iPad mini 6 vs iPad mini 7: which should you buy?

Trying to choose between the new iPad mini 7 vs iPad mini 6? We’re help you work out which is the best buy for you in this comparison of Apple‘s mini tablets. The iPad mini may be small, but it offers plenty of power – more than the basic iPad. That makes it brilliant for working, sketching and taking notes on the go.

Below, we compare iPad mini 7 vs iPad mini 6 based on our reviewers’ experiences with each device in terms of design, performance and display, as well as an in-depth review of their specs and price (learn more about how we test and review). For bargains on Apple products in general, see our pick of the best Apple deals.

You might also want to compare the standard iPad vs iPad mini, or for a broader overview of where these iPads sit in the line-up, check out our guide to the iPad generations.

iPad mini 6 vs iPad mini 7: Quick comparison

Here is our quick rundown of the key specs and features of the iPad mini 6 and iPad mini 7. We’ll be getting into more detail as we go through the guide, but here’s a top-line overview:

iPad mini 6 vs iPad mini 7: design and ergonomics

There’s not a lot in it here – if you placed the two iPad minis side by side, you would be hard-pressed to spot much difference. The iPad mini 6 was a departure from the mini 5 in that it adopted Apple’s more recent all-screen design, removing the Home button and moving the Touch ID login feature to the lock button at the top.

The iPad mini 7 sticks with this likeable formula, and the two tablets are the same size down to tenths of a millimetre: 195.4×134.8×6.3mm. Both also weigh the same: between 293g and 297g depending on whether you opt for the model with cellular.

The iPad mini 6 comes in four colours: space grey, pink, purple, and starlight. The iPad mini 7 adds new purple and blue options, but the differences are pretty subtle. For an overview of where these fall in the iPad family, see our iPad generations list.

Both iPad minis also offer Apple Pencil compatibility. We’ll discuss this in more detail in the next section, but in brief, you can use the Apple Pencil 2 with the iPad mini 6, and the newer Apple Pencil Pro with the iPad mini 7.

When you look at the display itself, there are minor upgrades, though in truth not as many as we’d have liked. The iPad mini 6 has an 8.3-inch display with a resolution of 2266×1488, working out to 326 pixels per inch. It supports the P3 colour gamut and Apple’s True Tone technology. All of these things are also true of the iPad mini 7.

Once again, the smaller display delivers brilliantly punchy color and contrast compared to the larger iPads – however, we would have loved to have seen the iPad mini 7 up the frame rate from the rather pedestrian 60 Hz of the mini 6. Alas, no. The main difference is that the infamous jelly scrolling issue has been fixed – that, if nothing else, is a major point in the mini 7’s favor.

Winner: The iPad mini 7 wins in this category, though not by as wide a margin as we might have liked.

iPad mini 6 vs iPad mini 7: Features

There’s a lot that’s the same here. Both models feature Touch ID to help you log in securely and verify payments. Both have a USB-C slot, both work with Bluetooth keyboards, and both have dual microphones and stereo speakers. There is a difference in the configurations you can buy – both tablets are available in 64GB and 256GB storage options, but the iPad mini 7 also offers a 512GB option. Both models can also be bought with cellular connectivity, or not.

However, the real difference – and the thing that’s possibly going to clinch it for a lot of creatives – is Apple Pencil support. The iPad mini 6 is compatible with the second-generation Apple Pencil 2, which is an excellent stylus to be sure, but the iPad mini 7 ups the ante with Apple Pencil Pro compatibility.

The newer stylus offers features like Barrel Roll, which uses a built-in gyroscope to allow the user to change the shape of their pen or brushstroke by rotating the pencil in their hand – just as you would with a real brush. This dovetails nicely with the Pencil Hover feature, which allows you to see a real-time preview of the brush’s orientation before touching the display.

Also on the newer stylus is the haptic engine, which allows the pencil to be squeezed to quickly and intuitively access tools or settings. There’s a new sensor in the barrel, which allows you to quickly switch between brushes, line weights or whatever else. It’s much more intuitive and frictionless than having to tap the screen, and cements the iPad mini 7’s status as the superior creative tool for anyone who’s going to be drawing on apps like Procreate.

Winner: iPad mini 7, thanks to its support for the superior stylus.

iPad mini 6 vs iPad mini 7: Performance

Here’s the other area where real differences start to come into play. The iPad mini 6 comes with Apple’s A15 Bionic chip, which is the same chip you’ll find in the iPhone 13 range. The iPad mini 7, however, comes sporting the A17 Bionic chip, putting its performance effectively on the level with that of an iPad Air. The difference this makes you can see illustrated in our benchmark test results:

In real-world use, this bears out as a performance boost for the iPad mini 7 you can just feel across the board, from browsing the UI to running creative apps. Our reviewer was working with several layers on a 10,000×10,000-pixel document in Procreate and had no problems. In gaming the performance hike is especially pronounced, with hardware-accelerated ray tracing ensuring that games look and feel light-years better than they do on the mini 6.

Battery life is much the same in both cases, working out to about 10 hours of basic real-world use. More intense use cases, like working with demanding creative apps, will drain the batteries of both devices faster.

Winner: iPad mini 7 wins this one by a long way – it’s the faster, smoother, better device.

iPad mini 6 vs iPad mini 7: Price

Currently, there’s not as much distance between the two price-wise as you might have expected. The iPad mini 6 is for sure the cheaper option, however at current prices, you’re not going to be making a significant saving with the older model. You can pick up an iPad mini 6 from around $434/£464 right now, or you can pay a little more and get the iPad mini 7 for its list price of $499/£479. Also it’s worth noting that the Apple Pencil 2 and Pencil Pro styluses are the same price, so you won’t make a saving there.

However, refurbished iPads are also widely available, and you’ll get an iPad mini 6 for much cheaper if you’re willing to go down this route (see our guide to buying refurbished tech). Either way, make sure you see our guide to the best iPad mini prices or check the list of current prices below to find the best deals.

Winner: iPad mini 6 – though you’ll want to go refurbished to make a worthwhile saving.

iPad mini 6 vs iPad mini 7: which should I buy?

While the iPad mini 7 may look pretty much identical to the iPad mini 6, on the inside it has been radically reshaped in a way that makes it unquestionably the better buy. Superior performance and support for the better Apple Pencil Pro make it a better option for creatives. It delivers a better gaming experience too, and the CPU improvements make zipping around the UI just feel so much smoother.

However, the iPad mini 6 is a great tablet in its own right, and is the right choice if you’re looking to save some cash. If that is the case, your best bet is to shop for a refurbished second-hand model – the price difference between the two is fairly minimal when you buy new.