An OLED iPad mini could finally arrive this year

Apple will reportedly refresh the rest of its iPad lineup in the first half of 2027.

Nathan Ingraham/Engadget

This fall is shaping up to be a particularly notable season for new Apple hardware. It's widely anticipated that the company will debut a foldable iPhone as part of the iPhone 18 lineup in a couple of months. New Apple Watch and Mac models are said to be coming soon too. Now, as Bloomberg reports, it also seems an iPad mini with an OLED display could arrive by October.

The iPad mini has largely been in stasis since its 2021 overhaul. Apple swapped in a newer chip with a refresh in 2024, but the design remained the same. An OLED-based model might give some folks more of a reason to upgrade if they've been hanging onto an older iPad mini. However, given the recent price increases for many Apple devices and soaring costs of components, the first OLED iPad mini could run you a pretty penny.

The report indicates that other iPad refreshes are slated for 2027, sticking more or less to Apple's usual cadence for those product updates. The upcoming entry-level iPad refresh is said to have a spec bump but no major redesign. We may well see that hit shelves early next year. The next-gen iPad Air could debut in spring 2027, alongside new iPad Pro and Apple Pencil models. Bloomberg reports that while Apple plans to eventually bring OLED displays to the iPad Air, the base iPad is expected to stick with LCD screens.