Leak shows a new iPad mini is on the way, even after Apple’s folding iPhone

• September 27, 2026

• An 8th-gen iPad mini has appeared in Apple code
• The device could launch as soon as next month
• It might be joined by an updated HomePod mini

Does the official arrival of the iPhone Duo mean the iPad mini will be quietly retired? Not according to fresh Apple leaks that suggest the smallest iPad in the range will be getting a refreshed model sooner rather than later.

This will be the iPad mini 8 if you’re keeping count, the successor to the iPad mini 7 that launched in October 2024, and references to it have been spotted in Apple code by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris.

The code reveals a couple of images of the upcoming iPad mini, with a landscape front-facing camera that puts it in line with the other iPads, and a small groove cut out of the top of the display glass, which is likely to be for a speaker.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the device could launch next month, matching the October scheduling for several previous iPad mini models. One of the upgrades we’re expecting this time around is with water resistance.

Another HomePod mini is coming too

Of course, this will be the first iPad mini to launch in the era of the iPhone Duo, leading one Redditor to describe it as the ‘iPhone Duo: unfoldable edition’. The 7th-gen iPad mini’s screen measures 8.3 inches, while the iPhone Duo’s main display is a similar 7.6 inches.

It seems there’s still going to be space in the market for both of them — not least because the iPhone Duo’s price starts at $1,999 / £1,999 / AU$3,499 (with 256GB of storage), while for the current iPad mini it’s $599 / £599 / AU$949 (with 128GB of storage).

In further Apple rumor news, the same combination — hidden Apple code found by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris — has turned up some potential new colors for the HomePod mini 2: green, pink, blue, white, and black.

That’s quite the departure from the current range (yellow, orange, blue, white, and midnight), and again an October launch is likely. The first HomePod mini was unveiled all the way back in October 2020.

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An 8th-gen iPad mini has appeared in Apple code The device could launch as soon as next month It might be joined by an updated HomePod mini Does the official arrival of the iPhone Duo mean the iPad mini will be quietly retired? Not according to fresh Apple leaks that…