This article will tell you that it’s worth upgrading whether you have the mini 5 or an older iPad mini because this is the first full redesign. So, I will be comparing everything between iPad Mini 6 and iPad Mini 5.
| PROS | PROS |
| Amazingly portable, light design. Speedy A15 Bionic processor. Sharp and bright display. Excellent webcam. USB-C charging. 2nd Gen Apple Pencil support. | Perfect size to tote around. Works with the Apple Pencil. Surprisingly powerful specs. |
| CONS | CONS |
| No Magic Keyboard or headphone jack. Pricey. | Unchanged, bezel-heavy design. Uses the older Apple Pencil. Costs more than the iPad 9.7. |
SPECIFICATIONS: iPAD MINI 6 VS iPAD MINI 5
| iPad mini (2021) | iPad mini (2019) | |
| Display | Laminated 8.3in Liquid Retina display (2266 x 1488 with 326ppi), True Tone, Wide Colour (P3) and anti-reflective coating | Laminated 7.9in Retina display (2048 x 1536 with 326ppi) with True Tone technology, (P3) wide colour and anti-reflective coating |
| Processor | A15 Bionic Chip | A12 Bionic chip |
| Storage | 64GB/356GB | 64GB/256GB |
| Main camera | 12MP rear-facing camera, f/1.8, 5x digital zoom , Quad-LED True Tone flash, Smart HDR 3 for photos, 4K video at 60fps, extended dynamic range up to 30fps, slo-mo at 1080p 120fps or 240fps | 8Mp rear-facing camera, f/2.4, 5x digital zoom, Auto HDR for photos, 1080p HD video (30fps), slo-mo video at 720p and 120 fps |
| Selfie camera | 12MP Ultra Wide, 1080p HD (60fps) video recording, 2x zoom out, Centre Stage, Smart HDR 3, Extended dynamic range for video up to 30fps | 7MP FaceTime camera, 1080p video recording, Live photos, Retina flash, Auto-HDR for video and photo, burst mode |
| WiFi | Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax); 2.4GHz and 5GHz; simultaneous dual band; speeds up to 1.2 Gbps | Wi Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac; simultaneous dual band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) |
| Bluetooth | 5 | 5 |
| LTE | Gigabit LTE | Gigabit-class LTE (up to 28 bands) |
| GPS | Yes | Yes |
| Ports | USB-C | Lightning charging port, 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Biometrics | Touch ID | Touch ID |
| Apple Pencil support | Yes (2nd Gen) | Yes (1st Gen) |
| Dimensions | 195.4mm x 134.8mm x 6.3mm | 203.2mm x 134.8mm x 6.1mm |
| Weight | 293g | 300.5g |
| Colours | Space Grey, Pink, Purple, Starlight | Gold, Silver, and Space Grey |
| Price | £499/649 | £399/£549 |
DESIGN: iPad Mini 6 vs iPad Mini 5
When I look at the iPad Mini 6, it feels like Mini iPad Air. The only main difference is that it does not have a smart connector on the back.
The iPad Mini 6 has a considerably larger camera on the back. The microphone has relocated from the top center to under the camera, and there is also a flash.
I want to point out that the iPad Mini 6 comes with the 2nd Gen Apple pencil wireless charger, which is one of the key design differences. This now outperforms the iPad Mini 5’s previous way of charging the pencil.
The Mini 5’s volume buttons used to be on the right side. They’ve been relocated to the top of the Mini 6, next to the speaker grills.
One of the most notable changes is Apple’s decision to abandon the Lightning port in favor of the USB Type-C port. This is important because USB Type-C consumes significantly more power and allows you to connect to a greater number of devices, whereas lightning is limited.
DISPLAY: iPad Mini 6 vs iPad Mini 5
iPad Mini 6 comes with an 8.3″ screen. This is a Liquid Retina Display on an IPS LCD, and the quality is bright. Its brightness is up to 500 Nits. The bezels are thin by looking at the size & tablets should have bezels so that you don’t make accidental touches.
IPad Mini 5 has a 7.9-inch IPS Panel with a resolution of 2048 x 1536, and it looks great with its DCI-P3 color gamut, brightness, viewing angles, and other features. As I expected, the display is excellent, and it is laminated so that everything appears to be on the surface. The pixel density on this display is 324 pixels per inch.
CAMERA: iPad Mini 6 vs iPad Mini 5
At the rear, you get a 12MP single-camera setup, but it’s not about MP. You can shoot good quality UHD @ 24 FPS videos. There is a 12MP Selfie camera on the top bezel and even with this you shoot Full HD videos @ 30 FPS. Photos and videos are really awesome, I have to say that this is the best Camera ever on iPad Mini Series.
There are cameras on iPad Mini 5 , but your smartphone probably has a better camera, and you don’t look very intelligent taking pictures on a tablet. The upgraded front camera on the other hand is pretty decent, the microphones also record great audio when you’re filming yourself, so for facetime and for recording yourself, this is pretty decent.
PERFORMANCE: iPad Mini 6 vs iPad Mini 5
We played COD Mobile on iPad Mini 6, and the colors, display, GPU, CPU & RAM it was a pleasure. All of these specs combined to give an unmatched experience. We played the game in the Highest settings & Wow! What an experience. Overall, I loved the performance on just a 6.3mm thin device.
iPad Mini 5, A12 Bionic processor is undoubtedly its most appealing feature. It’s essentially the same chip that comes with an iPhone XS, which costs three times as much. This device’s gaming performance is among the best; you have a strong GPU, so you can play even the most demanding games at their top settings. PUBG can easily run at 60 frames per second on high quality settings, and other games such as Elder Scrolls Blades will also run smoothly.
BATTERY: iPad Mini 6 vs iPad Mini 5
iPad Mini 6 comes with a 5078 mAh. battery & In my testing, it can hold itself up to 10 hours with normal usage. And gaming might reduce it to 5-6 hours.
On iPad Mini 5, Apple promises a 12-hour battery life, which is reasonable, and Apple products have exceptionally low idle power use, so that’s wonderful.
SHOULD YOU UPGRADE TO iPad Mini 6?
Yes, even at the greater price of $500, it would be best if you upgrade. The iPad Mini 6 fixes almost all of the issues we had with the iPad Mini 5.
You get fantastic speakers, a sleek and future-proof design, performance which the M1 iPad Pro can only beat, and superb cameras with the iPad Mini 6.
Overall, the iPad Mini 6 for $500 is a fantastic deal. This is insane; you need to upgrade if you have even the iPad Mini 5 or any older iPad Mini’s.
