The long-rumored iPad Mini update will decrease the bezel size and possibly remove the house button, consistent with Bloomberg.
The iPad, iPad Air, and iPad Pro lines have all been updated with new models within the past 9 months, so it is sensible that the iPad Mini, the last of the bunch, will come next. That’s indeed the case, consistent with Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who in his newsletter reports a redesigned iPad Mini “should be a go” for fall 2021.
A new and improved iPad Mini has long been rumored to launch this year. Famously reliable supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo last year noted an updated iPad Mini was planned for half of 2021, then in May said its release was now planned for the last half of the year.
In June, Bloomberg’s Gurman reported a 2021 iPad Mini was coming in later within the year. The new model would have smaller bezels and should even have no Home button. Both Kuo and Gurman have said Apple will update its iPad Mini this year before refreshing the iPad Pro again in 2022.
Like many other companies, notably Sony and Microsoft, Apple has been challenged by the worldwide shortage of chips and other key computing parts. If Kuo’s report was accurate and Apple did need to delay the iPad Mini from the primary to the last half of the year, supply shortages are potentially why.
Apple’s entire suite of iPad products has been one of the winning products of the COVID-19 era. Even though more people are performing from home and therefore the iPad is meant to be a computer on the go, sales of the iPad were up quite 70%.
The iPad Mini was last updated in 2019 when it got a then-new A12 processor and Apple Pencil support. the quality iPad — which retails for $329 (£329, AU$499) against the $399 (£399, AU$599) iPad Mini — has since been updated with an equivalent processor and Apple Pencil support.
The most recent iPad refresh came with the professional line, which in May got a gorgeous new display, an M1 processor, and 5G support.
