The Best eReader for Reading Manga!

If you're an avid manga fan looking for the best way to read and collect manga, the Kobo Forma is the eReader you're looking for. Here's why...
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Read my full written review here: booksandbao.co...
Patreon: / booksandbao

[@Yoslizzle]

If anyone wants this ereader, it was replaced by the sage. Same 8 inch screen and same physical page turn buttons. Not sure if there are any differences. That's how I enjoy my manga.

[@MegaPieru3000]

Inkpad 3 is better and cheaper.

[@lumieredice485]

@@MegaPieru3000 No it is not. :/

[@harry619]

@@lumieredice485 Not that knowledgeable on e-readers. How so if I may ask?

[@lumieredice485]

@@harry619 I'm just saying that it's expensive, not saying that I'm knowledgeable about e-readers.

[@NeonPixels81]

I gotta have physical buttons. I’m telling you, you’re gonna want those physical buttons. Guess what? I got a fever, and the only cure is physical buttons.

[@AConnorDN38416]

Thanks for the recommendation! I've tried reading manga on my kindle paper white a few times but sometimes the kanji characters are too small to really make out or at least really difficult to read. I'm glad to see there are e-readers out there with a big enough screen since buying manga in e-book format seems to be the cheapest and easiest way to get untranslated manga that I've found.

[@callum_mclaughlin]

"Eight inches is the perfect size" - Willow, I have never agreed with you more.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

You absolute cheeky binch

[@idc195]

@@WillowTalksBooksur a male right

[@kirito_online97]

​@@idc195 clearly

[@BixelDoggy]

Wdym by that? 🤨

[@ordinarryalien]

​@@BixelDoggy🍆

[@MarinaUz]

This e-reader looks cool! I'm usually reading manga and graphic novels on my phone but I have to use the zoom in option to read. I kind of like it although it's good to know there are options!

[@WillowTalksBooks]

I was tempted to do that as well but the zoom seemed annoying so this saved me :)

[@TheTurkeyClubChannel]

You had me at the Berserk thumbnail

[@daddykarlmarx6183]

I appreciate this vid as it helped me in my search, but I ended up finding what I think is an even better device, the boox Nova air. It has about the same screen size however I prefer the Nova air not having that giant bar on the side, and most importantly it runs Android, so you can get tachiyomi, which is the best and easiest way to read manga. I was really tempted to get the color version for comics as well but seeing videos I found out that the color layer destroys the contrast, cripling the manga experience just for mediocre colors(the colors are rendered at a lower resolution than the black and white and just don't look the best) I find that color content looks fantastic on an oled screen, the colors really pop, the main reason I don't read manga on my phone is just the eye strain but it's not really an issue with color anyways. Anyways sorry for the rant thanks for the vid

[@spacejohannes]

For anyone wondering where to actually buy a Kobo Forma, the device is discontinued. The alternative would be the newer Kobo Sage, which is a great reader - also 8" - but suffers from mediocre battery life.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Glad I got one when I did

[@abikyoukan2]

nooo, I was planning on getting one. Wonder if the libra is worth getting instead then. I'm in the UK

[@GamingXXGaming]

@@abikyoukan2 same

[@lil.ikuraa]

Hi Willow ~ I think the universe read my mind because this is the exact review I have been looking for! Thank you for sharing, friend! 😊 I have been wanting to read more manga and light novels but scrolling on my phone strains my eyes and gives me a headache. I love that you mentioned keeping your phone on warm toned all the time because I’m the same. I feel less crazy hahaha. I also reduce white point (but not all the way or else you will constantly deal with screen glare) and turn off motion as much as possible in settings. Thanks again for sharing! 🙂

[@TheUnbiasedQuincy]

Very informative. I couldn't agree more. The physical copies were taking up to much space.

[@javym1431]

I bought a kobo forma because of you! It’s amazing and thank you so much!

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Oh wow that’s great news! You’re very welcome!

