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Bloomberg: the OLED iPad mini will cost considerably more, and the A19 entry-level iPad slips to early 2027

Mark Gurman says the OLED iPad mini will be considerably more expensive than today's 599 dollar model, and the next entry-level iPad waits until early 2027.

Pinkesh Gajera3 min read

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported on 11 October that Apple's first iPad mini with an OLED screen will be considerably more expensive than the current model.

In the same Power On newsletter, Gurman said the next entry-level iPad will not arrive until early 2027. Both claims are reported rather than announced: Gurman cites people he does not name, and Apple has said nothing about either device. The write-ups at 9to5Mac, AppleInsider, MacRumors and iClarified all relay the one newsletter.

How much will the OLED iPad mini cost?

Gurman did not give a firm price. 9to5Mac reads him as pointing closer to 799 dollars, and AppleInsider puts it at about 799 dollars. Apple's US store sells the current iPad mini, with an A17 Pro, from 599 dollars for 128GB, 699 for 256GB and 899 for 512GB. A 799 dollar start would be a 200 dollar rise, and would put the mini above the 11-inch iPad Air.

AppleInsider puts the rise down to the OLED panel and higher memory prices. It is not clear whether that reasoning is Gurman's or AppleInsider's own. The rest of the reported specification is not new: an A20 Pro, thinner bezels and better speakers. Outlets disagree on whether the screen runs at 60Hz or has ProMotion, and nobody has settled it.

When is the next entry-level iPad coming?

Gurman says early 2027, which matches what he reported in July. MacRumors gives the code names J581 and J582 and no reason for the timing. Today's iPad has an A16 and starts at 449 dollars in the US. Gurman also says the late October Mac and iPad launch should be Apple's last of 2026, which leaves the iPad Air, iPad Pro, MacBook Air and MacBook Neo for next year too.

Our take

The two halves of this report pull the iPad range further apart. A 799 dollar iPad mini stops being the cheap small tablet and becomes a premium one, priced against the Air rather than below it. Meanwhile the 449 dollar iPad, the only current iPad that cannot run Apple Intelligence, keeps its A16 for at least another winter.

That second point is the one that will affect most buyers. Apple's own code already pointed to an A19 iPad with 8GB of memory, enough for Apple Intelligence. Anyone buying the basic iPad for Christmas is buying the model about to be replaced by one that does more. APPDOOK's advice is that if Apple Intelligence matters to you, wait, or pay for the Air.

On the mini, the price is the last big unknown. Bloomberg had already reported 27 October for the OLED iPad mini alongside the touchscreen MacBook Pro, and Apple's code had shown much of the hardware, as we set out in what is evidence and what is rumour about iPad mini 8. A rough figure is not a price, and Apple has held prices through costly changes before. If the 799 dollar figure holds, the people who loved the mini for being small and affordable will have to choose one.

Sources

  1. Apple Smart Home Launch Oct. 13 Plans; HomeView Has Mid-November ReleaseBloomberg, Mark Gurman, 2026-10-11
  2. Bloomberg: New iPad mini with OLED display will be significantly more expensive than current model9to5Mac, Benjamin Mayo, 2026-10-11
  3. Unsurprisingly, the OLED iPad mini is going to be expensiveAppleInsider, Mike Wuerthele, 2026-10-11
  4. New Entry-Level iPad Not Expected Until Early 2027MacRumors, Hartley Charlton, 2026-10-11
  5. Updated entry-level iPad won't arrive until early 2027AppleInsider, Malcolm Owen, 2026-10-11
  6. Buy iPad miniApple, 2026-10-12

Reporting and images linked above belong to their respective publishers and are shown from their own servers. The analysis here is our own.

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