New iPad mini 5 is missing camera flash and flashlight.

iPad User Guide (iPadOS 14) --> Accessibility --> Hearing --> Audio & Visual --> Flash the LED for alerts

On an iPad with a flash**, if you can’t hear the sounds that announce incoming calls and other alerts, iPad can flash its LED (next to the camera lens on the back of iPad). The LED flashes only if iPad is locked.

Tip: LED Flash for Alerts is a useful feature for anyone who might miss the tones associated with calls and other alerts in a noisy environment.

1. Go to Settings  > Accessibility > Audio & Visual, then turn on LED Flash for Alerts.
2. To prevent LED flashes when iPad is in silent mode, turn off Flash on Silent.

**i.e., Models with True Tone Flash

• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation and later)
• iPad Pro 11-inch
• iPad Pro 10.5-inch
• iPad Pro 9.7-inch

In conclusion, according to this User Guide, only the iPad models with True Tone Flash have actual camera flash and, thus, a flashlight.

I'm guessing that True Tone Flash has a hardware component that can't be activated with a software fix since the component is absent from all the other iPad models.

Thank you!

Thank you for answering! According to Apple’s iPad User Guide for OS 14, the fourth- and fifth-generation iPad minis have Retina Flash, and what that means is unclear to me. For some reason, I was under the impression that there should be a camera flash and, therefore, a “flashlight” on the iPad mini.

This all started because I was taking my iPad outside in the evenings to read in the dark on my patio. To avoid tripping on something, I wanted to turn on the flashlight but didn’t see one. I contacted Apple Support with the suggestion that this be made available in the iPad’s Control Center as it was on the iPhone’s. Thus ensued a lengthy chat session to find out why it wasn’t working on my iPad mini : }