 1 metre deep for 30 minutes. Watching videos by the pool on holiday is suddenly an option.As ever, Apple offers two versions of its tablets, one with Wi-Fi connectivity and one which also adds connection to the cellular network. There’s no SIM card tray in iPads any more, and frankly barely the space for one here, so the Wi-Fi and Cellular version uses eSIM. It costs an extra £150 for this connectivity, so you may feel that tethering the Wi-Fi version to your iPhone is enough. OLED DisplayDavid Phelan/The StandardThe new screen tech is outstanding. OLED displays have no backlighting as every pixel generates its own light. This means black colours are deep and immersive and contrast levels are exceptional: Apple says the contrast level is 2,000,000:1. In other words, it’s pretty contrasty. The colours look great and are deeply realistic, while the screen overall is richly detailed and inviting. One reason for this detail is the screen resolution. Where other iPads have a pixel density of 264 pixels per inch, the iPad mini has 326 pixels per inch.The chief downside to OLED is that it can be less bright than LCD, but this display is brighter than the last iPad mini and more than twice as bright when it comes to peak brightness for HDR content – up to 1,200 nits. That really means that you can use the mini outdoors without a problem. On the other hand, it can also work in low-light environments, as it dims down all the way to just 1 nit (good for reading in bed). There’s an anti-reflective coating on the screen, but for those who want to eradicate reflections even more, the iPad mini now comes with a nano-texture option for the first time. This means the glass is etched in such a way that reflections are almost completely gone. Though it looks spectacular, this feature comes at an extra cost of £100, and it’s only available for the higher-end storage options of 256GB and 512GB. Performance and batteryDavid Phelan/The StandardThe iPad mini uses a powerhouse of a processor, the Apple A20 Pro found in the latest flagship phones, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and the foldable iPhone Duo. Like those phones, this power is partly deployed to enable AI workloads to be handled on device without slowing down the tablet. And it means that everything you hurl at the iPad mini is done with ease – even creating animations with advanced apps like Procreate Dreams or editing photos and video in Lightroom. It also means that graphics-heavy games look wonderful and play without stuttering. Battery life is solid, routinely hitting 10 hours between charges. Display:, 8.5 OLED, 60Hz, 2,316 x 1,512 pixels, 326ppiCPU: Apple A20 ProStorage: 128GB / 256GB / 512GB Size: 164.6mm x 117.8mm x 5.2mmWeight: 255gRear camera: 12MPFront camera: 12MPColours: Starlight, MidnightIs the Apple iPad mini OLED worth it?The upgrades to the new tablet are considerable. The most eye-catching development is the gorgeous OLED screen, but just as important are the new thinner, and especially lighter, design and the speedy performance, which makes using it a dream. The arrival of a nano-texture option for the display adds to the effect, but it still looks great without it. Smaller details, like the better placement of the front-facing camera and the addition of water- and dust-resistance, add to the overall package.Mostly, I’ve always been a fan of the larger-screen tablets, but this new iPad mini has blown me away.