Honestly, the iPad mini 6 is a bit of a freak of nature in Apple’s lineup. It’s now several years old, yet people are still buying it, talking about it, and—in many cases—preferring it over the newer iPad mini 7. It’s weird. Usually, tech becomes a paperweight the second a successor drops. But this 8.3-inch slate is basically the "Goldilocks" of the tablet world.
It fits in a jacket pocket. Sorta.
If you’re looking at one today, you’ve probably noticed the price has tanked on the used market. You can find these for around $300 now. That makes it a tempting entry point into the "small tablet" lifestyle, but 2026 has brought some quirks that weren’t there when this thing launched in 2021.
The Reality of Using an A15 Bionic in 2026
The heart of the iPad mini 6 is the A15 Bionic chip. Back in the day, this was top-tier stuff—the same silicon inside the iPhone 13 Pro. Today? It’s a solid middle-manager. It gets the job done, but it’s starting to sweat a little.
If you’re just reading Kindle books, scrolling through Reddit, or watching Netflix on a plane, you won’t notice a thing. It’s snappy. But here’s the catch: RAM. The mini 6 only has 4GB of RAM. In the era of iPadOS 26, that’s a tight squeeze.
Users on forums like r/ipadmini have been reporting that Safari starts refreshing tabs if you have more than about eight or ten open. If you’re trying to jump between a heavy game like Genshin Impact and a note-taking app, expect a bit of a stutter. It’s not "broken," but it’s no longer the speed demon it used to be.
What about Apple Intelligence?
This is the big elephant in the room. If you care about Apple’s latest AI features—the smart notification summaries, the revamped Siri, the image generation—you’re out of luck here. The iPad mini 6 does not support Apple Intelligence.
Apple drew a hard line in the sand: you need at least 8GB of RAM or an M-series chip to ride the AI train. Since the mini 6 lacks both, it’s effectively an "analog" digital device. For some people, that’s actually a plus. No AI fluff, just a tablet. For others, it’s a dealbreaker.
The Infamous Jelly Scrolling
We have to talk about the screen. If you’ve spent five minutes researching this device, you’ve seen the term "jelly scrolling." Basically, because of the way the display controller is positioned, one side of the screen refreshes slightly faster than the other when you’re in portrait mode.
It looks like the text is "wobbling" or stretching like Jell-O as you scroll.
Is it a big deal? It depends on your eyes. Mark Ellis, a well-known tech reviewer, noted that once you see it, you can’t unsee it. However, plenty of users—myself included—barely notice it unless they’re looking for it. Interestingly, the iPad mini 7 mostly fixed this by changing the display controller orientation, but on the 6, it’s a permanent hardware quirk.
- Display: 8.3-inch Liquid Retina
- Brightness: 500 nits (Great for indoors, "meh" in direct sunlight)
- Pencil Support: Works with Apple Pencil 2 (The one that magnetically sticks to the side)
- USB-C: Yes, and it’s fast enough for most SSDs
iPadOS 26 and the Battery Struggle
Software updates are a double-edged sword. While it’s great that the iPad mini 6 currently runs iPadOS 26.2, the new OS is a bit of a power hog.
Recent user reports suggest that battery life has taken a hit. Where you used to get a solid 10 hours of web browsing, many are now seeing closer to 6 or 7 hours on the original battery. If you’re buying a used unit, check the battery health. If it’s below 85% capacity, you’re going to be tethered to a charger more than you’d like.
The 64GB base storage is also a massive trap in 2026. System files alone take up a huge chunk, leaving you very little room for offline videos or heavy apps. If you find a 256GB model for a good price, grab it. The 64GB version is basically a glorified e-reader at this point.
Why People Still Choose This Over the Mini 7
You’d think everyone would just buy the newer one, right? Not really.
🔗 Read more: One Trillion: Why 10 to the Power of 12 Is More Than Just a Math Problem
The iPad mini 7 was a very "iterative" update. It looks identical. It has the same screen. The main upgrades were the A17 Pro chip and Apple Pencil Pro support. For a lot of people, those upgrades don't justify the $200 price gap on the street.
The mini 6 still supports the Apple Pencil 2. If you already own that pencil, moving to the mini 7 actually forces you to buy a new pencil because the old one isn't compatible. That’s a classic Apple move that has kept a lot of artists and note-takers firmly planted on the 6th generation.
Is It Still Worth Buying?
If you want a small, portable digital notebook and you don't care about AI, the iPad mini 6 is still a champion. It’s the perfect size for "couch browsing" or taking to a coffee shop.
However, we are reaching the twilight years of its peak performance. By 2027 or 2028, those 4GB of RAM are going to feel very cramped. If you're a power user who wants to edit 4K video or do professional-grade illustrations in Procreate, you should probably skip this and look at the mini 7 or wait for the rumored OLED mini 8.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Check the RAM usage: If you buy one, avoid keeping dozens of Safari tabs open simultaneously to prevent lag.
- Verify Battery Health: Since iPadOS doesn't show battery health percentages natively for this model, use a Mac/PC tool like iMazing or CoconutBattery to check the cycle count before buying used.
- Opt for 256GB: Unless you live entirely in the cloud, 64GB will become a frustration within a month of use.
- Pair with a Paper-like protector: Since the screen lacks ProMotion (120Hz), a matte screen protector makes the 60Hz writing experience feel much more natural and less "slippery."