According to new leaks, the iPad mini 6 could feature a series of upgrades that could make it a more exciting Apple device than the rumored iPhone 13.

Working with leaker xleaks, accessory maker Pigtou has created a concept design for the upcoming iPad mini 6 that appears to borrow heavily from the new iPad Air aesthetic, perhaps. However, it seems to be a bit too done, as it appears to feature a variety of upgrades, starting with an in-display version of Touch ID.

Pigtou claims that the iPad mini 6 will be roughly the same size as the iPad Mini 5, but with much smaller bezels and a larger overall screen. At 195 mm x 126.6 mm, the site says, the tablet's display size will be roughly 9 inches.

In addition, Pigtou claims that the tablet will feature an in-display fingerprint scanner and a hole-punch camera. What makes us skeptical is not only because the included renderings feature a cut-out home button rather than a true under-display fingerprint scanner as seen on the Samsung Galaxy S21.

The idea that Apple is working on such a feature is not new, and rumors date back to before the launch of the iPhone X. With that in mind, these claims seem surprising, if not dubious, since reintroducing Touch ID in this manner would be a very big deal.

Normally, this kind of high-end functionality is saved for the iPhone or, at a stroke, the iPad Pro. Both are premium devices that demand high prices, and new technology is inevitably expensive to implement; the iPad mini 6 is not the place to throw in something like that, even though under-display fingerprint scanners have become commonplace over the past two years.

This is not to say that Apple will not include Touch ID on the iPad mini 6. Even if the home button is eliminated, Apple has already proven with the iPad Air 4 that it can add Touch ID to the power button. Doing so would not only free up space for a full-screen design, but would also allow Apple to stick with a simple hole-punch camera and eliminate the need to carve out a notch for many components of Face ID.

But notch or no notch, a full-screen design for the low-cost iPad would be a major step forward. We have seen bezels shrinking rapidly over the past few years, and full-screen devices have become fairly standard on mid-range and budget devices.

It would also be good to see Touch ID continue to be included in the iPhone 13, given the many rumors suggesting that Touch ID may be coming to the device. After all, it would be odd to remove a long-standing feature from a tablet, only to reintroduce it in a flagship device a few months later.

We would love to see the iPad mini 6 with the latest A14 Bionic chipset. However, it is difficult to predict this, as Apple sometimes puts slightly older but still high-performing chips in lower-priced iPads, and sometimes puts the latest silicon. If the iPad mini 6 is coming later this year, it may have the A15 chip that the iPhone 13 is expected to have.

A USB-C connection would also be welcome. Apple's iPad Pro has already ditched Lightning for a more standardized port, while cheaper devices continue to use the 8+ year old connector, although the iPhone 13 is rumored to feature at least one portless model and skip USB-C entirely, probably won't happen for a while on the inexpensive iPad.

Of course, if the iPad Mini is expected to have USB-C, the next iPad Air will need it as well. Of course, the iPad Air will need USB-C as well.

And while we're asking for something, support for a second-generation Apple Pencil would be great, because it's pretty odd that Apple doesn't have some sort of uniformity regarding styluses.