[@cherre2080]

Buying physical manga is a hassle for sure. A good thing is that a lot of series have box sets with the complete series. That’s about all I get now. I hate waiting for that one manga to be available. Definitely getting a kobo e-reader to read manga’s like jojo that haven’t even been released in English. Still love my physical manga though

[@skwill8412]

thank you! ive been spending the last two days looking for something like this

[@downunder935]

The difference is the same made me laugh. Thank you so much for the review, I am a very avid manga reader but it's becoming impossible to handle screens because of my eyesight. It was super helpful to get feedback from someone with similar needs and preferences.

[@okanut]

Thanks for the heads up! This review was awesome, very to the point and explained well. I'll probably be picking up a Forma soon!

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Thanks so much! If you do get one, I hope you enjoy it. I'm reading more manga than ever before!

[@thebeachyreader]

Loved this review! I’m new to the ereader world and have been looking for one that has really good picture quality for manga & graphic novels. Thank you for this! ❤️

[@cyanrazorCel]

Looks amazing. I went with the kindle fire just because there was a cheap mother's day deal, but this looks way better. Worth getting sometime. A colorless screen is nice, even though there are colored manga pages at times.

[@daddykarlmarx6183]

I wanted to get a color device but they're much more expensive, the black and white images look fuzzier, and the color is at a much lower resolution than the black and white, so basically you're sacrificing picture quality and cost to get color that doesn't look that good. Unless you primarily use your e-readers for webtoons or comics, it's probably worth just getting a black and white device untill the tech improves

[@cyanrazorCel]

@@daddykarlmarx6183 manga looks good on the Kindle fire and it's a good size, but this device looks better for black and white images.

[@goodguymario]

Stupid question here for other Forma owners: Can I connect to my amazon kindle library and also transfer books or manga via some format like pdf? Is it simple in both cases? Thanks in advance!

[@dawnofthesecondday]

I actually just purchased a kobo a few weeks ago after you mentioned you had gotten one! Looking forward to getting used to it as it's my first eReader experience. I'm happy to hear that manga looks fine on this as well!

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Oh that's great news! I love mine so much more than any Kindle. I always viewed Kindle as something I needed for travel, but Kobo is something I actually want to use!

[@dawnofthesecondday]

@@WillowTalksBooks Yep and what really sold me on kobo (aside from being more global friendly) is the library feature! I haven't tried manga on it yet, but at least it makes long books easier to carry.

[@jayvee3165]

Think you might have saved me from spending a good buck on an Oasis lol Will take a bit longer but I'm kind of particular about reading so I'll wait to get a Forma and the better experience Thank you!

[@effloress]

Oh gosh, this was so helpful. I've been considering "upgrading" my kindle...but now I'll have to hunt down a Kobo Forma instead 🤓

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Nice! Yeah I almost got a Kindle Oasis for the bigger screen but then found this!

[@francisnorthwood7862]

Do not do it unless you like unsharp images

[@reginaldforthright805]

@@WillowTalksBooks I have the oasis and it’s definitely too small

[@TrucVanThanhLam-w5h]

Loving the best eBooks here! Immersive Translate, a web plugin, is perfect for translating your favorite reads.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Take a drink every time I say "eight inches" lol

[@rittis013]

Berserk thumbnail lure me in and I'm not complaining

[@rokalifeinlondon726]

I literally just bought a kobo to read manga! Cos I saw you using one 🙂 enjoying it so far!

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Thats wonderful news! I'm so happy to hear that 💜

[@Toosimoo]

I'm so glad you made this video, I've been searching for an e reader specifically for reading manga.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

I'm so glad I could help! I use my Forma every day and love it.

[@rubyjreads7503]

I'm moving over to the Kobo ecosystem. I'm hearing good things about Kobo. Going to purchase one of their readers soon. I have several Amazon brand of ereaders and tablets. Their "upgrades" are not enough for me to purchase another device in their ecosystem.

[@paranoidfrandroid]

"the difference is the same" 😂great review.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

lol I know, shameful 🙈

[@wilddreams4]

How do ereaders show double page artwork? They seem to only show one page at a time.

[@Vary180]

it looks good, but i noticed even the cover page is black and white, so the screen doesn't support colors at all? and what about double page spreads? i'm sure you can turn it sideways but it's always gonna be smaller that way. for me opencomic on pc still looks like the best digital reading experience (which can be read like the book with the right settings).

