Apple's redesigned iPad mini 6 may not get the mini-LED display upgrade we were hoping for, going by a new alleged leak.
A post on Chinese social network Weibo claims to have information about the upcoming compact Apple tablet, which is tipped to be revealed on September 14, alongside the iPhone 13. While the information in the post resurfaces rumors we've already heard about the next iPad mini, it also claims there'll be no mini-LED display, like that on the iPad Pro 2021.
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While the current iPad mini has a perfectly decent display, a mini-LED panel would promise a boost in brightness, colors and contrast, without the cost or risk of burn-in associated with OLED displays. It would be a notable upgrade, but it now looks like it could be off the cards.
The source of the claimed leak, Bored Panda, also provided other details on the iPad mini 6, and looks like a lot of the features will be borrowed from the fourth-gen iPad Air 2020.
Gone are the chunky top and bottom bezels, going by the renders we've seen so far, and it looks like the home button with Touch ID has been removed too. Instead of the home button, Apple's next compact tablet could come with a Touch ID sensor on a side button. USB-C connectivity, a single rear camera, and support for the second-generation Apple Pencil, have all been touted as iPad mini 6 features.
We've also spotted unofficial renders suggesting that the iPad mini 6 will even look like a compressed version of the iPad Air 4, resembling both its design and color options.
Bored Panda also suggested an 8.4-inch display, symmetrical speakers and a refresh rate of 60Hz — all features that we've previously spotted in earlier leaks.
But the iPad mini 6 isn't the only tablet that could launch this fall. Reliable Apple tipster Mark Gurman previously claimed that Cupertino's next event could include the announcement of the iPad 9, a successor to the fifth-generation of Apple's entry-level tablet. Unlike the iPad mini 6, the iPad 9 won't go through a significant redesign, though it could still bring a lot to the table, including more storage, upgraded RAM, a slightly bigger display, and a more powerful processor.
Apart from the rumored tablets, Apple's September event could also see the unveiling of not one but five products in total, including the iPhone 13 lineup, Apple Watch Series 7 and AirPods 3.
Even if we won't see any tablet announcements next week, there is still a good chance that it'll happen sometime this fall, since we've also heard that Apple could be gearing up more events up until this December. In 2020, the iPad Air 4 and the iPad 8 were both announced separately from the iPhone 12 lineup too, so if last year is any indication, Cupertino may follow the same pattern once more.
