The sixth-generation iPad Mini (stylized and marketed as iPad mini and colloquially referred to as iPad Mini 6) is a

tablet computer A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being compu ...

in the

iPad Mini The iPad Mini (branded and marketed as iPad mini) is a line of mini tablet computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a sub-series of the iPad line of tablets, with screen sizes of 7.9 inches and 8.3 inches. The first-g ...

line, designed, developed and marketed by

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...

It was announced on September 14, 2021, and released on September 24, 2021, alongside the ninth-generation iPad,

iPhone 13 The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini (stylized as iPhone 13 mini) are smartphones designed, developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. They are the fifteenth generation of iPhones (succeeding the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini respectively). They ...

and

iPhone 13 Pro The iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max are smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the flagship smartphones in the fifteenth generation of the iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max respective ...

. Its predecessor, the fifth-generation iPad Mini, was discontinued on the same day. It is available in four colors: Space Gray, Starlight, Pink, and Purple. It is the first major redesign of the iPad Mini, and resembles the fourth-generation iPad Air in design and with its top button Touch ID (removing the home button), with a larger 8.3-inch display,

USB-C USB-C (properly known as USB Type-C) is a 24-pin USB connector system with a rotationally symmetrical connector. The designation C refers only to the connector's physical configuration or form factor and should not be confused with the conn ...

port (replacing the Lightning port), and support for the second-generation Apple Pencil.

Features

Hardware

It is the first redesign of the iPad Mini since the

iPad Mini 4 The iPad Mini 4 (stylized and marketed as iPad mini 4) is the fourth-generation iPad Mini tablet computer designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced along with the iPad Pro on September 9, 2015, and released the same day. ...

in 2015, and the first major redesign since its introduction in 2012. Externally, it is essentially a smaller version of the 4th-generation iPad Air and third-generation and newer

iPad Pro The iPad Pro is a premium model of Apple's iPad tablet computer. It runs iPadOS, a tablet-optimized version of the iOS operating system. The original iPad Pro was introduced in September 2015, and ran iOS 9. The second-generation iPad ...

. It lacks a Smart Connector for a keyboard, likely due to its smaller size. Internally, it has an A15 Bionic SoC which is underclocked to 2.92 GHz instead of the iPhone models' 3.23 GHz. The chip has a six-core CPU, a 5-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine. It has an 8.3-inch 2266x1488 Liquid Retina display, taller and slightly narrower than previous models while maintaining the pixel density of 326 PPI, which is the same on all iPhones with Retina LCDs since the

iPhone 4 The iPhone 4 is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the fourth generation of the iPhone lineup, succeeding the iPhone 3GS and preceding the 4S. Following a number of notable leaks, the iPhone 4 was first unvei ...

, excluding the Plus models. The display is laminated and has an anti-reflective coating, as well as wide color and True Tone. A 12 MP front camera was implemented in the iPad, replacing the older 7 MP camera, and features the Center Stage technology that detects the user and moves the camera view accordingly during video recording and video calls using on-device processing, while the rear camera is upgraded to 12 MP with a True Tone flash and 4K video recording at up to 60fps, replacing the 8 MP camera, which the module is identical to the third-generation iPad Pro. The Home Button is removed, with the Touch ID sensor relocated to the Sleep/Wake button. The volume control buttons have been moved to the top edge of the device to accommodate the second-generation Apple Pencil. Landscape stereo audio effect is also added to the system's audio recording system.

Connectivity

The sixth-generation iPad Mini discontinues the proprietary Lightning port in favor of a universal USB-C port that is used for charging as well as connecting external devices and accessories. All models have Bluetooth 5.0 and

Wi-Fi 6 IEEE 802.11ax, officially marketed by the Wi-Fi Alliance as (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) and (6 GHz), is an IEEE standard for wireless local-area networks (WLANs) and the successor of 802.11ac. It is also known as ''High Efficiency'' , fo ...

(802.11ax) wireless capabilities while the cellular models supports 5G connectivity but it lacks

mmWave Extremely high frequency (EHF) is the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) designation for the band of radio frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum from 30 to 300 gigahertz (GHz). It lies between the super high frequency band and the ...

support unlike the

iPad Pro (5th generation) The iPad Pro is a premium model of Apple's iPad tablet computer. It runs iPadOS, a tablet-optimized version of the iOS operating system. The original iPad Pro was introduced in September 2015, and ran iOS 9. The second-generation iPad ...

Accessories

It is only compatible with the second generation of

Apple Pencil Apple Pencil is a line of wireless stylus pen accessories designed and developed by Apple Inc. for use with supported iPad tablets. The first-generation Apple Pencil was announced alongside the first iPad Pro on September 9, 2015. It communic ...

, but not compatible for Magic Keyboard for iPad or Smart Keyboard Folio, likely due to the small size.

Reception

This model received a very positive reception, noting a new design was long overdue and felt 5G was a nice surprise, with Jason Perlow from Zdnet calling it "Apple's most exciting new product in years".

Timeline

References

{{S-end Mini 6 IOS Tablet computers Touchscreen portable media players Tablet computers introduced in 2021