iPad mini (5th generation)

The iPad mini (5th generation) arrived three and a half years after the iPad mini 4, the longest the line had ever gone without a new model, and Apple had said nothing about it in between. The body was unchanged, at 203.2mm by 134.8mm by 6.1mm and 1.7g heavier, so everything new sat inside the same shell.

The A12 Bionic chip came across from the iPhone XS, and Apple claimed three times the speed and nine times the graphics of the iPad mini 4. The 7.9-inch screen was 25% brighter than before and gained True Tone and wide colour, and Apple said it held the highest pixel density of any iPad.

Apple Pencil support was introduced on the iPad mini (5th generation), using the first-generation Pencil at $99, which charged by being plugged into the socket on the bottom. Storage started at 64GB with 256GB above it, and silver, space grey and gold were the three finishes.

It was announced on 18 March 2019 in a press release, alongside the iPad Air, a week before the services event where Apple TV+ was introduced. Orders opened the same day, while Apple said it would be in shops the following week, priced from $399.

It was replaced by the iPad mini (6th generation).