Although iPad mini 6 was expected to launch this quarter, a new report by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reveals that Apple has pushed its launch to the second half of 2021. Neither the regular iPad nor the iPad mini have seen any updates so far this year.
iPad mini 6 release delayed to the second half of the year
During the pandemic, Apple has seen demand for iPad skyrocket. However, the company is currently focused on shipping its new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models which are the most expensive iPads that Apple sells. The cheaper iPad mini 6 is now expected to get an update later this year, once supply constraints improve.
The new iPad mini 6 is expected to be a minor specs bump and will feature a larger 8.4-inch display with slim bezels. It will have the same Touch ID home button and Lightning port as its predecessors, which means that customers expecting major improvements will be disappointed. There has been pent-up demand for a smaller iPad Pro mini, with a Liquid Retina Display, Apple Pencil 2 support, and USB-C, but it does not seem to be on Apple’s priority list at the moment.
Kuo had reported that Apple is working on an iPad Pro mini with an 8.7-inch mini-LED display for the second half of 2021, however, we don’t expect it to be available anytime soon. Knowing Apple, they would want to convert the 11-inch iPad Pro to mini-LED first, before they apply the same expensive display tech upgrade to iPad mini, iPad Air, or even the regular iPad. When you consider Apple’s track record with the iPhone and its adaption of OLED displays, the company started with iPhone X and took three more generations to convert the complete flagship line-up to OLED. However, it still sells its cheapest iPhone SE with an LCD display, which tells us that the cheaper iPads might not be getting mini-LED anytime soon.
via MacRumors
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