According to a new report, the next generation of the iPad mini will have a larger screen and a design inspired by the 2019 iPad Air.
Japanese site Mac Otakara reports that the 6th generation iPad mini will debut in March 2021, citing sources within Apple’s supply chain in China.
The new iPad mini will have a larger 8.4-inch screen instead of the 7.9-inch screen in previous models. It is expected to keep Touch ID and a Lightning port in the traditional locations, but it could have a narrower frame like the 2019 iPad Air 3.
That echoes another recent report from Mac Otakara that the 9th-generation iPad model would be inspired by the 2019 iPad Air, but would otherwise undergo few major design changes.
So it is not the first time that there have been rumors about a screen size change for the iPad mini. Well-connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted in 2020 that Apple would release an iPad mini model with a screen between 8.5 inches and 9 inches in the first half of 2021.
The current iPad mini 5 model was released in March 2019 with some changes from the earlier iteration, except for an A12 Bionic processor and Apple Pencil support. Although there were few changes, the iPad mini 5 was Apple’s first refresh of the device since 2015.