Home > Tablet comparison > Apple iPad mini 8.3" (7th Gen, 2024) vs mini 8.3" (6th Gen, 2021) – which one to choose?

iPad mini 8.3" (7th Gen, 2024) vs iPad mini 8.3" (6th Gen, 2021)

71 out of 100
Apple iPad mini 8.3
VS
62 out of 100
Apple iPad mini 8.3
iPad mini 8.3" (7th Gen, 2024)
iPad mini 8.3" (6th Gen, 2021)

Here we compared two mid-range tablets: the 8.3-inch Apple iPad mini 8.3" (7th Gen, 2024) (with Apple A17 Pro) that was released on October 15, 2024, against the Apple iPad mini 8.3" (6th Gen, 2021), which is powered by Apple A15 Bionic and came out 3 years and 2 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Memory
  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery life
  6. Camera
  7. Comments (2)

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each tablet
Reasons to consider the Apple iPad mini 8.3" (7th Gen, 2024)
  • Has 2x more RAM: 8GB versus 4GB
  • Shows 12% longer battery life (24:50 vs 22:16 hours)
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
  • 27% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1788K versus 1412K)
  • Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5
  • Delivers 16% higher peak brightness (508 against 439 nits)
  • More energy-efficient CPU – Apple A17 Pro
  • 38% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 2972 and 2148 points

Review

Evaluation of Apple iPad mini 8.3" (7th Gen, 2024) and mini 8.3" (6th Gen, 2021) crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation
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📱 Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

To get an accurate value-for-money index, update the default prices with actual prices from your country’s retailers (for the selected memory configs) and press the "Calculate" button.
Currency
8 / 128 GB
VS
4 / 64 GB
54.0
(Average)
Value Index
71.1
(Good)

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Tablet:
iPad mini 8.3" (7th Gen, 2024)
vs
iPad mini 8.3" (6th Gen, 2021)

Display

Type IPS LCD IPS LCD
Size 8.3 inches 8.3 inches
Resolution 1488 x 2266 pixels 1488 x 2266 pixels
Aspect ratio 3:2 3:2
PPI 327 ppi 327 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 500 nits 500 nits
HDR support No No
Screen protection Tempered glass Tempered glass
Screen-to-body ratio 77.8% 77.8%
Display features - DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
Display tests
RGB color space 99.4% 99.6%
PWM Not detected 178600 Hz
Response time 35 ms 32 ms
Contrast 1221:1 1133:1
Peak brightness test (auto)
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 195.4 mm (7.69 inches) 195.4 mm (7.69 inches)
Width 134.8 mm (5.31 inches) 134.8 mm (5.31 inches)
Thickness 6.3 mm (0.25 inches) 6.3 mm (0.25 inches)
Weight 293 g (10.34 oz) 293 g (10.34 oz)
Waterproof No No
Rear material Metal Metal
Frame material Metal Metal
Colors Gold, Gray, Blue, Purple Gray, Pink, Purple, Yellow
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-button Yes, in-button
Area 263 cm2 (40.8 inches2) 263 cm2 (40.8 inches2)
Repairability Average (2.73/5) -
Drop resistance Average (D) · 52 drops -
Screen-to-body ratio
Tablet Ranking (63rd and 93rd place)
iPad Ranking (17th and 24th place)

Performance

Chipset specifications of Apple iPad mini 8.3" (7th Gen, 2024) and Apple iPad mini 8.3" (6th Gen, 2021)
SoC
Chipset Apple A17 Pro Apple A15 Bionic
Max clock 3780 MHz 2930 MHz
CPU cores 6 (2 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4 cores at 2.11 GHz: Sawtooth
- 2 cores at 3.78 GHz: Everest		 - 4 cores at 2.02 GHz: Blizzard
- 2 cores at 3.23 GHz: Avalanche
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC
Lithography process 3 nanometers 5 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Apple Neural Engine Apple Neural Engine
GPU
Graphics 6 core Apple GPU Apple GPU 5-core
GPU shading units 768 640
GPU clock 1398 MHz 1338 MHz
FLOPS ~2147.2 GFLOPS ~1712.6 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Apple iPad mini 8.3" (7th Gen, 2024) and Apple iPad mini 8.3" (6th Gen, 2021)
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
Compute Score (GPU) 25633 -
Single-core score 2972 2148
Multi-core score 7397 5541
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
CPU 571661 419310
GPU 477510 378571
Memory 217930 144604
UX 521861 470170
Total score 1788962 1412655
Samples [3 tests] [31 tests]
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
Stability 79% -
Graphics test 10 FPS -
Graphics score 1350 -
3DMark Solar Bay
Stability - 82%
Graphics test 22 FPS 14 FPS
Section 1 27 FPS 18 FPS
Section 2 21 FPS 14 FPS
Section 3 16 FPS 10 FPS
Graphics score 5750 3696
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
Stability - 82%
Graphics test - 16 FPS
Graphics score - 2752
Sources: 3DMark [5], [6]
Submit your benchmark results

