A new iPad mini has been tipped to arrive this fall, and is expected to come with a refreshed and long-overdue redesign.
That's according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who in his latest Power On newsletter (via 9to5Mac) stated that the iPad mini 6 (as we’ll call it) “should be a go” for release this fall. Gurman noted it will have a design reminiscent of the latest iPad Air, which would mean significantly slimmer bezels and allow the next mini to have a larger display but a chassis size similar to the current iPad mini 5.
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In his newsletter, Gurman noted that the iPad mini 6 could sport “the biggest redesign in the nine-year history” of the compact tablet. So we’d take that to mean there’ll not only be a larger display but more features as well, such as a Touch ID fingerprint scanner built into the power button, like the iPad Air has.
An improved chipset is also expected, perhaps the A15 Bionic tipped for the iPhone 13; our logic being that if Apple releases a new iPad around the same time as a new iPhone (next one is expected this fall too) then the tablet could use the same chip as the new iPhone.
The iPad mini was last refreshed in 2019. But aside from getting a laminated Retina display and a faster chipset in the form of the A12 Bionic, as well as first-generation Apple Pencil support, the current mini was rather similar to its predecessors.
The actual overall design and size of the iPad mini hasn't really changed since its debut in 2012. As such, the iPad mini is well overdue for a proper redesign, as is the standard iPad, which also sports chunky bezels compared to the Air and Pro models, though there's no indication of that happening this year.
To round off his newsletter, Gurman also noted that another iMac is on it’s way, and will sport a larger display than the new 24-inch iMac 2021. This tracks with other rumors we’ve heard, and we’re expecting to see a replacement for the 27-inch iMac likely powered by a new Apple Silicon chip in the form of the M1X chipset or the Apple M2 chip.
If Gurman’s tips are on the money — it would appear he has an insider source but we can’t verify this — then Apple is set to have a busy fall, especially as we’re also hoping to see a new 14-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Pro 16-inch both with fresh designs, mini-LED displays and new M1X chips.
