iPad mini 8 review: OLED and 5.4mm body, but 60Hz holds it back

Apple's eighth-generation iPad mini is 5.4mm thick, weighs 255 grams, and still ships with a 60Hz display — a refresh rate that stutters on a device starting at £699. That single omission is the story of this release, because nearly everything else about the tablet moved forward.

The upgrade lands during what Creative Bloq's Design Editor Daniel John calls an uncharacteristic experimentation phase at Apple. "From folding iPhones to touchscreen MacBooks, the company is suddenly dropping innovative products rather than incremental upgrades," he writes. The iPad mini isn't the flashiest 2026 release, but for a narrow group of users, he argues it may be the best iPad yet.

What changed in the 8th generation?

Three hardware shifts define the update:

• An OLED display, which John describes as brighter, crisper and more vibrant than any previous iPad mini screen, with "bright colours and inky blacks"
• A thinner, lighter chassis — the source of the review's most practical praise
• A new A20 Pro chip, shared with the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo

The weight loss sounds cosmetic. It isn't. John's framing is straightforward: your best iPad is the one you have with you, and a tablet you can sling into a tote bag gets carried. At 255 grams, the mini now sits closer to a large phone than a Pro tablet in hand feel.

The OLED panel earns specific attention for creative work. John notes that a bright, colour-accurate screen is a must for creatives, and the smallest iPad now delivers one. He stops short of calling it class-leading — it doesn't match the new MacBook Pro's ProLED XDR display — but for a device this size, the gap between spec sheet and daily use has narrowed considerably.

How does the A20 Pro perform?

Speed and efficiency, per the review. John reports roughly ten hours of use on a single charge. That's a full working day away from an outlet on a chip that also powers Apple's flagship phones — no small feat for a chassis this thin, where battery volume is the tightest constraint.

Audio improved too. Apple placed the speakers underneath the panel, branding the arrangement an "acoustic display." The result, in John's words, is "powerfully punchy audio for a tablet so small." It's a mechanical change worth noting: relocating drivers frees the chassis edges while keeping output loud enough for media work.

Why does 60Hz matter at this price?

Here the review turns blunt. "In this day and age, a 60hz refresh rate feels slow and stuttering on any device, let alone one that starts at £699," John writes. Apple's 120Hz ProMotion technology already ships across most of its product line, including larger iPads. Its absence here is especially striking given the scale of the other updates — and the price increase that came with them.

Scrolling is where users feel it. A 60Hz panel redraws the screen half as often as a 120Hz one, which translates into visibly choppier text movement during reading and navigation. Reddit reaction, John notes, has not been kind.

Who should buy it?

The verdict is conditional. If you already favour the mini form factor and can absorb the cost, the 8th generation is a winner — John finds the OLED screen and the weight reduction add up to a meaningfully enhanced experience rather than a spec-sheet refresh. If ProMotion matters to you, wait.

His closing line points at the next cycle: give the mini a 120Hz display, and the 9th generation might be the perfect tiny tablet. On the evidence of this release, the remaining gap between very good and perfect is now exactly one component wide.