This article has been indexed from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors – Front Page
The upcoming sixth-generation iPad mini will feature volume buttons on the top side of the device to accommodate a full-size Apple Pencil, according to images seemingly from an accessory maker shared by the Twitter user known as “Majin Bu.”
The images purportedly depict the sixth-generation iPad mini with an iPad Air-style all-screen design, featuring squared-off edges, a Touch ID fingerprint scanner in the power button, and no Home Button, as has been previously rumored. The most noticeable change that differentiates the sixth-generation iPad mini’s design from that of the iPad Air is the relocation of the volume buttons, with the buttons being moved opposite the Touch ID power button on the top edge of the device. This is an unprecedented iPad design change, with all previous iPad models to date featuring the volume buttons on the right side of the device.
The main reason for moving the volume buttons appears to be to fit the Apple Pencil on the right edge of the device. The iPad Air and iPad Pro models are able to fit both the volume buttons and a magnetically attached Apple Pencil on the right edge of the device, but this does not seem to be the case on the next-generation iPad mini due to its considerably smaller size. This likely prompted Apple to move the volume buttons elsewhere.