So we have this one viewer that comments on every single video asking me to break down
the iPad Mini 6 rumors and predictions, so I’m gonna do just that, with the goal of
answering 3 questions,
1…. is there really going to be an iPad Mini 6 coming soon?
2…..When can we realistically expect the iPad Mini 6 to get released,
And 3…. What features and changes should we expect to see?
But before we start with the first question and take a look at some rumors, I want to
show you guys Apple’s iPad release timeline so we can try and understand why and how Apple
releases iPads, and by the way, we just got out new Max tech Logo shirt, which you can
find right below this video in our merch shelf.
It all started with the original iPad which was already updated 4 times when the first
iPad Mini showed up in Late 2012, and in 2013, Apple updated the Mini again, but they chose
not to update the iPad, because they released the 1st gen iPad Air, so they probably didn’t
want it to clash with the iPad.
In 2015 and 2016, the iPad Pro was released, and at that point, Apple stopped updating
the iPad Air because the price points would clash and they also wanted all of the attention
to go to the iPad Pro for the next couple of years while later releasing new budget
iPads for the lower-end market.
And finally in 2019, they brought back the iPad Air and the iPad Mini, and the main reason
why they did that was because they finally raised the price of the iPad Pro to $800,
leaving enough of a gap to reintroduce the iPad Air for $500, and the very similar Mini
at $400.
So now, Apple has finally created an iPad for every price point and market, maximizing
the potential for sales, so the point of all of this is to show that we should expect Apple
to move forward with this strategy and continue offering this complete lineup going into the
future.
And one important thing we can learn from this timeline is that every single time an
iPad Mini gets released, it’s always alongside another iPad release, every single time.
And it’s also important to notice that Apple is currently going through a modernization
phase which started with the 2018 iPad Pro’s modern design.
There are tons of rumors of Apple completely redesigning the iMac to look more like a current
iPad Pro, and the reason it makes sense for them to do that is because they’re switching
to their own custom ARM chips, so that big of a change deserves a new design.
And then there’s the 16” MacBook Pro which was redesigned with slimmed down modern bezels,
and rumors of Apple doing the same with the 14” MacBook Pro next year.
Not only that, but Apple’s upcoming iPhone 12 is also rumored to be getting iPad Pro-like
square edges.
And there are many rumors of the iPad Air getting a larger display and square edges
as well, so it seems like Apple is sweeping through their entire lineup within a short
period of time, reducing bezels, increasing display sizes, and redesigning their devices
so they all look very similar to each other based on the new square-edge design.
And because we’re expecting a newly redesigned iPad Air to get released soon, potentially
within a few months, it wouldn’t make sense for Apple to keep the iPad Mini with the old
design for very long.
So let’s get into the rumors to see if and when we should expect the iPad Mini 6.
The first rumors we saw came in March, with the very reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who
noted that Apple is gonna release a bunch of Mini-LED display Apple devices this year,
including a new 7.9” iPad Mini.
However, there were many rumors pointing to this Mini-LED technology being delayed until
the first half of 2021, and in May, Ming-Chi Kuo changed his expectations for the iPad
Mini to get released in the first half of 2021.
And at the same time, he mentioned that we should expect a new 10.8” iPad, which is
most likely the iPad Air, to get released later this year.
And only a couple of weeks ago, we also heard a rumor from DigiTimes that said the same
thing, a 10.8” iPad Air coming this year, and a new iPad Mini in the first half of next
year alongside a new 12.9” iPad Pro.
So based on those rumors, we can answer the first question and say yes, the iPad Mini
6 is coming for sure in less than a year.
And as far as the timing, since we know that the iPad Mini always gets released alongside
a different iPad, there are two possibilities.
Either the iPad Mini will get released alongside the iPad Air later this year, maybe in October
or November, or it’ll get released alongside the iPad Pro coming next year, which is the
most likely option since Ming-Chi Kuo believes it’ll come with a new Mini-LED display which
is now apparently delayed to 2021,
and both he and DigiTimes are expecting a 2021 release date, it’s most likely that
the iPad Mini 6 will be released in the first half of 2021, so that answers our second question.
And now, let's address the last one, which features and specs should we expect to see?
Well, if it does get released next year, we can almost certainly expect it to come packing
a new Mini-LED display.
And the rumors are also pointing to the display size being at least 8 inches instead of 7.9,
and the only way this makes sense is if Apple gets rid of the physical home button on the
iPad Mini.
To do this, Apple has two options, either add Face ID or implement an under display
fingerprint sensor, which has been rumored for a while now.
Now there’s a chance that Apple may choose to reserve Face ID for their higher end products,
so it’s really tough to call right now.
And if Apple does make the display larger and get rid of the home button, we can expect
the display to have rounded corners and the sides of the iPad to be squared off to match
the new modern styling of the current iPad Pro and future iPhone 12 models.
As far as the internals, we should expect the iPad Mini 6 to come with the same new
5nm A14 chip with 4GB of RAM as we expect to come in the iPhone 12, and we should also
expect it to come with 128GB of storage at the base price, which is expected to come
to even the cheapest iPhone 12.
Rumors are pointing to it sticking with the Lightning connector, just like the iPhone
12, but we should definitely expect it to get WiFi 6, and maybe even sub6 5G connectivity
for LTE models.
And as far as the price, it could very likely stay at the same $400, unless Apple decides
to raise the price of their entire iPad lineup in 2021 by maybe $50 to make up for inflation
and the more expensive Mini-LED displays.
So hopefully you learned something new from this video, and if you did, be sure to check
out our Max Tech t-shirt designs right below this video, and click that circle above to
subscribe for more videos coming soon. Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you in the next
one!