IT News on October 1st: Technology media MacRumors published a blog post yesterday (September 30th), providing further details about Apple's iPad mini 8. In addition to the A20 Pro chip, this product will also introduce features such as IP level of water resistance for the first time.
In terms of the release date, the media suggests that Apple may launch this product in October 2026. As for the price, the current model iPad mini has a starting price of $599 in the United States (Note from IT: The current exchange rate is approximately 4,024 RMB). In June, due to increases in the cost of memory and storage chips, the price was raised by $100 (the current exchange rate is approximately 671.8 RMB) to $699 (the current exchange rate is approximately 4,695 RMB). With Apple's iPad mini 8 model using more expensive OLED screens, the price is likely to continue to rise.
In terms of chips, iPad and mini will be equipped with A20 Pro chips, manufactured using TSMC's 2nm process. Compared to the current A17 Pro, the performance of CPU has increased by about 1.5 times, while that of GPU has increased by about 2.5 times. A20 Pro introduces dual 16-core Neural Engine processors, for a total of 32 cores.
In terms of memory, iPad mini 8 will be upgraded from 8GB to 12GB, and the device will support customizing the speech speed and expressiveness of Siri AI. The screen has been changed from LCD to OLED, with richer colors, higher contrast, and purer black. The new model also improves the screen-to-body ratio by further narrowing the borders.
In terms of imaging, the front camera has been changed to a horizontal layout and is located on the right side of the frame when held vertically. Wireless connectivity is provided by Apple's proprietary N1 chip, which supports Wi – Fi 7 as well as Bluetooth 6. The cellular version uses Apple's own C1X or C2 baseband.
The speaker system has been redesigned with the removal of openings, and the top border is configured similar to that of the iPhone microphone. In addition, for the first time, the body of the device has been made IP level water-resistant.
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Apple iPad mini 8 Leaks: Front-facing camera changed to horizontal layout, A20 Pro chip, etc.
