Could Apple’s Next iPad Be Water Resistant?
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If recent rumors are accurate, Apple has only one more iPad on deck for 2026, but it may be packing in some nice surprises. Last week, we shared news that a new iPad mini is on track for October, and while the consensus is that it will finally move to an OLED display, Apple may have another first lined up for its next tablet.
Although we haven’t heard any recent confirmation of this, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported last year that Apple was testing “a redesigned casing for the iPad mini that’s water-resistant.”
While iPhone models have been certified to varying degrees of water resistance for years, no iPad has ever carried an ingress protection (IP) rating. That doesn’t mean an iPad mini can’t survive if it takes a dip, but Apple hasn’t designed or tested it for this purpose.
One significant obstacle to waterproofing an iPad has traditionally been that it’s full of holes — specifically for the speaker grilles. To that end, Apple has reportedly been testing a new speaker system that uses “vibration-related technology” to eliminate extra ways for water to get inside. There would still be a USB-C port to deal with, of course, but that’s easy enough to seal up, and Apple already eliminated the headphone jack years ago.
Although the iPhone manages to achieve an IP68 rating without losing the speaker holes, Apple needs to use gaskets and adhesives to prevent water from getting in. That’s more challenging on the larger iPad models, which offer larger stereo speakers. For example, the current iPad mini has four sets of holes, with as many as ten in a single bank.
To be clear, there’s no word on what the IP rating may be — or even if Apple plans to follow through with this plan. While Gurman more recently said it would be “the biggest overhaul to the iPad mini in half a decade,” he made no comment at all on potential water resistance.
Instead, he focused on the OLED screen and a “major processor leap,” both of which are understandably much more exciting upgrades. After all, for most folks, a glorious high-contrast screen and faster performance beats the ability to take an iPad for a swim.
There’s still no firm consensus on the type of OLED screen or processor we’ll see in the new iPad mini. The processor is a bit easier to guess at — an A19 Pro seems like the safest guess, although we can’t rule out Apple deciding to move it to the front of the line by putting in the same A20 Pro chip that will power the iPhone 18 Pro lineup. Even an M-series chip, while a stretch, isn’t entirely out of the question.
As for the display, while some had hoped Apple would go with ProMotion, most reports we’ve seen over the past few years have suggested Apple will stick with a 60 Hz OLED panel, saving the 120 Hz ProMotion for the flagship iPad Pro, as it once did with its iPhone lineup.
It wasn’t until last year that the standard iPhone model finally joined the iPhone Pro display club, getting the same 120 Hz Always-On display that had been standard on the flagship models since 2022. That provides some hope that the iPad mini could follow suit eventually, but it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see Apple stick with 60 Hz for the first round, especially considering the fight it’s currently waging against rising memory and storage prices.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]
