After waiting two and a half years since the last update, a completely redesigned iPad mini has officially arrived alongside the iPhone 13. The exciting overhaul of Apple’s compact tablet comes with a larger screen design , USB-C, A15 Bionic chip, camera upgrades, 5G, Apple Pencil Gen 2 compatibility and more. Read on for a detailed look at the new iPad mini versus the iPad mini 5 and iPad Air.
In recent years, the iPad mini has shown its age more than ever, as it has maintained the same design as more or less since 2012, while the iPad Pro and iPad Air have evolved with buttonless designs full screen and homemade with flat edges.
In an exciting move, Apple took the iPad mini to the future with its sixth-generation version that took on most of the big improvements we’ve seen coming to modern iPad Pro and Air devices.
We delve into everything you get with the new iPad mini. In case you are also considering the iPad Air 4, we will include it in the following comparisons. And if you separate the iPad Air and the iPad Pro, we also have a detailed detail of these devices:
New iPad mini vs iPad mini 5 and iPad Air
CPU / GPU, RAM, etc.
Interestingly, as the iPad Air 4 skipped the iPad Pro a bit with the A14 chip compared to the A12Z (in some respects), the new sixth-generation iPad mini does the same with the iPad Air with the chip A15 Bionic. The A14 and A15 don’t seem to be much different, but the new iPad mini also gains features like Center Stage and 5G that the iPad Air doesn’t have (more info below).
But the A15 circles the A12 Bionic that was on the iPad mini 5. Here’s how Apple describes the performance jump:
The 6-core CPU offers 40% performance in performance and the 5-core GPU offers 80% graphics performance compared to the previous generation iPad mini.
iPad mini 6 | iPad mini 5 | iPad Air 4 | |
Chip | A15 Bionic | A12 Bionic | A14 Bionic |
CPU cores | 6 | 6 | 6 |
GPU cores | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Storage | 64 or 256 GB | 64 or 256 GB | 64 or 256 GB |
RAM | 4GB? | 3 GB | 4GB |
Visualization
Since Apple has adopted the design of almost every screen for the iPad mini, you’ll get a bigger screen that actually comes with a smaller footprint than the iPad mini 5.
There is no ProMotion, as it is only on the iPad Pro. But otherwise, you will get an impressive Liquid Retina display which is the largest of the iPad mini.
The pixels per inch remain the same at 326, which is higher than the 264 on the iPad Air and the brightness stays at 500 nights.
iPad mini 6 | iPad mini 5 | iPad Air 4 | |
Visualization | 8.3 | 7.9 | ,9 10.9 |
Resolution | 2266 x 1488 | 2048 x 1536 | 2360 x 1640 |
PPI (pixels per inch) | 326 | 326 | 264 |
Screen brightness | 500 | 500 | 500 |
To be true | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
P3 wide color | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
ProMotion (120Hz) | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Anti-reflective coating | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Liquid retina display | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
IS
Another big news is the transition from Lightning to USB-C. This opens up the possibility of using the range of hubs and USB-C accessories, external drives and more.
Other I / O enhancements include Wi-Fi 6, support for Apple Pencil gen 2, 5G, and Touch ID that are now on the top button.
iPad mini 6 | iPad mini 5 | iPad Air 4 | |
USB-C | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6 (axis) | Wi-Fi 5 (ac) | Wi-Fi 6 (axis) |
Bluetooth | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
Cellular | 5G | 4G | 4G |
Touch ID | Top button | On the home button | Top button |
Apple pencil | 2nd generation | 1st generation | 2nd generation |
Cameras
The new iPad mini 6 surprised with some great camera improvements. By skipping the iPad Air again, the iPad mini gets the ultra-wide front-facing camera with automatic center Stage tracking.
You also have a 12 MP wide rear lens, now with a flash. Other features include an expanded dynamic range and 4K video.
iPad mini 6 | iPad mini 5 | iPad Air 4 | |
12 MP wide lens | ✅ | ❌ (8 MP) | ✅ |
4K video | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
Opening | f1.8 | f2.4 | f1.8 |
Extended dynamic range | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Video slo-mo | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Rear camera flash | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Front camera / FaceTime | 12 MP ultra wide | 7 MP | 7 MP |
Front camera reduces 2x | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Automatic monitoring of the central phase | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Colors, dimensions, battery
Interesting colors this time, with stellar light replacing silver and pink and purple that unite space gray.
In terms of weight, the iPad mini 6 is the same as its 0.65-pound predecessor and, for dimensions, has a smaller footprint with 7.69 “tall vs. 8.0” for the iPad mini 5. Battery life remains the same until “10 hours”.
iPad mini 6 | iPad mini 5 | iPad Air 4 | |
Colours | Space gray, pink, purple, starlight | Space gray, silver, gold | Space gray, silver, rose gold, gray, sky blue |
Weight | 0.65 lbs (293 grams) | 300.5 grams | 1 pound (458 grams) |
Height | 7.69 ″ (195.4 mm) | 8.0 ″ (203.2 mm) | 9.74 “(247.6 mm) |
Width | 5.3 ″ (134.8 mm) | 5.3 ″ (134.8 mm) | 7.02 ″ (178.5 mm) |
Thick | 0.25 ″ (6.3 mm) | 0.24 ″ (6.1 mm) | 0.24 ″ (6.1 mm) |
Battery life | Up to 10 hours web / video | Up to 10 hours web / video | Up to 10 hours web / video |
Price and storage
The storage options are the same as we saw with the iPad mini 5 and also match the iPad Air 4. In terms of price, there is an increase of $ 100 ($ 120 for mobile), but without you will definitely get a lot of dollars.
iPad mini 6 | iPad mini 5 | iPad Air 4 | |
64 GB WiFi | $ 499 | $ 399 | $ 599 |
64 GB + cell | $ 649 | $ 529 | $ 729 |
256 GB WiFi | $ 649 | $ 549 | $ 749 |
256 GB + cell | $ 799 | $ 679 | $ 879 |
New iPad mini vs iPad mini 5 i Air wrap-up
For some, the new launch of the iPad mini at Apple’s event in September overshadowed the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro with a big, long-awaited overhaul that would hit Apple’s most portable tablet.
Even though you have a more expensive starting price of $ 499, you really get a lot of money with the completely new display and design, USB-C, A15 chip, 5G option, upgraded cameras, including automatic Center Stage features. -tracking, and more.
Are you planning to upgrade to the new iPad mini? Orders are now open with the first devices arriving to customers starting the week of September 20th.
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