An internal leak of iOS 26 revealed a large amount of information about upcoming Apple products, the most prominent of which was the expected eighth generation iPad mini, which is expected to come with higher performance than previous expectations indicated, which enhances its appeal to fans of small-sized tablets.
Leaks that appeared at the end of last month indicated that the new iPad mini relies on a much more powerful processor than the A17 Pro found in the current generation, specifically the A19 Pro processor used in modern iPhone Pro phones.
In itself, this would have been a huge jump in performance, especially since the A19 Pro is about 20% to 30% faster than the A17 Pro. However, according to the leak of the internal version of iOS 26, it seems that Apple is planning a bigger step, as information published by leaker Kang on Weibo indicates that the iPad mini 8 will work with the A20 Pro processor instead.
Apple is expected to adopt the A20 Pro processor in the next generation of its phones, including the iPhone 18 series and the upcoming foldable phone. This processor will also be manufactured with a precision of 2 nanometers, which is the first time that Apple has used this technology, which may translate into an increase in performance of up to 15% and an improvement in energy efficiency of up to 30% compared to A19 processors built with a precision of 3 nanometers. Thus, it seems that the iPad mini 8 is heading to be a small device with very strong performance capabilities.
In addition to the significant upgrade in the processor, the leaks indicate that the device will be equipped with an 8.5-inch OLED screen, with a refresh rate of 60 Hz. As for the launch date, expectations suggest that the device will arrive during the third quarter of 2026, which means that the final specifications may be subject to change.
As usual, Apple has not officially confirmed any of this information yet, so these details remain within the framework of leaks until an official announcement is made.
