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AppleiPadMobileTech

The iPad mini 8 leak is making Apple’s smallest tablet interesting again

Apple’s tiny tablet may be about to punch well above its size.

By
Shubham Sawarkar
Shubham Sawarkar's avatar
ByShubham Sawarkar
Editor-in-Chief
Shubham Sawarkar is a technology journalist at GadgetBond, covering Apple, AI, consumer technology, software, gadgets, and product launches. His work explores emerging technologies, industry developments, product...
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Sep 26, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT
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Five 2024 iPad mini 7th generation models are shown in a fan formation held by a user's hands. One model shows the back camera, the other four are front facing. Apple Pencil Pro is being used to take notes.
Image: Apple
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You think the iPad mini has a size problem? Think again. Mind your own business, iPad Bro.

Apple‘s smallest tablet is apparently preparing for a surprisingly substantial makeover, and the latest leak suggests the company isn’t treating the next iPad mini as just another routine chip upgrade.

Images and details discovered in Apple’s own code point to a new iPad mini with an A20 Pro chip, a redesigned front-facing camera position, and changes to the speaker system. The leak also gives us an unusually clear look at Apple’s plans for the next-generation mini ahead of its expected October debut.

And yes, Apple apparently remembered that the iPad mini exists.

The information comes from MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris, who found references and official-looking product images inside Apple’s code. The images show the front of the unreleased tablet, although they don’t reveal what Apple may have changed around the back or sides.

One of the most obvious changes is the front camera.

The next iPad mini is expected to move its front-facing camera into a landscape orientation. That would make the mini the last iPad in Apple’s lineup to adopt the camera placement, following the larger iPad models.

It is an interesting choice for a tablet that people frequently hold vertically, but Apple seems determined to standardize the experience across the iPad family. At least the camera won’t be sitting there wondering why everyone else got invited to landscape mode.

The leaked images also show what appears to be a small groove cut into the top edge of the display glass. MacRumors says it appears to be for the speaker, similar to the design used on recent iPhones.

The buttons, meanwhile, reportedly remain on the top of the device, so Apple isn’t completely rearranging the mini’s anatomy just for the sake of it.

The bigger change could be hiding inside.

The leaked information points to an A20 Pro chip, which would represent a significant jump from the A17 Pro used in the current iPad mini. That could give the little tablet considerably more performance headroom for demanding apps and Apple’s increasingly AI-heavy software features.

And Apple apparently isn’t stopping at the processor.

The next iPad mini has been rumored to feature a slightly larger display and an OLED panel. That would be one of the most meaningful upgrades to the mini’s screen in years, particularly if Apple can preserve the compact footprint that makes the device interesting in the first place.

There’s also the possibility of water resistance.

Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman previously reported that Apple was working on water resistance for the next iPad mini, alongside an entirely new vibration-based speaker system. The newly discovered code includes icons that appear to support those earlier claims.

That could make the mini a rather strange little device in Apple’s lineup: still tiny enough to disappear into a bag, but increasingly equipped like one of the company’s larger premium iPads.

And that’s where the iPad mini’s whole identity gets interesting.

Apple has spent years making the mini smaller than everything else, while simultaneously giving it increasingly serious hardware. The result is a tablet that doesn’t really want to behave like a budget iPad. It wants the performance and features of Apple’s higher-end machines while keeping the tiny body.

Basically, the iPad mini looked at the iPad Pro and said, “Cute. Now watch this.”

The timing is also worth watching. Gurman expects the new iPad mini to launch by the end of October, and Apple’s own code containing images of the product suggests the device is getting close to release.

Apple hasn’t officially announced the new iPad mini, however, so the leaked specifications and features should still be treated as unconfirmed until the company makes the tablet official.

If the reports are accurate, though, this could be much more than a processor refresh. An A20 Pro chip, OLED display, landscape camera, redesigned speaker system, possible water resistance and a slightly larger screen would give the iPad mini a fairly long list of changes for something that is supposed to be Apple’s “small” tablet.

So, no, the iPad mini doesn’t necessarily have a size problem.

It might have an identity problem.

And honestly? Let the little guy figure it out. The iPad Pro has enough room already.


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