Apple to (finally) launch a redesigned iPad mini this fall

Look, it’s time.

The iPad mini has been unfairly neglected, with a design that essentially hasn’t changed since the first model that came out in 2012. And the last one, the fifth-generation iPad mini, came out in March 2019. It’s time for a thorough redesign, and according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his latest newsletter, it’s happening this fall.

According to Gurman, the new iPad mini “should be a go” to launch this fall. It’ll be the “biggest redesign” in the device’s history, though that doesn’t tell us much since the redesigns so far have been absolutely tiny.

The new iPad mini will likely look a bit like a smaller iPad Air, with a refreshed processor, Gurman says. And that’s a good thing. It may not be an “iPad mini Pro,” but it’ll look like one, with smaller bezels and no home button.

The latest iPad Air (pictured) has a design that would suit the iPad mini perfectly.
Credit: apple

Previous reports, including one by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from May 2020, said that Apple was planning to launch a new iPad mini with a larger display in 2021, but there was no consensus on exact timing.

In May, Apple launched a new, 24-inch iMac with an M1 processor inside, but the larger, 27-inch model didn’t receive the same treatment. In his newsletter, Gurman also says that Apple is now working on a larger, redesigned iMac, with Apple silicon inside, that will replace the current Intel-based, 27-inch models.