The new iPad mini supports fast charging, reaching up to 50 percent in around 30 minutes. That figure needs a USB-C power adapter rated at 35W or higher, and those are sold separately.
Apple announced the iPad mini with a 20W USB-C power adapter and a 1-meter USB-C charge cable in the box. It goes on sale Friday, November 6, with pre-orders opening at 10:10 a.m. PT on Wednesday, October 28.
The 50 Percent Figure Needs a 35W Adapter or Higher
Apple tested with its 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max and its 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter. The outlet had to support up to 1.5A at 100 to 240V.
The test started with a drained iPad mini, and the clock ran from the moment the Apple logo appeared at startup. Charge time varies with settings and environmental factors.
The Box Includes a 20W Adapter, So the Faster Charge Costs Extra
Because the 50 percent claim applies to 35W or higher, buyers who want the quoted speed need a separate adapter. The built-in battery is 18.9 watt-hours, and Apple rates it for up to 10 hours of web browsing on Wi-Fi or video playback and up to 9 hours of browsing on cellular for the Wi-Fi + Cellular models.
Those numbers come from a full-discharge test at 50 percent brightness with a looped 2-hour 23-minute movie and 20 popular web pages, and the cellular figure assumes LTE and 5G carrier networks. All other settings were default except Wi-Fi association, with Ask to Join Networks and Auto-Brightness turned off and WPA2 encryption on. The iPad mini can also charge from a computer over USB-C.
Optimized Battery Charging learns your charging habits and delays the final charge from 80 percent to 100 percent until you are likely to need it. Apple points to it for long-term battery health.
The iPad Air with M4 ships with the same 20W USB-C power adapter, and its 11-inch model has a 28.93-watt-hour battery against 18.9 watt-hours on the iPad mini. Both are rated for up to 10 hours of web browsing on Wi-Fi.
The Same USB-C Port Handles DisplayPort and USB 3 Speeds
The USB-C port supports charging, DisplayPort and USB 3 transfers up to 10Gb/s. It drives one external display at up to 4K and 60Hz, and iPadOS 27.2 adds extended display mode for windowed apps on that screen.
Charging is one of several upgrades on the OLED iPad mini with A20 Pro, which starts at $699 for the Wi-Fi model and $849 for Wi-Fi + Cellular in the US. Education pricing starts at $649.
