Apple’s first water-resistant iPad may arrive in October

Apple’s next iPad mini could become the company’s first tablet with a water-resistant design, with launch timing now expected by October.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported last year that Apple is developing a redesigned casing offering protection comparable to the iPhone. That would make the iPad mini suitable for casual use in wet areas such as bathrooms and poolside spaces. No current iPad has an official water-resistance rating, and Apple does not consider existing models safe to get wet.

How the iPad mini could resist water

Apple has reportedly designed a vibration-based speaker system that removes the need for conventional speaker holes. Sound would be emitted from flat sections of the tablet’s chassis, turning parts of the body into a speaker diaphragm while eliminating a major entry point for water and dust.

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The approach differs from the iPhone’s design, which uses adhesives and gaskets to seal speaker openings and other potential ingress points. The eventual IP rating for the iPad mini is not known. The iPhone is rated IP68 and can withstand submersion in water up to six meters deep for 30 minutes.

Apple has been working toward this technology for years. A 2014 patent describes a “mechanically actuated panel acoustic system” that vibrates flat panels to produce sound without speaker grilles.

A sealed iPad mini would also remove one of the practical advantages held by dedicated e-readers. Devices such as the Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Libra Color are rated to survive immersion, making them better suited to reading in a bath or beside a pool.

OLED display and processor upgrade

Gurman recently said Apple plans to release the new iPad mini by October. Korean outlet ETNews reported in June that Samsung Display had begun mass production of OLED panels for the device, supporting that launch window.

The tablet is expected to receive at least four major changes this year. Its move to OLED would make the mini the second iPad line to use the technology after the iPad Pro, bringing higher contrast, true blacks, and improved power efficiency compared with the LCD panel in the iPad mini 7.

A Korean source said earlier this month that the display will be an 8.4-inch LTPS panel running at 60Hz, which would rule out ProMotion. Apple is also reportedly planning a “major processor leap.” Code accidentally published by Apple pointed to the A19 Pro chip used in the iPhone Air, while evidence in a macOS kernel debug kit suggested the unreleased A20 Pro.

Apple last updated the iPad mini in October 2024 with the A17 Pro chip and Apple Intelligence support. The tablet now starts at $599 after the company’s sweeping price increases in June. Gurman previously suggested the OLED model could cost up to $100 more, although that estimate predates the June increases.