iPad mini With OLED for $799? $200 More for a Small iPad Is Senseless, in My Opinion

The current iPad mini starts at $599 with 128 GB. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, as reported by 9to5Mac, the new iPad mini with an OLED display will be “considerably more expensive”, with a price closer to $799. Apple is expected to announce it later this month, together with the new OLED MacBook Pros.

That is a $200 jump. And it would make the smallest iPad more expensive than the 11-inch iPad Air.

In this article: iPad mini OLED price: what we know · $799 for a small iPad? For God’s sake · Is it still the small, affordable iPad? · OLED and the A20 Pro: worth $200 more? · Will there still be a middle iPad? · Still better than Amazon? Yes · Is Apple testing how much we will pay? · Would I buy today’s iPad mini for $599? · My advice in one sentence · FAQ

iPad mini OLED price: what we know

For the money, the new iPad mini is expected to get an OLED display for the first time, a new design with thinner bezels, better speakers, and, according to 9to5Mac, the A20 Pro chip, the same chip as in the iPhone 18 Pro. The starting storage may also go up.

What is not clear: whether the OLED panel will be as good as the tandem OLED in the iPad Pro, and whether it will have 120Hz ProMotion at all. The reports are conflicting.

And look at the history. The first iPad mini in 2012 cost $329. The 2021 redesign cost $499. Today it is $599. Now maybe $799. That is almost two and a half times more in 14 years.

$799 for a small iPad? For God’s sake

For all readers, I have only one piece of advice. If you have the chance, go and buy the iPad Air. It is one of the best iPads Apple makes, and it even has excellent power. Because it looks like Apple is going up with prices without any sense. That is certainly not good. In my opinion, Apple maybe just wants to test how far it can push people and how much more it can earn on it.

For God’s sake, a small iPad for $799? That is senseless. Because of what? Because of the same memory? Some OLED display? It is still a small display. How can they raise the price by a whole $200? Apple, are they selling you the most expensive memory and the most super OLED? Or later we will find out that this OLED is completely ordinary.

What is the new leadership at Apple doing? We said that even Tim Cook sometimes did things we did not understand. In my opinion, the new one opened the door with his foot, and acts like he has us on a hook.

Is it still the small, affordable iPad?

No, it is not. And I am afraid of what the new iPad Air will cost when it is introduced. Like the Pro? And the Pro like a MacBook? That is madness. In my opinion, maybe no other tablet on the market raises its prices like Apple does. This is a tiny display for $799, and it is not even top among iPads. In the lineup, it is maybe second to last, or even last.

I really cannot understand it anymore. Apple, maybe it is enough. Tell us how much you pay for memory and displays, so you do not go so crazy. Then we would understand how much it really went up. Because what we see now looks like a show for the audience. In my opinion, maybe memory went up by a few dollars per device, and you raise the price by $200. That is not fair. When somebody keeps repeating that memory got more expensive and that is why everything is more expensive, maybe they should say how much they really pay extra for that memory, so we users do not feel they are just talking and making theater out of it.

OLED and the A20 Pro: worth $200 more?

Today’s mini is certainly not enough anymore. But at the same time, I will say it is nice that it gets the A20 Pro from the iPhone 18 Pro. That means as small as it is, it will be crazy powerful. Maybe it will even be worth it. But no, it is still just an iPad mini. Or I do not know, maybe it sold and sells so well that they risked such a crazy price on it too. We will see with time. In my opinion, it is a game with us, to test what we can take. Or in a few months, everything gets cheaper.

Will there still be a middle iPad?

I would not rush to conclusions. We do not know what the new iPad Air will cost, or what it will be. But from what I see, I think Apple will not have a middle segment anymore, and only expensive things will stay. That is how I see it.

Still better than Amazon? Yes

Yesterday I wrote that the cheapest iPad is better than Amazon’s new Alexa Tablet. I keep the same opinion. I did not say Apple’s things are bad. I keep saying they are the best we have on the market, and there is no real competitor to Apple yet. Unless something really new comes out. And I am not talking about Amazon with ads on the lock screen. That cannot become a competitor even in 10 years. It is still just an Android tablet.

Is Apple testing how much we will pay?

My thought from the beginning, since they showed the iPhone 18 Pro, is that the memory story is mostly speculation. OK, memory got more expensive, but not so much that they raise gadget prices by hundreds of dollars at once. That is nonsense. In my opinion, after so many years, Apple understood it made things everyone wants, and said: aha, let us raise prices, it will sell anyway. The same happened with the MacBook Pro.

And I have one more thought. Maybe Apple knows that OpenAI is close to coming out with something truly revolutionary, and then Apple will have a real competitor on the market. Let us not forget that Jony Ive and some of the best people who worked at Apple went to OpenAI. Maybe Apple said: while they are not on the market yet, we must take the maximum. But that is only my thought. You do not have to take it as the truth.

Would I buy today’s iPad mini for $599?

Yes, and I would not regret it at all. As I said, when you buy a new thing from Apple, you have it for a few years, and you know it will work almost as well in two or three years as on the first day. That is the wow of Apple, whatever anyone says. So if older versions are still on sale, let us buy the older ones, because we do not know what can happen next.

My advice in one sentence

If you are really thinking about buying an iPad mini, do not hesitate, go now and buy it, because I really think this is not speculation, it will really be more expensive, and I mean that for almost all of Apple’s gadgets.

Featured photo: current iPad mini, Theknine2, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

iPad mini OLED: FAQ

How much will the new iPad mini with OLED cost?

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the new iPad mini will be “considerably more expensive”, closer to $799. The current iPad mini starts at $599.

When will the OLED iPad mini be announced?

It is expected at an Apple event later in October 2026, together with new OLED MacBook Pros.

What is new in the iPad mini with OLED?

An OLED display for the first time, a new design with thinner bezels, upgraded speakers and, according to 9to5Mac, the A20 Pro chip from the iPhone 18 Pro.

Will the iPad mini have 120Hz ProMotion?

It is not clear. Reports about 120Hz ProMotion on the new iPad mini are conflicting.

Should I buy the current iPad mini now?

In my opinion, yes. If you are considering an iPad mini, today’s $599 model is the better deal before prices go up.

Sources: 9to5Mac, Bloomberg (Mark Gurman).

Our Take

The iPad mini started at $329. At $799, in my opinion, it is not the small affordable iPad anymore.

Apple, if memory really is the reason, show us the numbers. Otherwise it looks like a test of how much we will pay.

Thinking about an iPad mini? Buy today’s model now. Or get the iPad Air.