iPad mini 8.5" (8th Gen, 2026) vs iPad mini 8.3" (6th Gen, 2021)
80
out of 100
VS
62
out of 100
Here we compared two tablets: the 8.5-inch Apple iPad mini 8.5" (8th Gen, 2026) (with Apple A20 Pro) that was released on October 26, 2026, against the Apple iPad mini 8.3" (6th Gen, 2021), which is powered by Apple A15 Bionic and came out 5 years and 3 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
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Apple iPad mini 8.5" (8th Gen, 2026)
- Waterproof body (IP67 classification)
- 2.5x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (3478K versus 1412K)
- Has 3x more RAM: 12GB versus 4GB
- Newer Bluetooth version (v6.0)
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 7 wireless networks
- OLED display (versus competitor's IPS LCD)
- Thinner bezels – 5.3% more screen real estate
- More energy-efficient CPU – Apple A20 Pro
- 2.2x faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 4752 and 2148 points
- Weighs 38 grams less
Review
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
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | OLED | IPS LCD |
| Size | 8.5 inches | 8.3 inches |
| Resolution | 1512 x 2316 pixels | 1488 x 2266 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 3:2 | 3:2 |
| PPI | 325 ppi | 327 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | - | No |
| Max rated brightness | 600 nits | 500 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1200 nits | - |
| HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | No |
| Screen protection | Tempered glass | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 83.1% | 77.8% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | - | 99.6% |
| PWM | - | 178600 Hz |
| Response time | - | 32 ms |
| Contrast | - | 1133:1 |
Screen space comparison
iPad mini 8.5" (8th Gen, 2026)
8.5″ (3:2 ratio) = 33.3 in2
iPad mini 8.3" (6th Gen, 2021)
8.3″ (3:2 ratio) = 31.8 in2
~4% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 195.3 mm (7.69 inches) | 195.4 mm (7.69 inches) |
| Width | 132.6 mm (5.22 inches) | 134.8 mm (5.31 inches) |
| Thickness | 5.4 mm (0.21 inches) | 6.3 mm (0.25 inches) |
| Weight | 255 g (8.99 oz) | 293 g (10.34 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP67 | No |
| Rear material | Metal | Metal |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black | Gray, Pink, Purple, Yellow |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-button |
| Area | 259 cm2 (40.1 inches2) | 263 cm2 (40.8 inches2) |
Screen-to-body ratio
Tablet Ranking (43rd and 103rd place)
iPad Ranking (9th and 25th place)
Performance
| Chipset | Apple A20 Pro | Apple A15 Bionic |
| Max clock | 4930 MHz | 2930 MHz |
| CPU cores | 6 (2 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 2.64 GHz: - 2 cores at 4.93 GHz: |
- 4 cores at 2.02 GHz: Blizzard - 2 cores at 3.23 GHz: Avalanche |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 2 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Apple Neural Engine | Apple Neural Engine |
| Graphics | 7 core Apple GPU | Apple GPU 5-core |
| GPU shading units | 896 | 640 |
| GPU clock | 1620 MHz | 1338 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~2903 GFLOPS | ~1712.6 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 63193 | - |
| Single-core score | 4752 | 2148 |
| Multi-core score | 12197 | 5541 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 948657 | 419310 |
| GPU | 1389766 | 378571 |
| Memory | 420368 | 144604 |
| UX | 720042 | 470170 |
| Total score | 3478833 | 1412655 |
| Samples | Less than 3 | [31 tests] |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Stability | - | 82% |
| Graphics test | - | 14 FPS |
| Section 1 | - | 18 FPS |
| Section 2 | - | 14 FPS |
| Section 3 | - | 10 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 3696 |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Stability | - | 82% |
| Graphics test | - | 16 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 2752 |
Memory
Configuration
| RAM size | 12 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 4800 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | 3 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 64 GB |
| Storage type | NVMe | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | iPadOS 27 (Can be upgraded to iPadOS 27.2) | iPadOS 15 (Can be upgraded to iPadOS 26.5) |
| OS updates | 7 years | - |
| Security updates | 7 years | - |
Battery
| Capacity | 4974 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 |
| Bypass charging | No | - |
| Fast charging | Yes (50% in 30 min) | Yes (50% in 40 min) |
| Full charging time | - | 1:30 hr |
| Web browsing | - | 07:46 hr |
| Watching video | - | 09:54 hr |
| Gaming | - | 04:53 hr |
| Standby | - | 136 hr |
General 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 | - Bokeh mode |
| 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/2.0 | f/2.4 |
| Sensor | - | 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 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) | 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 | 6.0 | 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 |
| 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 | Flagship | Mid-range |
| Announced | October 2026 | September 2021 |
| Release date | November 2026 | September 2021 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $699 | $499 |
| Successor | - | - Apple iPad mini 8.5" (8th Gen, 2026) |
| Sensors | - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Barometer - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Yes, 20 W | 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 8.5" (8th Gen, 2026) is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 2