iPad OS 18.3.1 - broke all media playback on new iPad Mini 6

I am on my 2nd iPad Mini6 in as many months. The first lost persistent wifi connectivity with iPad OS 18.3. The replacement from Apple then lost all media playback capabilities with iPad OS 18.3.1. Does anyone else have a similar experience? I went through the Apple Support text and then phone support and even generated logs with video screen capture to aid in diagnosing. I have since restored to factory settings multiple times - no luck. I cannot play ANY audio or video content from ANY source with this iPad. It is also VERY slow when opening web pages, etc. Apple Support's latest recommendation is that this is an "emerging issue" and that I should be sure to keep my iPad OS up to date. If the fix is to be included in an RRU, when is it coming? If the fix is being deferred to the next major release, where is my replacement iPad?