iPad mini 6 rumor teases an iPad Air-inspired makeover

iPad mini 6 concept design
(Image credit: Parker Ortolani/Twitter)

The iPhone 13 may be getting most of the attention right now, but there are plenty of other Apple products rumored to be coming today, or at least soon. The iPad mini 6 is one of them, and a whole bunch of specs might have just leaked online.

This information comes from leaker Majin Bu, who posted what are allegedly full specs and images for the iPad mini 6. If accurate, they reveal plenty of detail about the rumored new tablet — with the key phrase here being "if accurate."

According to Majin Bu, the iPad mini 6 will launch this November and will come with a huge range of upgrades. That includes an 8.6-inch display, USB-C connectivity, and Apple Pencil 2 support. As with many of the best iPads it will reportedly also come with Touch ID, a Smart Connector, and will be available with either 64GB or 256GB storage configurations.

Unfortunately, Bu claims, the tablet will only come with the A14 Bionic chipset, rather than the A15 that's expected to launch alongside the iPhone 13 later today. The A14 is no slouch, and its use in an entry-level iPad shouldn’t be a huge surprise, but if this information is accurate it does mean the iPad mini 6 won’t be quite as powerful as it could have been.

The images shared by Bu — which we should stress are not confirmed as genuine — show off quite a different looking device to what we’ve been used to. For starters, the volume controls have been moved up to the top of the tablet, while the left-hand side of the device appears to be reserved for Apple Pencil charging.

The full-screen display, which has long been rumored, would also suggest that the iPad mini 6 will follow in the iPad Air's footsteps and offer a Touch ID sensor within the power button. Or at least that could be the case if these images are genuine.

In terms of colors, this information claims that the iPad mini 6 will come in the usual array of hues: lime, space gray, silver, and rose gold, as well as green and sky blue. Pricing will reportedly start at $399 for the 64GB Wi-Fi model, and go all the way to $679 for the 256GB cellular variant.

As we've said, these rumors are unverified, so there’s no telling how accurate the information is — but certain aspects of it do make sense. A November launch could be a possibility, for instance, given rumors that some new iPads will launch alongside the MacBook Pro 14-inch 2021 and MacBook Pro 16-inch 2021 in “the next several weeks,” but we still can’t be completely sure about that.

Majin Bu’s information has also come under fire from other Twitter users, including concept artist Ian Zelbo — known for working with a number of high-profile leakers. Zelbo pointed out that some of the details present in Bu’s images don’t match up with CAD files his own renders are based on.

It’s hard to know who has the right information here, but it’s enough to cast doubt over the leaks. Basically, nothing is confirmed until Apple executives take to the stage and tell us what’s going on. Of course they'll be doing that later today for the iPhone 13 launch, so it's possible we'll meet the iPad mini 6 properly very soon; you can follow it all with us on our Apple Event live blog.

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Tom Pritchard
UK Phones Editor

Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.