[@Ohmz27]

True, nothing beats digital for quality like reading on a monitor a foot from the screen hehe. Black and white & awkward spreads are worth putting up with for the luxury of reading in bed tho, or on the sofa, away from house etc.

[@georgesmith5201]

You're right. Kindle pisses me off with those stock images. Like, how could they not take advantage of the permanence of an e-ink display?

[@felix-zm9tm]

Great points here! I just discovered your channel through your Asian translated recommendations and stumbled on this video 😁 I’d love to pick up one of these soon. How much manga does the Forma’s storage allow you to load?

[@WillowTalksBooks]

That's a good question! I actually don't think it holds as much as I'd like but I typically delete volumes once I've read them and then redownload them if I want to reread them. There's also one with a bigger memory size but I went for the cheaper one.

[@felix-zm9tm]

@@WillowTalksBooks thank you! Cheers 🤗

[@PierreMarkLavoie]

The Forma is 8GB and the average Manga manga would be around 600Mb. You can roughly add 10 mangas with some space left for something else.

[@Neurocaos]

How do you download the manga, what is the format?

[@WillowTalksBooks]

@@Neurocaos www.kobo.com

[@Xanduur]

I wish it didn’t have Kobo printed on the front of the device. Also, it is over saturated. That is a fact. Whether someone prefers it to the printed books is personal taste.

[@ggmacahia]

Might retire my Oasis too for this since I had my Forma 32gb 4 days ago. I love that the weight is bearable and almost weighs like the Oasis but evenly distributed

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Glad I picked this over the Oasis

[@ggmacahia]

@@WillowTalksBooks as a big reader of manga, this is must especially if they find the limited 32gb model hehe. Your video is very informative and caused this switch lol

[@Gamxin]

I'm glad you used Berserk for the example here as that's the one I'm looking this up for lol, it's impossible to find a lot of the deluxe editions so after I finish the first volume I'm just gonna use my Kindle Oasis

[@Zarathustr]

Amazon?

[@Gamxin]

@@Zarathustr nah no room on my shelf anymore

[@Zarathustr]

@@Gamxin Yeah I have the first edition only. So fat and heavy

[@Gamxin]

@@Zarathustr exactly what I did

[@Milan-cf1xe]

Is the Kobo Clara 2e similar but only smaller? The point of an Ereader for me is mobility and sometimes i only have a small slingbag with me. For that the 7,8 inch might be too big.

[@zurie_weiss]

02:54 "The difference is the same? This is why I don't do product reviews." LOL

[@nickkings7881]

One of my favorite catch phrases is it's the same difference or just same difference

[@simplelivingdude4271]

Bought one but the store only has 5 berserk in store?

[@stevv3614]

Never understood a e reader or looked it up how do you buy the books or volumes

[@khaiser666]

Awesome review! But how do you get your manga into the eReader? I'm sorry if the question is too basic but I don't know anything about this topic. Ty!

[@WillowTalksBooks]

When you get the eReader, you get an account with Kobo. You just buy ebooks from kobo.com and they are downloaded to your eReader. Just like buying ebooks on Amazon, they download straight to Kindle.

[@TuzoAnime]

Thank you so much.

[@jay_cadiramen]

Do you think you'd upgrade to the Kobo Libra Colour?

[@dante6841]

Can u zoom in? I personally have problems with my eyes so that's why I always have to read on my desktop screen

[@angelvalenzuela6840]

Quick question, im just getting into manga and per book it feels expensive so thats why i want to get into ereading. My question would be , how is thw manga selection. When I looked into the nook it didnt have as a lost of the tittles o wanted thw kindle did. Is this an issue you’ve run in to?

[@CroakerOutdoors]

First manga I read was Berserk a three years ago and I switched from a Kindle Paperwhite to Oasis for a larger screen. Since then I a daily manga reader for an hour+ every evening and on my lunch break too haha. Just ordered a Sage after watching your video as the jump from 7" to 8" would be just what I am looking for now. Also, my Oasis is 8GB so going to 32GB will be a nice bump and I can keep more volumes onboard and have to plug in less. Also, I'm not sure when it was implemented but Kindles do show your latest cover upon sleeping the device.

