Renders of iPad mini 2021
Whether this will be the iPad mini of 2021? It could well be. As with the iPad Pro and the most recent iPad Air, the home button has disappeared and Lightning has been replaced by USB-C. Prosser claims on his FrontPageTech website that the renders are based on actual factory CAD files and schematics. Leaked photos of the iPad mini 2021 were also used to create these renders. What is striking is the flat design, which has become common at Apple in recent times. The iPad mini is one of the devices still in the planning stages for a redesign. Apple treats this smaller tablet as a premium device, not an entry-level one. A redesign brings this model more in line with the rest of the devices.
Due to the narrower bezels, there is no more room for the home button below the screen. Apple is therefore going to process the Touch ID fingerprint scanner in the on/off button, claims Prosser. This also happened earlier with the iPad Air from 2020. Furthermore, the tablet will receive the same A14 processor as the iPhone 12 models and optional 5G support.
Smaller Apple Pencil
A smaller Apple Pencil 3 is also planned. However, it is unclear what this is based on. Previously, there were rumors about a renewed Apple Pencil for the iPad Pro, as a successor to the second generation, but that fell through.
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According to Prosser, the iPad mini will be 206.3 x 137.8 mm (now 203.2 mm x 134.8 mm), so the dimensions will hardly change. The thickness of 6.1 mm also remains the same. Nothing is known about the screen size, according to Prosser, but others speak of 8.5-inch to 9-inch. With the Smart Connector you can connect accessories. A source is said to have told Prosser that the speakers are “crazy nice” sound.
For the colors, Apple sticks to the standard choice of silver, black/space gray and gold. Bloomberg predicted earlier this month that Apple is working on a new iPad mini with narrower screen edges and no home button. This should be released in 2021, along with a thinner standard iPad, which is more oriented towards education. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also expects an iPad mini without a home button in 2021.
