iPad Mini (6th generation)
An iPad mini (6th generation) showing the English Wikipedia main page | |
| Also known as | iPad mini 6 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Apple Inc. |
| Manufacturer | Foxconn |
| Product family | iPad Mini |
| Type | Tablet computer |
| Generation | 6th |
| Release date | September 24, 2021 |
| Discontinued | October 15, 2024 |
| Operating system | Original: iPadOS 15 Current: iPadOS 26.2, released December 12, 2025[1] |
| System on a chip | A15 Bionic with 64-bit architecture and embedded motion co-processor |
| CPU | Hexa-core (2× 2.93 GHz Avalanche and 4× 2.01 GHz Blizzard) |
| Memory | 4 GB |
| Storage | 64 or 256 GB |
| Display | 8.3 inches (210 mm) 2266×1488 px (326 ppi), 500-nits Max Brightness, Wide-Color Display (P3), True Tone Display, Fully Laminated Display, 1.8% Reflectivity and Apple Pencil (2nd generation) support |
| Graphics | Apple-designed 5 core GPU |
| Sound | Stereo speakers (landscape) |
| Input | Multi-touch screen, proximity and ambient light sensors, 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, digital compass, dual microphone, Touch ID fingerprint scanner, barometer |
| Camera | Front: 12 MP, ƒ/2.4 aperture, burst mode, timer mode, exposure control, face detection, Smart HDR 3, wide-color capture, auto image stabilization, Retina flash, 1080p HD video recording Rear: 12 MP, ƒ/1.8 aperture, five-element lens, quad-LED True Tone flash, burst mode, timer mode, exposure control, noise reduction, face detection, Hybrid IR filter, Live Photos with stabilization, Autofocus with Focus Pixels, face detection, Smart HDR, panorama, wide-color capture, auto image stabilization, 4K 60fps video recording, video stabilization, slo-mo, time-lapse |
| Connectivity |
|
| Power | 3.82 V 19.19 W·h (5034 mA·h)[2] |
| Dimensions |
|
| Weight | Wi-Fi models
0.65 pound (293 grams) Wi-Fi + Cellular models 0.66 pound (297 grams) |
| Predecessor | iPad Mini (5th generation) |
| Successor | iPad Mini (7th generation) |
| Related | iPad Air (4th generation) iPad (9th generation) |
| Website | https://www.apple.com/ipad-mini/ |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| iPad |
|---|
| List of iPad models |
The sixth-generation iPad Mini (stylized and marketed as iPad mini and colloquially referred to as iPad Mini 6) is a tablet computer in the iPad Mini line, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced on September 14, 2021, and released on September 24, 2021, alongside the ninth-generation iPad, iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro. Its predecessor, the fifth-generation iPad Mini, was discontinued on the same day.[3] 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 Touch ID on the power button (removing the home button), with a larger 8.3-inch display, USB-C port (replacing the Lightning port), and support for the second-generation Apple Pencil.
The iPad Mini 6 was discontinued on October 15, 2024, with the announcement of the iPad Mini (7th generation).
Features
[edit | edit source]Hardware
[edit | edit source]
It is the first redesign of the iPad Mini since the iPad Mini 4 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. 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.[4] 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, excluding the Plus models. The display has 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
[edit | edit source]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 (802.11ax) wireless capabilities while the cellular models support 5G connectivity but lack mmWave support unlike the iPad Pro (5th generation).
Accessories
[edit | edit source]The sixth-generation iPad Mini is compatible with Apple Pencil (2nd generation and USB-C), but not with Magic Keyboard for iPad or the Smart Keyboard Folio due to its smaller form factor.
