Which Samsung Galaxy Tablet Is The Equivalent To The New Apple iPad Mini OLED?

Apple announced a new iPad Mini on October 26, 2026. It will feature an 8.5-inch OLED screen and run on the A20 Pro chip. Apple also apparently managed to get the iPad Mini down to 0.21 inches thick while giving it an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance. Apple's Dave Pakula called the new iPad Mini "a huge leap forward for users who love having the full iPad experience in the palm of their hand."

The new iPad Mini starts at $699 for the Wi-Fi model, while the iPad Mini with the A17 Pro started at $499 when Apple released it in 2024. Pre-orders open on October 28, 2026, and the iPad Mini will hit store shelves on November 6, 2026. There were already a few reasons why the iPad Mini is more expensive than the iPad before this update, but a $200 price increase on top of that is a lot to ask from people who just want a small tablet.

If you're looking to go with something other than an iPad Mini, the closest Samsung tablet is the Galaxy Tab S11, which Samsung released in September 2025. Samsung does have newer tablets, but the Galaxy Tab S12 lineup only includes the Tab S12 Plus and Tab S12 Ultra, with 12.6-inch and 14.6-inch screens. The Galaxy Tab S11 is a bit bigger than the iPad Mini, thanks to its 11-inch screen. However, it is the smallest flagship tablet that Samsung offers right now.

The Galaxy Tab S11 has an 11-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 120 Hz refresh rate and up to 1,600 nits of peak brightness. The iPad Mini's 8.5-inch OLED display reaches 1,200 nits but only for HDR content, and Apple doesn't list a refresh rate for the iPad Mini on its spec page. Apple did say the new iPad Mini's peak brightness is more than two times higher than the last iPad Mini, so anyone upgrading from an older iPad Mini should still notice the new screen right away.

Size is where the iPad Mini makes the most sense, though. The iPad Mini weighs just under 8 ounces and the Galaxy Tab S11 weighs 1.06 pounds, which is close to twice as much. We called the last iPad Mini the best ultra-compact tablet there is in our iPad Mini (2024) review, and Apple says the new iPad Mini is even easier to carry around. The Galaxy Tab S11, on the other hand, isn't really built for holding in one hand for a long time due to its larger size.

However, the Galaxy Tab S11 does come with an S Pen in the box, along with 12 GB of RAM and a microSD slot for up to 2 TB of extra storage. So, if you care about stylus support, then it might be a solid choice instead, as while the Apple Pencil Pro can work with the iPad Mini, it does cost $129 on its own, which might be a dealbreaker for some.

Performance isn't something we can compare directly yet, since nobody has published benchmarks for the new iPad Mini. However, we can get an idea since the iPhone 18 Pro uses the same A20 Pro. The Galaxy Tab S11 scores around 2,776 in single-core and 8,811 in multi-core testing on Geekbench 6 with the MediaTek Dimensity 9400+. Meanwhile, the iPhone 18 Pro scores roughly 4,735 in single-core and 12,800 in multi-core testing on the same benchmark with the A20 Pro.

However, it is important to note that not every iPad Mini will get the same A20 Pro. The 128 GB and 256 GB iPad Mini models have a five-core CPU, while the 512 GB iPad Mini will ship with a six-core CPU — the same number as the iPhone 18 Pro. This means the exact performance output might differ depending on the other components used in the iPad Mini and which variation you buy.

The Galaxy Tab S11 launched at $799.99, which is $100 more than the new iPad Mini, but Samsung's tablet has been out for over a year and may be easy to find for a discounted price. If you're after something bigger, the Tab S11 Ultra is the Galaxy tablet equivalent to the iPad Pro. For the iPad Mini, it does seem like size and whether you care about what OS you're using are going to be the big deciding factors for most people. If you specifically want a small tablet in the Apple ecosystem, then the iPad Mini is a clear choice. However, the Galaxy Tab S11 might make more sense if you don't want to pay extra for a stylus and prefer a larger display and the more flexible Android OS.