[@thenameisbet5892]

Do you have any tips for reading fight scenes

[@CroakerOutdoors]

@@thenameisbet5892 I convert the CBR files using Kindle Comic Converter (mac/pc) into mobi. I set the selection for "spread splitter" to indeterminate. It will combine both pages for a larger scene and you get the full effect, then on page advance you will see one then the other. Helpful when the text can be kinda small on a two page spread.

[@droberts4791]

I'm considering buying this How is it for reading outside (in the sun).... I'm a very outdoors person and my Samsung just isn't cutting it

[@CroakerOutdoors]

@@droberts4791 Both my Kindle Oasis and Kobo Sage are absolutely terrific in the sun. The screen really pops and everything is super clear. I'll read in/by the pool in the summer and on the deck whenever I can. If you have never used an ereader its pretty neat see how well they perform compared to an LCD screen.

[@Ohmz27]

@@CroakerOutdoors Which do you prefer, Sage or Oasis? Which is the better reading experience? I mean the larger form factor on the oasis will be nice to have, but is it as comfortable as the Sage? Looking to replace my "lent out" Paperwhite, so even the 8" would be larger than what I was happy with, but weighing my options before I comit.

[@seanharrell5567]

Hello, so I have a paperwhite which I've been reading manga on. I was blessed with great eyesight so it's fairly easy to read. But I just watched your awesome review and kinda wanna get a kobo now.... Do you still recommend it the Kobo Forma? Thank you for your time!!

[@WillowTalksBooks]

You're very lucky! I got such bad heachades trying to do that. But yes I read manga on my Kobo every day and love it still!

[@pcpr80]

@@WillowTalksBooks what you think about kobo libra?

[@WillowTalksBooks]

@@pcpr80 I don't own one

[@pcpr80]

@@WillowTalksBooks thanks. I tought maybe you have tried or something like that

[@nathanmoyer7297]

this was very helpful, thank you!

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Are you sure? I think I did a terrible job lol but thank you!

[@valorant.mp4413]

@@WillowTalksBooks No you did great

[@WillowTalksBooks]

@@valorant.mp4413 Aw thanks!

[@zuffin1864]

let us know how old comics look on a color e ink tablet once you get one, because the new reprints are oversaturated

[@ajeesh3485]

How you load e manga? Which are the sources you use to get the e manga?

[@Aki-wq6xh]

I can’t agree more!!! I have not even finished your video and I am commenting!!! Avid manga reader here. I recently retired my Amazon Oasis for manga and use Forma for it. It is AMAZING. I actually much prefer the rubber to metal too and I don’t understand why other KZbin reviewers say otherwise. I want to get one more as a back up. Do you know anything about Sage? I want to try Sage but I read it’s heavy.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

In so glad you agree! I do wish I'd shelled out for the larger storage because it's so easy to fill with manga and then juggle your downloads constantly. Apart from that, it's a dream.

[@techh9171]

Reading manga on my ipad mini6 is just amazing. Perfect size and also the screen is amazing

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Cool, good to know

[@athena4580]

Hello, I'm thinking about buying an e-reader like this but not only for reading manga, so my question is, how is it to read normal books on this?

[@Amaya-qx6bu]

Great review!

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Aw thanks! I'm not sure I agree lol but glad it was useful!

[@isabelab6851]

My big kindle was bricked by some software glitch…and had to get a replacement that is tiny. 8 inches sounds like the perfect size for an e reader. I have never read any manga…I have been intrigued about it. A few questions…is the reader e-ink? Can you read other books? What format? Thank you

[@WillowTalksBooks]

PDF, EPUB, and MOBI are the main formats it supports and, yes, it has an e-ink display. I've already bought and read a few novels on it as well.

[@reginaldforthright805]

It needs to be 7.5 inches in height, of course they measure screens diagonally and forma is 8 inches, but the height is probably less than 7.

[@BigBrotherrrr]

Can it be used in the landscape mode? So that I could turn the page and then scroll it down?

[@nicolasrosas4752]

Half a inch to an inch isnt alot, came for a review, left with higher selfesteem. Edit: 8 inches is the perfect size. Im sad again..

