AirPods 5 and OLED iPad mini tablet set to join Apple's fall launch roster

Apple has a busy fall ahead of it, and the device announcements won't end with the September 9 event revolving around the foldable iPhone Ultra and the iPhone 18 series.

Apart from the new Watch Series 12 and the Watch Ultra 4 models, Apple is reportedly bringing a new AirPods 5 generation to the listening masses. The world's most popular wireless earbuds will be paired with the iPhone 18 announcement on September 9, while the rumored AirPods Pro with AI-assisted cameras would only launch in 2027.

AirPods 5 price and release date to expect

If Apple follows its usual pattern, the AirPods 5 preorders should open on the announcement day, September 9, with availability of the earbuds and the iPhone 18 series scheduled around September 18.

These will be direct successors to the AirPods 4, with two models again, one with active noise cancellation (ANC) and one without. New microphone and acoustic upgrades borrowed from the Pro line could follow, and they will be aimed at better call clarity and Siri accuracy.

There have been some rumors that the AirPods 5 will finally include Bluetooth LE Audio, and these are all the upgrades to expect, as the 2026 AirPods are likely to keep their current price of $129 for the standard AirPods 5 and $179 for the AirPods 5 with ANC. It might not be by accident then that the AirPods 4 have been given a timely 25% discount on Amazon ahead of the AirPods 5 launch.

AirPods were spared a price hike when Apple raised prices on many products in June due to higher memory costs, which is part of why there's a decent chance AirPods 5 prices will stay in line with the current generation. If Apple uses a new H3 audio chip in the AirPods 5, however, as some leaks suggest, it will have all the justification it needs for a price bump.

OLED iPad mini launch

Another popular Apple device lineup will also get a new entrant with the fall announcement roster. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterates that Apple will launch the first iPad mini with an OLED display in October, perhaps with just a press release rather than a separate event.

Reports from Korean media suggest that Samsung Display has been producing the iPad mini 8 OLED displays for a few weeks already, reiterating that a fall launch is coming indeed. Besides sporting higher contrast and wider color gamut coverage, the iPad mini 8 OLED screen might come with a slightly longer diagonal thanks to the reduced bezels.

Apple is also expected to upgrade the OLED iPad mini from the current A17 Pro chip to the A19 Pro processor in the iPhone Air, rather than the top-shelf variant it reserved for the iPhone 17 Pro. The iPad mini 8 could also sport a Wi-Fi 7 chip and longer battery life thanks to a more efficient OLED display. Those display, processing power, and connectivity upgrades might result in an iPad mini 8 price that is higher than the current $499 starting tag, too.