iPad mini 2021 Suggested to Have Under-Powered A15 Bionic Chip Compared to iPhone 13, No mmWave 5G Support

iPad mini 2021 appears to have an A15 Bionic chip clocked at 2.9GHz frequency.

By Jagmeet Singh | Updated: 17 September 2021 15:34 IST

iPad mini 2021 Suggested to Have Under-Powered A15 Bionic Chip Compared to iPhone 13, No mmWave 5G Support

Photo Credit: Apple

New iPad mini is going on sale from September 24

Highlights

iPad mini clock-speed has been suggested by a Geekbench listing
Apple claims the new iPad mini offers 40 percent performance jump
New iPad mini is not listed with mmWave 5G support on Apple’s site

iPad mini 2021 is suggested to have a downclocked A15 Bionic chip over the one available on the iPhone 13 models. The redesigned iPad mini — aka iPad mini 6 or iPad mini 2021 — is also found to have no support for 5G connectivity millimetre wave 5G (mmWave 5G) connectivity. Apple did mention 5G connectivity on the new iPad mini during its launch event earlier this week. However, it didn't confirm whether it would be limited to low- and mid-bands and not the high-frequency ones that are being used for mmWave 5G connections.

As initially reported by MacRumors, an iPad mini model has been listed on the Geekbench site with iOS 15 that carries a six-core processor with a base clock speed of 2.93GHz. The said iPad mini is believed to be the new model that Apple unveiled on Tuesday, September 14 at the ‘California Streaming' event.

The report says that the listed clock speed is slower than the 3.2GHz frequency associated with the iPhone 13.

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Apple doesn't detail clock-speed frequency of its iPad and iPhone models. It, however, at the virtual launch did mention that the six-core CPU on the new iPad mini is capable of delivering a “40 percent jump in performance” compared to the previous-generation model that had an A12 chip. The jump in performance could have been achieved even with the downclocked A15 Bionic.

It is important to note that Geekbench isn't an official source to understand internals of a device. Instead, the benchmark site is meant to look at performance-focussed results.

Alongside the chip details, technology writer Jason Snell of Six Colors has noticed that the new iPad mini doesn't support mmWave 5G. Apple at the launch mentioned 5G support as one of the key features on the new iPad mini. The specifications available on the company's site also show that the new model has 5G support on low- and mid-bands. However, there are no details about whether you would get mmWave 5G on the new iPad mini.

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The absence of mmWave 5G means that it would not be able to give high-speed data access using higher frequency radio bands ranging from 24GHz to 40GHz that are meant to provide better coverage in densely-populated areas. But mmWave 5G is still limited in comparison with sub-6GHz networks. It is also not that useful if you want a stable connectivity while moving from one place to another.

Gadgets 360 has reached out to Apple for clarity on the clock-speed and mmWave 5G support on the new iPad mini. This story will be updated when the company responds.

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Pre-orders for the new iPad mini are already live in 28 countries and regions with its availability scheduled for September 24. Customers in India will also be able to pre-order the new iPad mini starting 5:30pm today.

What is the best phone to buy right now? We discussed this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Apple iPad mini (2021) Wi-Fi

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 8.30-inch

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Resolution 2266x1488 pixels

OS iPadOS 15

Storage 64GB

Rear Camera 12-megapixel

More Apple Tablets

Apple iPad mini (2021) Wi-Fi + Cellular

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Light, ergonomic design
Great performance for gaming and entertainment
Bigger display is great for comics, magazines
Very polished iPadOS app ecosystem
Works great with Apple Pencil (2nd gen)

Bad
No 3.5mm audio socket
Top-end variants are expensive
Apple’s ecosystem is too restrictive for some

Read detailed Apple iPad mini (2021) Wi-Fi + Cellular review