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Apple iPad mini A20 Pro review: the best small tablet but with a big price
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- DeepHorus
Apple has unveiled the eighth-generation iPad mini A20 Pro with upgrades across its display, body, audio and performance. The small tablet starts at £699, €749, $699 or A$1,099. That is £200 above the predecessor’s original price.
The new model is about 1mm thinner, 38g lighter and slightly smaller than its predecessor, yet it fits a 0.2in larger 8.5in OLED screen. Apple has also added IP67 water resistance, a first for an iPad. The tablet relies on Touch ID in the power button rather than Face ID.
Inside, the iPad mini uses Apple’s A20 Pro chip, paired with 12GB of RAM and storage from 128GB to 512GB. It runs iPadOS 27.2 and supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Thread and USB-C. The most expensive version has extra CPU cores and higher NPU performance.
The OLED display is bright and vibrant, but it remains a 60Hz panel without Apple’s ProMotion technology. A new speaker system fires tweeters through gaps around the glass and plays woofers through the screen. Reviewers report strong audio for such a slim device.
Battery life reaches about nine to 10 hours for browsing, email, notes and video, dropping to six to eight hours for gaming. A 35W-or-greater USB-C adaptor, sold separately, charges the tablet to about 50% in under 30 minutes. Apple says the battery retains 80% capacity after more than 1,000 cycles.
The pricing places the mini £270 above the base iPad A16 and only £50 below the 11in iPad Air M4. That makes it uncomfortably expensive. It still lacks Face ID and a smoother 120Hz display.
The iPad mini remains the best small tablet available, and the new version strengthens that position. Its higher price, however, may test the loyalty of small-tablet fans. Apple has not said whether future mini models will adopt ProMotion or Face ID.