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Apple iPad mini 8.3" (7th Gen, 2024)
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-06-17 (Markyhuhu)AnTuTu 111679642
📘 2026-03-13 (mint.ai)Geekbench 6 GPU25633
📘 2026-03-13 (mint.ai)Geekbench 6 CPU2897 / 7192
📘 2026-03-13 (mint.ai)AnTuTu 111831753
📘 2026-02-04 (Helios_Qu)AnTuTu 111788962
Add View all (6)
Apple iPad mini 8.3" (6th Gen, 2021)
No benchmark results yet
Add

Memory

Configuration
RAM
RAM size 8 GB 4 GB
Memory type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory clock - 2133 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage size 128 GB 64 GB
Storage type NVMe NVMe
Memory card No No

Software

Operating system iPadOS 18 (Can be upgraded to iPadOS 26.5) iPadOS 15 (Can be upgraded to iPadOS 26.5)
OS size 14 GB -
OS updates 5 years -

Battery

Capacity 5078 mAh 5177 mAh
Max charge power 20 W 20 W
Battery type Li-Ion Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging No No
Reverse charging No No
Fast charging Yes (80% in 75 min) Yes (50% in 40 min)
Full charging time 2:00 hr 1:30 hr
Battery cycles 1000 cycles -
Battery life tests
Web browsing 07:39 hr 07:46 hr
Watching video 11:07 hr 09:54 hr
Gaming 04:43 hr 04:53 hr
Standby 161 hr 136 hr
General battery life
Add your battery life

Main camera

Matrix 12 megapixels 12 megapixels
Image resolution 4032 x 3024 4032 x 3024
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash Quad LED Quad LED
Stabilization Digital Digital
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (1080p) 240 FPS (1080p)
Lenses 1) Standard: 12 MP
1) Standard: 12 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh mode
Standard lens
Image resolution 12 MP 12 MP
Aperture f/1.8 f/1.8
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital

Selfie camera

Megapixels 12 megapixels 12 megapixels
Image resolution 4032 x 3024 4032 x 3024
Aperture f/2.4 f/2.4
Sensor CMOS CMOS
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 60 FPS 1080p (Full HD) at 60 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D) No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.3 5
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.1 3.1
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes Yes
GPS GPS, GLONASS GPS, GLONASS
NFC* No No
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM* - 1
Type of SIM card eSIM Nano
eSIM support* Yes Yes
Hybrid slot No No
LTE Cat* - 18
5G support Yes Yes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack No No
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness

Other

Category Mid-range Mid-range
Announced October 2024 September 2021
Release date October 2024 September 2021
Launch price (MSRP) $499 $499
Successor - - Apple iPad mini 8.3" (7th Gen, 2024)
Sensors - Barometer
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint		 - Barometer
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
Bundled charger Not included Yes, 20 W
Further details
Notes on iPad mini 8.3" (6th Gen, 2021):
    - Supports Apple Pencil 2.
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

After analyzing all the data, we think that the Apple iPad mini 8.3" (7th Gen, 2024) is definitely a better buy.

Cast your vote

So, which tablet would you choose?
102 (76.1%)
32 (23.9%)
Total votes: 134

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User opinions

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Avatar
Timmy February 23, 2025 at 07:57 PM
Doesn’t the ipad mini 7 have 8 gigs of ram? Could be wrong.
0 Reply
Avatar
Serhii February 24, 2025 at 09:14 AM
Yes, it got 8 GB of RAM.
+2 Reply
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