Why is the iPad Mini more expensive than the iPad?

Apple sells four different iPad lines: the base iPad, mini, Air, and Pro. While the company typically offers its products with a smaller screen at a cheaper price, there’s actually a $150 price difference between the iPad mini and the base iPad — and the smaller tablet is the more expensive. The reason behind this is that Apple is not offering the iPad mini as an entry-level product, but rather as a high-performance niche device in an easier-to-hold form factor.

Over the years, the iPad mini has evolved from just a small-format iPad to a completely redesigned premium experience, starting with the iPad mini 6. In its seventh generation, this tablet now features the powerful A17 Pro chip, which was the same one available with the iPhone 15 Pro, 8 GB of RAM and is Apple Intelligence compatible.

The base iPad, meanwhile, features the A16 chip, first introduced in 2022, has less RAM, and is currently the only Apple tablet that doesn’t support AI features. Still, that’s just the beginning of why the iPad mini is more expensive than the regular iPad, as there are several other benefits that make the iPad mini a better choice for a certain audience of creatives, journalists, and other niches who could use a smaller form factor with powerful capabilities.

Besides the internal specifications, the iPad mini has a better screen than the regular iPad. For example, Apple offers broad P3 color support, while the cheaper version offers sRGB color. An anti-reflective coating is also an advantage of the mini. These display features make the iPad more color accurate and more interesting for those who need a suitable screen for drawing, coloring a picture, etc.

Another thing that makes this iPad much more professional is support for the Apple Pencil Pro. While this more expensive stylus is also available for the latest iPad Air models, it’s worth noting that Apple is still limiting support for the base model iPad, which can only use the standard USB-C accessory. With this, users of the cheaper product lose hover support and a more precise drawing and handwriting experience.

The iPad mini also has improved WI-Fi capabilities with support for Wi-Fi 6E, while the base model uses Wi-Fi 6. Combining all of this with support for Apple Intelligence, the iPad mini becomes a more attractive choice, as the current offering has limited specifications. However, one thing that is important to note is that Apple fortunately offers the same storage capacities for both tablets, ranging from 128 GB to 256 GB and 512 GB. Previous versions of these tablets offered 64 GB of storage, which was insufficient to update the system to a new software version.

The last time the iPad mini was updated was in late 2024, and the base iPad was refreshed in early 2025. That said, these devices should both get significant upgrades. For the base model, Apple has reportedly introduced a higher-performance A18 or A19 chip, not only bringing a big leap in performance to this tablet, but also adding support for Apple Intelligence. The company’s custom Wi-Fi and 5G chips should also be available in this model, making it a more solid choice for anyone on a budget, but still a great option.

However, even though the base iPad seems like a better deal, Apple also has big plans for the iPad mini, as it’s expected to be upgraded with an OLED display (marking yet another premium feature over the rest of the iPad lineup), the A19 Pro chip, and possibly 12GB of RAM to run Apple’s latest and greatest AI models directly on the device.

The latest rumors also suggest that the iPad mini could benefit from a slightly larger screen and a water-resistant design, as Apple plans to replace the current speaker with a vibration-based system. With a complete redesign since the iPad mini 6, this new tablet could become more expensive due to the OLED screen and other components costing more. Still, even when these two tablets are upgraded, the iPad mini will continue to focus on a more specific audience, while the base model will attract more people.