New iPad Mini Leaks
By: Robert C.
Tags: Science, Programming, Productivity, Apple, Technology

Let’s get into the latest leaks and everything we know so far about the iPad Mini 6 launch date and everything else you should expect in terms of the price, specs, performance, etc.

In 2020, we‘ve had updates to the iPad Pro’s in March, the iPad Air with the redesign, and the 8th generation regular iPad with an upgraded processor inside it. This means all the iPads have been updated recently, except the iPad Mini line.

The iPad Mini was last updated over 18 months ago in March 2019. It got an upgrade of an A12 Bionic processor, some camera upgrades, and also a true tone screen. These upgrades were great at the time, but 18 months later it is already showing its age again.

The Mini line really is in need of an upgrade now. As the newest iPad 8th generation is just as fast now with that A12 processor and it’s actually cheaper than the latest iPad Mini by around $70. With all of this being said, I do believe that the newest iPad mini won’t have a 2020 release date to start with.

Apple recently did an iPad and Watch virtual event in September, and if the iPad Mini 6 was going to have an upgrade, it would’ve been at this point. This means that the release date of the iPad Mini 6 will most likely be March of 2021. This falls in line with most other iPads in recent years, where they have come out in October or March time. For example, the iPad Pro was released on March 25th, 2020, the iPad Air 3 and the last iPad Mini 5 came out on March 18th, 2019.

I hope you’re getting the picture, we’ll most likely see this iPad in mid to late March 2021.

Price

As far as price is concerned, we’re looking towards the iPad Mini 5 pricing model. You can get the current 5th generation iPad Mini for $399 if you opt for the basic 6Gb model. A 256Gb version is available too + one with cellular connectivity. I expect the prices to rise a little bit if some of the rumors I’m gonna be talking about do turn out to be true.

Rumors breakdown

The biggest rumor so far, as you can see in the rendered picture above is that we may get a whole new redesigned iPad Mini. This iPad Mini would be the first one to have a whole new design since it first came out in 2012. The rumors are saying that the iPad Mini 6 will have the same design as the iPad Pro, giving it that more sleek look. This would include far smaller bezels, the removal of the home button in favor of gesture control, and also Face ID.

It makes sense for Apple to make its iPad line look very similar, just like the full iMac line or the MacBook line looks also quite similar as well.

One leak that seems to be clear is that the iPad Mini 6 could come in a slightly larger screen, and this would be an 8.5-inch size. For reference, all previous iPad Minis including the latest five, have featured a 7.9-inch display.

Ming-Chi Kuo (a credible leaker) predicts the display will be either 8.5 or 9-inches. The move doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll have to squeeze a larger tablet into our bags as Apple has increased the displays of its iPad before by simply slimming down the bezels, just like the iPad 7th generation that came with a 10.2-inch screen instead of a 9.7-inch screen but the overall dimensions remained the same.

Another rumor is that this new iPad will be getting a mini LED makeover. These new displays would replace the LCDs in the products and would offer an experience more akin to an LED that we currently get in the iPhone 11 Pro models. It is likely that the iPad Mini 6 will also feature that new A14 Bionic chip that we recently got in the iPhone 12, but RAM size will probably get the same as the normal iPhone 12 models (not the Pro models) — that would be about 4Gb.

For storage, we’re expecting the minimum to be either 64Gb or 128Gb. Latest leaks and rumors have shown that the iPhone 12 is starting at 128Gb, so it is likely that the Mini will also start at that size.

Apple Pencil support was also added to the latest version and it’ll likely stick around for the 2021 model, too.

Another rumor suggests that the iPad Mini 6 might stick with the lighting port rather than jumping to the USB-C standard you find across the iPad Pro range. Apple gave the Pro a USB-C as it’s meant to be more of a laptop replacement device as well as work with pro apps. However, we did get a surprise with the iPad Air this year, and that now it has a USB-C port, but the new Air is a high-end iPad, just sitting under the iPad Pro whereas the Mini is more of a mid-range iPad. Personally, I believe it will be sticking with a lightning port.