[@DeadlyHeartss]

ive been using a paperwhite gen 5 (from 2012) for around a week now reading manga and like yea some details dont exist like small dots and thin lines yet i still enjoy reading on it i am changing to a kindle 11th gen in another week it was more of a temporary thing BUT it did the job and i enjoyed the book

[@koroshiyashinigami]

3:56. You heard it here first!

[@loonabutterfly]

but can you zoom in?

[@polyhex7046]

Hey man do you think the 6.8 inches kobo libra 2 could read manga?

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Not a man but yes, all Kobo devices can read manga as far as I know. So go with whatever one takes your fancy!

[@mattr.7833]

Nice. I have been reading my manga on a large tablet for the last few years as i prefer reading manga in landscape. I have an ereader but i don't like my manga on it, so i just use it for novels.

[@Ferkrat]

Not sure if...🤔

[@WillowTalksBooks]

🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

[@goodnighthok]

WARNING to those with bad eyesight or prefer larger text in general, I got the 7/8 inch kobo and it was too small for my preference, tried to stick with it but it was pretty unbearable. sold it and planning to get 9/10 inch one.

[@bamzerdaniel1997]

How do panels with 2 page spread show on it? Is it landscape? Or is it spilt into two pages

[@joliebunny88]

I love listening to you! You make everything sound so interesting. Have you ever thought about starting a podcast? 🙈

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Thank you so much! I have considered it but between writing articles and making videos I already work myself to death lol

[@nostrilcake]

Can I download apps on it? Because I’m looking for an eReader & was gonna get a Kindle but apparently you can’t get apps on it & I was hoping to get Shonen Jump on it

[@slugoperator]

Did you get the 32gb version? I want to get the Forma but the 32gb version is unavailable and I'm worried about storage. For regular books the 8gb is fine but for manga I would imagine it adds up quickly.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

I got the 8gb version and that's the one downside. I'm always deleting volumes to make room for more. I don't often re-read manga so it's not much of a hassle and redownloading is easy enough. Still, it is a drawback.

[@slugoperator]

@@WillowTalksBooks Well thank you for all the help. This video and your comments helped me pull the trigger and I'm really enjoying it so far. Thanks a ton.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

@@slugoperator That's great news!

[@johnleonard3951]

The difference is the same. I will never forget this

[@WillowTalksBooks]

My legacy

[@craigsmart1986]

I read people recommending a kindle paper white for manga so I decided to buy one, unfortunately I found the text to be way too small to read comfortably and it has a weird margin all the way around so the pages don't use up the full screen. Very disappointed.

[@blakknasa]

Very helpful. Thanks!

[@WillowTalksBooks]

You're very welcome!

[@Kaienhere]

Great manga taste btw!

[@Teo.Yuji13]

Can someone explain to me why ebook mangas cost more than per one?

[@MegaPieru3000]

Which is better, Kobo Sage or Inkpad 3?

[@michaelpinalmartinez1710]

You look like Pam's brother from the Office if Pam had a brother haha

[@WillowTalksBooks]

This video’s old. Now people just compare me to Pam

[@nilulal545]

That's the same reason why i have started to look into the e-reader, which still gives me the best reading experience for manga. I just needed to get that right one!! And you helped me which one!! The side by side gives a good description and comparison. Thank you!! ❤ I honestly feel like i found some soild information to make that decision. Thank you for this video it helped me big time!!

[@JavierGonzalez-xt6yn]

Would this be good for reading American comics as well like marvel and dc? Thanks in advance!

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Not in my opinion, because it's only black and white and American comics are typically much bigger. It's a shame!

[@jakthebomb]

I have been using a Kindle Oasis for Manga, and my iPad Pro 12 Mini-LED.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Great.

[@BenRogersWPG]

I read a lot of manga, and now I'm interested in this. Thanks so much for the review

[@WillowTalksBooks]

You're very welcome! Hope I've steered you in the right direction.

[@chrisplissken4626]

Wow i found a page in my country for the Kobo readers ....and they go from 180 USD to 560usd ...crazy I'm gonna try to get it for my birthday so I'm gonna gather my cash to get that 10inch version of the tablet

[@mrbrit6746]

Sorry for the noob question, but how do you get manga onto the device? Is there a digital store or would I have to somehow transfer the files from PC?

