iPad mini is a line of a mini version of the iPad that was introduced in 2012 and continues to this day. The iPad mini until now has been released in six main generations and over the years gained many features such as Touch ID, Retina Display, Apple Custom Chip, Cameras, Center Stage, USB-C, 5G connectivity, support for Apple Pencil, and many more.
From the very beginning, the iPad mini was developed as a smaller brother of the iPad, but later on, that changed because Apple was mainly focused on the iPad Air, that’s why most of the features came to the mini from iPad Air.
All models of the iPad mini Series
Original iPad mini
The first iPad mini has been introduced on October 23, 2012, and discontinued two years and eight months later on June 19, 2015. Today this device is 11 years old.
The original iPad mini features a Dual-Core 1 GHz Apple A5 processor, 512 MB of RAM, 7.9″ multi-touch widescreen LCD IPS Display, Wi-Fi, 16 GB / 32 GB / 64 GB of flash memory, Bluetooth 4.0, Dual camera system; front 1.2 Mpix FaceTime HD camera, and rear 5.0 Mpix camera with 1080p video recording capability, accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, digital compass, Lightning port, 3.5-mm headphone jack, and an optional version with GPS, and 4G / LTE data capability.
The original price of the iPad mini started at $329
Go to the full specifications of the iPad mini
iPad mini 2
The iPad mini 2 has been introduced on October 22, 2013, and discontinued three years and five months later on March 19, 2017. Today this device is 10 years old.
The iPad mini 2 features a Dual-Core 1.3 GHz 64-bit Apple A7 processor with Quad-Core graphics, Apple M7 motion coprocessor, 1 GB of RAM, 7.9″ high-resolution Retina multi-touch widescreen LCD IPS Display, Wi-Fi, 16 GB / 32 GB / 64 GB or 128 GB of flash memory, Bluetooth 4.0, Dual camera system; front 1.2 Mpix FaceTime HD camera, and rear 5.0 Mpix camera with 1080p video recording capability, accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, digital compass, Lightning port, 3.5-mm headphone jack, and an optional version with GPS, and 4G / LTE data capability.
The iPad Mini 2 has the same-sized 7.9-inch screen, and the same design as, the first model. A notable change is the inclusion of a Retina Display, matching the screen resolution of the larger iPad models since the third-generation iPad. The screen resolution also leads to a higher pixel density than the iPad Air, matching that of the iPhone 5s.
The original price of the iPad mini 2 started at $399
Go to the full specifications of the iPad mini 2
iPad mini 3
The iPad mini 3 has been introduced on October 16, 2014, and discontinued one year later on September 9, 2015. Today this device is 9 years old.
The iPad mini 3 features a Dual-Core 1.3 GHz 64-bit Apple A7 processor with Quad-Core graphics, Apple M7 motion coprocessor, 1 GB of RAM, 7.9″ high-resolution Retina multi-touch widescreen LCD IPS Display, fingerprint identity Touch ID sensor built into the Home button, Wi-Fi, 16 GB / 64 GB or 128 GB of flash memory, Bluetooth 4.0, Dual camera system; front 1.2 Mpix FaceTime HD camera, and rear 5.0 Mpix camera with 1080p video recording capability, accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, digital compass, Lightning port, 3.5-mm headphone jack, and an optional version with GPS, and 4G / LTE data capability.
The iPad mini 3 uses almost exactly the same design as that of the iPad mini 2, with the addition of Touch ID. Additionally, with the announcement of the iPad mini 3 and iPad Air 2, Apple added the gold color option to the existing silver and space gray color choices of iPads.
The original price of the iPad mini 3 started at $399
Go to the full specifications of the iPad mini 3
iPad mini 4
The iPad mini 4 has been introduced on September 9, 2015, and discontinued three years and six months later on March 18, 2019. Today this device is 8 years old.