Reception
[edit | edit source]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".[5]
Timeline
[edit | edit source]| Timeline of iPad models |
|---|
| <timeline>
DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Define $start = 01/01/2010 Define $now = 07/10/2026 Define $later = 01/10/2027 Define $skip = at:end # Force a blank line Define $dayunknown = 15 # what day to use if it's actually not known Period = from:$start till:$later ImageSize= width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:1 left:1 bottom:100 top:1 Colors = id:bg value:white id:linem value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) id:liney value:rgb(0.5,0.5,0.5) id:padodd value:rgb(0.75,1,0.75) id:padeve value:rgb(0.5,1,0.5) Legend:iPad_(original) id:airodd value:rgb(1,0.93,0.70) Legend:iPad_Air id:aireve value:rgb(1,0.84,0.31) id:miniodd value:rgb(0.88,0.99,1) Legend:iPad_Mini id:minieve value:rgb(0.66,0.90,1) id:proodd value:rgb(0.98,0.91,0.91) Legend:iPad_Pro id:proeve value:rgb(1,0.80,0.74) id:current value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) Legend:Still_produced BackgroundColors = canvas:bg ScaleMajor = gridcolor:liney unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/2011 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:linem unit:month increment:3 start:$start Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom BarData = barset:pad1 barset:pad2 barset:mini12 barset:mini3+ barset:air barset:air2+ barset:pro9 barset:pro10 barset:pro11 barset:pro12 PlotData = width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s barset:pad1 color:padodd from:04/03/2010 till:03/02/2011 text:"iPad (1st)" barset:break color:padeve from:03/11/2011 till:03/18/2014 text:"iPad 2" barset:break color:padodd from:03/24/2017 till:03/27/2018 text:"(5th)" barset:break color:padeve from:03/27/2018 till:09/25/2019 text:"(6th)" barset:break color:padodd from:09/25/2019 till:09/18/2020 text:"(7th)" barset:break color:padeve from:09/18/2020 till:09/24/2021 text:"(8th)" barset:break color:padodd from:09/24/2021 till:05/07/2024 text:"(9th)" barset:pad2 color:padodd from:03/16/2012 till:10/23/2012 text:"(3rd)" barset:break color:padeve from:11/02/2012 till:10/22/2013 text:"(4th)" barset:break color:padeve from:03/18/2014 till:10/16/2014 text:" " barset:break color:padeve from:10/26/2022 till:03/04/2025 text:"(10th)" barset:break color:padodd from:03/12/2025 till:$now text:"(A16)" barset:break color:current from:$now till:end #Current iPad (A16) barset:air color:airodd from:11/01/2013 till:03/21/2016 text:"iPad Air (1st)" barset:break barset:mini12 color:miniodd from:11/02/2012 till:06/19/2015 text:"iPad Mini (1st)" barset:break $skip color:minieve from:11/12/2013 till:03/21/2017 text:"iPad Mini 2" barset:mini3+ color:miniodd from:10/24/2014 till:09/09/2015 text:"iPad Mini 3" shift:(-10,-5) barset:break color:minieve from:09/09/2015 till:03/17/2019 text:"4" barset:break color:miniodd from:03/18/2019 till:09/24/2021 text:"(5th)" barset:break color:minieve from:09/24/2021 till:10/23/2024 text:"(6th)" barset:break color:miniodd from:10/23/2024 till:$now text:"(A17 Pro)" barset:break color:current from:$now till:end barset:air2+ color:aireve from:10/24/2014 till:03/21/2017 text:"iPad Air 2" barset:break color:airodd from:03/18/2019 till:09/13/2020 text:"(3rd)" barset:break barset:break color:aireve from:10/23/2020 till:03/08/2022 text:"(4th)" barset:break color:airodd from:03/18/2022 till:05/07/2024 text:"(5th)" barset:break color:aireve from:05/07/2024 till:03/04/2025 text:"(M2)" barset:break color:airodd from:03/12/2025 till:$now text:"(M3)" barset:break color:current from:$now till:end barset:pro9 color:proodd from:03/31/2016 till:06/05/2017 text:"iPad Pro 9.7”" barset:pro10 color:proeve from:06/05/2017 till:03/18/2019 text:"iPad Pro 10.5”" barset:pro11 color:proodd from:10/30/2018 till:03/25/2020 text:"iPad Pro 11” (1st)" shift:(-10,-5) barset:break color:proeve from:03/25/2020 till:05/21/2021 text:"(2nd)" barset:break color:proodd from:05/21/2021 till:10/22/2022 text:"(3rd)" barset:break color:proeve from:10/22/2022 till:05/07/2024 text:"(4th)" barset:break color:proodd from:05/07/2024 till:10/15/2025 text:"(M4)" barset:break color:proeve from:10/15/2025 till:$now text:"(M5)" barset:break color:current from:$now till:end #current iPad Pro 11” barset:pro12 color:proodd from:11/11/2015 till:06/05/2017 text:"iPad Pro 12.9” (1st)" shift:(-10,-5) barset:break color:proeve from:06/05/2017 till:10/30/2018 text:"(2nd)" barset:break color:proodd from:10/30/2018 till:03/25/2020 text:"(3rd)" barset:break color:proeve from:03/25/2020 till:05/21/2021 text:"(4th)" barset:break color:proodd from:05/21/2021 till:10/22/2022 text:"(5th)" barset:break color:proeve from:10/22/2022 till:05/07/2024 text:"(6th)" barset:break color:proodd from:05/07/2024 till:10/15/2025 text:"13” (M4)" barset:break color:proeve from:10/15/2025 till:$now text:"(M5)" barset:break color:current from:$now till:end #current iPad Pro 13” </timeline> |
Source: Apple Newsroom Archive.[6]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ iPad Mini 6th Generation Repair – iFixit
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Apple Inc. (2010–2011). iPad News – Newsroom Archive. Retrieved June 7, 2018.