iPad mini benchmarks reveal A15 Bionic downclock compared to iPhone 13

As known, both the iPhone 13 and the new iPad mini integrate an Apple A15 Bionic processor but the first results detected by the benchmarks showed that on the tablet the speed would have been "downclocked" to 2.9 GHz compared to 3.2 GHz.

However, this limitation would seem to have a minimal impact, in the order of 2-8% as regards the performance of the iPad mini compared to the iPhone. In the results detected via the Geekbench 5 app, Apple's small tablet achieved average scores in single-core and multi-core, respectively, of 1,595 and 4,540. In contrast, iPhone 13 Pro scored 1,730 and 4,660 points.

At the moment, it is not clear why Apple has decided to limit the speed of the A15 on the iPad mini, despite this the increase in performance compared to the previous generation with the A12, which dates back to 2019, is about 40% in the single-core performance and up to 70% more in multi-core performance. The RAM, as revealed by Xcode 13 beta, is equal to 4GB .

The new iPad mini, we recall, was announced last Tuesday during the "California Streaming" event and is already available on the Apple Store in pre-order with prices starting from $499 for the 64 GB version only Wi-Fi and deliveries to scheduled for September 24th, simultaneously with the arrival of the iPhone 13.

Apple iPad Mini (6th Gen) specifications

• 8.3-inch (2266 x 1488 pixels) Retina display with P3 Color Gamut, 500 nits brightness, 326 PPI, True Tone display
• Six-Core A15 (2 performance and 4 efficiency cores) Bionic 5nm chip with 64-bit architecture, 5‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine
• 64GB/256GB variants
• iPadOS 15
• 12MP camera with f/1.8 aperture, 5P lens, Quad-LED True Tone flash
• 12MP 122° Ultra Wide front camera with f/2.4 aperture, Retina Flash
• Dual microphones for calls, Stereo speakers
• Touch ID
• Dimensions: 195.4x 134.8×6.3mm; Weight: 293g (WiFi) / 297g (5G)
• 5G (sub‑6 GHz), Gigabit-class LTE, 802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 with 2×2 MIMO; Bluetooth 5.0, GPS with GLONASS, USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 (up to 5 Gbps)
• 19.3-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery with Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music

The new iPad mini has been confirmed to have 4GB of RAM, while the previous generation iPad mini had 3GB of storage. At the same time, the amount of RAM on the iPad of the ninth generation has not changed and is 3 GB.

iPad mini 6 vs iPad 9

For comparison, the iPad Air has 4GB of RAM; while the flagship iPad Pro has a maximum of 16GB of RAM. The main improvements for the sixth-generation iPad mini are the looks; thinner bezels and larger display, USB-C port - and 5G support. The new iPad Mini has an 8.3-inch screen (the predecessor has a 7.9-inch screen). This is a Retina LCD, not a Mini LED as rumors have pointed out. As the bezels are thinner, the Touch ID scanner has moved under the power button.

12MP front camera with ultra wide angle lens and Center Stage function. At the back there is a 12-megapixel sensor and a lens with an aperture of F / 1.8, it is possible to record videos in 4K resolution. Apple claims that processor performance has improved 40% and GPU performance has increased 80%.

The iPad Mini supports 5G and Wi-Fi 6. It also has a USB-C port at the bottom. The tablet supports the second-generation Apple Pencil, which can be magnetically attached to the side, and has stereo speakers.