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iPad mini 6 release date: Apple reportedly plans to remove home button; next-gen tablet could launch this fall

Photo credit: Maarten van den Heuvel (@mvdheuvel) / Unsplash

It has been a while since Apple updated its line of small tablets, but the drought could end in the coming months. A new report suggests the sixth generation of iPad mini 6 is part of the possible announcements the tech giant could make this fall, and it could launch with significant design changes.

iPad mini 6 design, specs: What to expect

The iPad mini 6 is reportedly one of the likely devices Apple would launch this year, according to the latest Power On newsletter by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (via 9To5Mac). It will not be an ordinary refresh, though, as the same source said the small tablet will be redesigned to sport making it look more like the latest models of iPad Air and iPad Pro.

The redesigned iPad mini 6 is expected to lose the physical home button and have thinner bezels, suggesting that the upcoming tablet will sport the same edge-to-edge design that Apple has implemented on the iPad Pro for years and on the iPad Air in 2020. The new report appears to correspond with analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s prediction from last year that Apple is launching the next iPad mini with a slightly bigger screen that would measure between 8.5 inches to 9 inches.

The bigger screen size might not necessarily mean the dimensions of the iPad mini 6 will be bigger than its predecessor. The mere implementation of an edge-to-edge design should be enough to bring the screen size up from 2019’s 7.9 inches to the previously rumored 8.5 to 9 inches.

Needless to say, the iPad mini is in dire need of an update as its latest generation was released more than two years ago. But the wait is now looking worth it. Aside from the expected design changes, the iPad mini 6 is also anticipated to launch with the A14 Bionic chip, the similar processor that powers the 2020 iPad Air.

iPad mini 6 release date expected in late 2021

The same report from Kuo initially predicted that the iPad mini 6 with a bigger screen would launch in the first half of 2021. While that did not become a reality, Gurman’s latest report suggests the small tablet should be included in the lineup of announcements Apple is preparing this fall.

Photo by Maarten van den Heuvel on Unsplash

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