--- title: "The iPad Mini is light and sharp, and its $699 price hurts" description: "A reviewer likes the hardware but says the starting price stings for anyone counting every dollar, and the fully loaded model costs $1,249." url: https://tech.skoop.news/ipad-mini-review-apple-s-best-tablet-with-a-price-to-match-192103/ published: 2026-11-03T17:00:14.318018-05:00 modified: 2026-11-03T17:00:14.318018-05:00 section: "Tech & Apps" publisher: "skoop.news" language: en keywords: ["Mini", "OLED Super Retina XDR", "A20 Pro", "Acoustic Display", "Face ID", "Touch ID", "Apple", "Air", "Amazon", "tech"] hashtags: ["#OLEDSuperRetinaXDR", "#A20Pro", "#AcousticDisplay", "#Tech", "#ai"] image: https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Apple_Face_ID_infrared_dot_projector.jpg/1280px-Apple_Face_ID_infrared_dot_projector.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail --- # The iPad Mini is light and sharp, and its $699 price hurts > A reviewer likes the hardware but says the starting price stings for anyone counting every dollar, and the fully loaded model costs $1,249. Published 2026-11-03 · Tech & Apps, [skoop.news](https://skoop.news/) ## In brief - The new iPad Mini starts at $699, and the reviewer says that price hurts, especially for people who have to count every dollar [[1]](https://mashable.com/tech/apple-ipad-mini-a20-pro-tablet). - Apple announced a new iPad mini with a larger 8.5-inch OLED display [[2]](https://www.macrumors.com/2026/11/03/ipad-mini-8-review-finds-longer-battery-life/). - The new iPad mini has a slightly smaller battery than the previous model [[2]](https://www.macrumors.com/2026/11/03/ipad-mini-8-review-finds-longer-battery-life/). ## A $699 starting price The new iPad Mini starts at $699, and the reviewer says that price hurts, especially for people who have to count every dollar [[1]](https://mashable.com/tech/apple-ipad-mini-a20-pro-tablet). The tablet launches on Friday with U.S. pricing starting at that figure [[2]](https://www.macrumors.com/2026/11/03/ipad-mini-8-review-finds-longer-battery-life/). The starting price is only $50 less than the iPad Air's [[1]](https://mashable.com/tech/apple-ipad-mini-a20-pro-tablet). The reviewer says a slightly cheaper iPad Mini priced around $499 or $599 would make more sense [[1]](https://mashable.com/tech/apple-ipad-mini-a20-pro-tablet). ## What the price covers Apple announced a new iPad mini with a larger 8.5-inch OLED display [[2]](https://www.macrumors.com/2026/11/03/ipad-mini-8-review-finds-longer-battery-life/). It is described as the lightest Apple tablet ever made [[1]](https://mashable.com/tech/apple-ipad-mini-a20-pro-tablet). The screen is an OLED Super Retina XDR display, which is not the tandem OLED used on the iPad Pro [[3]](https://www.wired.com/review/ipad-mini-2026/). Inside, the reviewer's Geekbench 7 scores for the iPad Mini with the A20 Pro are 4,001 single-core and 11,422 multi-core [[1]](https://mashable.com/tech/apple-ipad-mini-a20-pro-tablet). All configurations come with 12 GB of unified memory, four more than the previous iPad Mini [[3]](https://www.wired.com/review/ipad-mini-2026/). The tablet reaches IP67 water and dust resistance because it is fully enclosed [[1]](https://mashable.com/tech/apple-ipad-mini-a20-pro-tablet). It drops speaker holes, and sound comes from the device through a new Acoustic Display technology [[1]](https://mashable.com/tech/apple-ipad-mini-a20-pro-tablet). ## Battery and cellular The new iPad mini has a slightly smaller battery than the previous model [[2]](https://www.macrumors.com/2026/11/03/ipad-mini-8-review-finds-longer-battery-life/). In Tom's Guide's standard battery test, the iPad mini 8 lasted 14 hours and 24 minutes, up from 10 hours and 36 minutes for the iPad mini 7 [[2]](https://www.macrumors.com/2026/11/03/ipad-mini-8-review-finds-longer-battery-life/). Apple's tech specs list up to 10 hours of web surfing on Wi-Fi for both models [[2]](https://www.macrumors.com/2026/11/03/ipad-mini-8-review-finds-longer-battery-life/). For cellular connectivity, the tablet uses Apple's C2 modem [[2]](https://www.macrumors.com/2026/11/03/ipad-mini-8-review-finds-longer-battery-life/). ## What is missing The iPad Mini lacks ProMotion, the high smooth refresh rate found on the iPad Pro [[1]](https://mashable.com/tech/apple-ipad-mini-a20-pro-tablet). It also still lacks Face ID [[3]](https://www.wired.com/review/ipad-mini-2026/). It uses Touch ID instead, and the reviewer lists that as their only design complaint [[1]](https://mashable.com/tech/apple-ipad-mini-a20-pro-tablet). ## What it means for you If you rely on iCloud, you can choose 128GB of storage, which brings the price back down to $699 [[1]](https://mashable.com/tech/apple-ipad-mini-a20-pro-tablet). The 256GB model is listed at $799 at Amazon [[3]](https://www.wired.com/review/ipad-mini-2026/). The model the reviewer tested had 512GB, the nano-texture display and the C2 cellular chip, and it would cost $1,249 [[1]](https://mashable.com/tech/apple-ipad-mini-a20-pro-tablet). If you count every dollar, the reviewer says the $699 starting price hurts [[1]](https://mashable.com/tech/apple-ipad-mini-a20-pro-tablet). ## Sources 1. [iPad Mini review: Apple's best tablet, with a price to match](https://mashable.com/tech/apple-ipad-mini-a20-pro-tablet) — Mashable 2. [iPad Mini 8 Review Claims Battery Life is Way Better Than Apple Says](https://www.macrumors.com/2026/11/03/ipad-mini-8-review-finds-longer-battery-life/) — MacRumors 3. [Apple iPad Mini (2026) Review: A Dream Device, but Who Is It For?](https://www.wired.com/review/ipad-mini-2026/) — Wired Image: Photo: Phiarc / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_Face_ID_infrared_dot_projector.jpg) --- Written from the sources above and checked twice (rules and an independent model) before publishing. How we work: https://skoop.news/how-we-work/ · Corrections: https://skoop.news/corrections/