The iPad mini had never changed since its very first generation. The sixth is finally placed under the sign of rupture. Like the iPad Pro and iPad Air before it, the small tablet abandons the Home button and hugs the flat edges.
In five generations, the very popular iPad mini, a fairly new format tablet on the market, had not changed. For the sixth, Apple finally decides to give a new face to its slate. Officialized during the back-to-school keynote, the iPad mini 6 takes over the design introduced by the iPad Pro, since taken over by the iPad Air and the latest iPhones (that is to say with flat edges).
We then end up with an iPad Air with a shrunken silhouette, or a tablet without any home button allowing to have an edge-to-edge screen. This aesthetic change gives the iPad mini a finally larger screen: we go from a diagonal of 7.9 to 8.3 inches, with True Tune technology (adaptation of colors according to the ambient light). With this enlarged display surface despite its still small dimensions, the iPad mini will offer better comfort for the eyes.
No Face ID for iPad mini
The iPad mini is not considered a premium product for Apple. Therefore, like the iPad Air, it does not have the right to unlock by facial recognition (Face ID). How to open your iPad mini without Face ID or Home button? Thanks to Touch ID, relocated to the ignition button (like… the iPad Air). The small tablet does not inherit either the overpowered M1 chip, reserved for products more focused on productivity (iMac, iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air). We still find a chip largely sufficient to run all the applications of the moment, supported by the Neural Engine. At the rear, there is a 12 megapixel sensor, just like at the front. The speakers promise stereo rendering.
Since the fifth generation, the iPad mini has been compatible with the Apple Pencil – a stylus that allows you to doodle on the screen. Small change for the iPad mini 6: it is the second version of the Apple Pencil that is concerned. Thanks to magnets, it can be fixed on the right side of the iPad mini 6 (and recharge). This point forces designers to move the volume buttons on the upper edge when using the tablet in portrait format. Good point: these volume buttons will now be located on the left when using the iPad mini in landscape mode. A (good?) Idea for future larger iPads?
Last good news: the iPad mini drops Lightning for USB-C.
The iPad mini 6 is due out next week with an entry price of $ 499. Four colors on the program: purple, pink, gold and space gray.