[@WillowTalksBooks]

There’s a digital store. You can access it via the tablet, or buy books via the Kobo online store and they’ll appear on the device immediately :)

[@paladinfriend]

"8 inches is the perfect size" You can say that again!

[@Bcz4r]

Do you have a ereader or eink tablet you like for reading web-comics?

[@Suraj-Khati-2001]

Man, the voice was unexpected!

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Thanks :)

[@Sam-lt1pb]

I'll have to consider this, because I hated manga on my paperwhite. I dislike reading on ebooks in general as well unfortunately

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Yeah this is far far better than using a Paperwhite but if you dislike eReaders in general, it probably won't change your mind

[@xSh0uTx]

@@WillowTalksBooks How is it better? its same resolution as kindles like paperwhite. I'm reading stuff on oled's these days and considering fold as my next buy for that. I don't know much about e-ink display specs but there are some android ones that im looking into as well.

[@trungtechreview627]

why dont people think off buying an ipad mini or a samsung tablet? This e-reader device look so poor.

[@weabooavatar399]

Did he get the deluxe edition?

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Who’s he?

[@weabooavatar399]

@@WillowTalksBooks you

[@ParthapratimsChannel]

Why not Kindle? Its only 1 inch less than kobo

[@antonioquintero-felizzola5334]

Hello there! Greetings from Canada. Sorry for my ignorance, where do you buy/download all the manga? Any app? Site? Thank you !

[@WillowTalksBooks]

You but them from the Kobo website, either on your computer or on the Kobo itself, and they get immediately downloaded :)

[@Buntz-Gyokuto]

Hey, I’ve been stumbling around looking for a e-reader. I’ve wonder since your upload..has your opinion changed or remained the same for manga reading?

[@WillowTalksBooks]

It’s remained the same. I read manga on it every day. Although I’ve heard this model has been discontinued, which sucks

[@lostintechnology1851]

Hello Friend, do you have a good workflow of sending manga to the kobo so instead of multiple volumes you get 1? Also are you stricktly using epub for metadata reasons?

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Sorry, I really don't know what any of that means. I visit the Kobo Store at www.kobo.com and just buy the manga, then it gets sent to my Kobo.

[@lostintechnology1851]

@@WillowTalksBooks I read lots of manga that is not licensed/not translated so I do rely on scantlations and thats why I was asking. Also are you satisfied with the battery life? I had to turn the refresh for every page since I was getting alot of "ghosting" and think the battery life took a hit from that other then that so far I am quite happy with the devices. Big shame that patent holders are slowing down eink development big time. Cheers and thanks for the reply

[@harizismail314]

Accompanies me everywhere!

[@reginaldforthright805]

If one of these ereaders ever gets the shonen jump app it would be an instant buy for me. Buying the individual volumes is just too pricey.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Totally fair

[@zackrajpoot4657]

Does it have color manga or just black.and white ?

[@johnm.7621]

can you click the words in the speech bubbles of the manga to look them up with dictionary with kobo?

[@frenchtoastchopsticksmanga5792]

Good info! Thanks!

[@rbkishere]

How to load manga on it. Can we download tachiyomi on it?

[@notmyrealID]

Does Kobo Forma work on Manga plus by shueisha?

[@mcrandy8138]

Hi. Just want to ask. Can i read the latest manga release chapter using kobo forma?did the kobo bookstore provide this? Or they only provide manga by volume /tankobon?

[@WillowTalksBooks]

It's just by volume. As soon as chapters are collected into tankobon for sale in bookshops, they also get put on the Kobo store.

[@mcrandy8138]

@@WillowTalksBooks is there any way to read it by the latest chapter in kobo forma.im planing to buy e-Reader so that i can read the latest release chapter of manga.

[@Graves1]

Great suggestion, i picked up an Ipad mini 6 recently solely for reading manga, put a matt screen protector on it and its been absolutely amazing.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Oh that’s a very clever idea!

[@amoralesled]

Do u remember which exact screen protector u got? I just got a iPad mini 6 as well