The iPad mini 4 features a Dual-Core 1.5 GHz 64-bit Apple A8 processor with Quad-Core graphics, Apple M8 motion coprocessor, 2 GB of RAM, 7.9″ high-resolution Retina multi-touch widescreen LCD IPS Display, fingerprint identity Touch ID sensor built into the Home button, Wi-Fi, 16 GB / 32 GB / 64 GB or 128 GB of flash memory, Bluetooth 4.2, Dual camera system; front 1.2 Mpix FaceTime HD camera, and rear 8.0 Mpix camera with 1080p video recording capability, accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, digital compass, Lightning port, 3.5-mm headphone jack, and an optional version with GPS, 4G / LTE data capability.
The original price of the iPad mini 4 started at $399
Go to the full specifications of the iPad mini 4
iPad mini 5th Generation
The iPad mini 2019 has been introduced on March 18, 2019, and discontinued three years and six months later on September 14, 2021. Today this device is 5 years old.
The iPad mini 2019 features a Six-Core 2.5 GHz 64-bit Apple A12 Bionic processor with Quad-Core graphics, Apple M12 coprocessor, 3 GB of RAM, 7.9″ Retina LED-backlit LCD IPS Display with True Tone, fingerprint identity Touch ID sensor built into the Home button, Wi-Fi, 64 GB or 256 GB of flash memory, Bluetooth 5.0, Dual camera system; front 7 Mpix FaceTime Full HD camera, and rear 8 Mpix camera with 1080p video recording capability, accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, digital compass, Lightning port, 3.5-mm headphone jack, and an optional version with GPS, 3G, 4G / LTE data capability.
The iPad Mini 2019 features the upgraded front camera system of the 7 Megapixel (1080p) camera used since 2016 starting with the iPhone 7 and continuing with the iPhone Xs, while the rear camera system continues with the older 8 Megapixel (1080p) used since the iPad Air 2 in 2014, so it cannot record in 4K.
The iPad mini uses a Lightning port and has a headphone jack. It has a True Tone display, which allows the LCD to adapt to ambient lighting to change its color and intensity in different environments. It also has a wide color display (Display P3 color gamut), which means it can show more vibrant colors compared to the previous generation.
The Apple A12 Bionic chip powering the iPad Mini 2019 has a 66% higher clock speed than its predecessor, which had a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor; (the Apple A8 in the previous generation was clocked higher than in the iPhone 6). The Apple A12 Bionic chip has a 2.5 GHz six-core processor. The iPad Mini 5th Gen is 3x faster than the iPad Mini 4 and supports Apple Pencil (1st Generation).
The original price of the iPad mini 5th Gen started at $399
Go to the full specifications of the iPad mini 2019
iPad mini 6th Generation
The iPad mini 2021 has been introduced on September 14, 2021, and is still available in Apple Store. Today this device is 34 months old.
This iPad mini 2021 features a Six-Core 64-bit 2.9 GHz Apple A15 Bionic processor with Six-Core graphics, Apple M15 coprocessor, new 8.3″ Liquid Retina HD LCD IPS Display with True Tone, fingerprint identity Touch ID sensor built into the Sleep / Wake up button, Wi-Fi, 64 GB or 256 GB of flash memory, 4 GB of RAM, Bluetooth 5.0, Dual camera system; front 12 Mpix Ultra Wide FaceTime Full HD camera with Centre Stage, and rear 12 Mpix camera with 4K video recording capability, Magnetic Connector, accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, digital compass, Apple Pencil 2nd Generation support, USB-C port, and an optional version with GPS and 5G data capability.
The iPad mini 2021 features an updated design, similar to that of the iPad Air 2020. It features a larger 8.3-inch Liquid Retina Display, USB-C, and support for the second-generation Apple Pencil.
The home button is removed, and the Touch ID has been relocated to the Top button on the top-right edge of the device. In addition, in contrast to the iPad mini 5th Generation, the six-generation iPad mini lacks a headphone jack.
The original price of the iPad mini 6th Gen started at $499
Go to the full specifications of the iPad mini 2021
Article last updated: June 17, 2022
Article next update: March 2023