The iPad Mini was shelved for a few years, but for 2021 Apple redesigned the iPad Mini in an effort to bring it more in line with the rest of its tablet offering.
We spent six days testing the new iPad Mini and are here to answer the question: Who exactly is this miniature tablet for, barely beating the iPhone 13 Pro Max in terms of size?
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The who, what and how
Who's this for:
The iPad Mini is the ideal device for someone who wants an ultra-portable tablet that doesn't sacrifice performance for size.
What you need to know:
While the iPad Mini has a smaller 8.3-inch screen, it's just as powerful as the iPad, iPad Air, and even iPad Pro in some respects.
However, the size of the screen puts some restrictions on multitasking, and the device does not have a smart connector to make it easy to connect accessories.
How this compares:
In face-to-face use, the iPad Mini outperforms other smaller tablets in terms of runtime and a faster experience across the board - apps open faster and content looks better.
A new look with a key port change
Buy it on Amazon:
USD $ 499 /
MX $ 13,499
The iPad Mini is almost ridiculously portable.
The 8.3-inch tablet can be easily held in one hand.
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The top of the device, when held vertically (or the left when held horizontally), features speakers, volume up and down buttons along with a power button that features Touch ID.
Adding a fingerprint or two was really pretty quick, and it was great in use.
We don't miss the iPad Mini's home button at all, it's a more functional design this way.
It's in a pretty good spot too, regardless of how you hold the tablet.
The bottom of the tablet is home to another key change: the USB-C port.
Apple's proprietary Lightning port is gone from this device, and it opens the door to interactions for the iPad Mini.
You can connect an external drive or a more universally acceptable dongle to transfer data.
The rear of the tablet is fairly clean with a protruding 12-megapixel camera that eliminates the possibility of the Mini lying flat on its own.
The iPad Mini is available in four colors: purple, pink, Starlight (silver), and space gray.
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Let's talk about the screen and center stage
The real star is the 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display.
In our tests, colors were accurate with slightly more vibrancy and deeper contrast points than the previous iPad Mini.
In fact, the performance of the screen is more or less in line with that of the iPad Air.
The images look realistic, and when taking a video, the content flows naturally across the screen.
Another area of improvement with the screen is with the use of the Apple Pencil on it: compared to the previous iPad Mini, there is less latency and handwritten text seems to flow onto the digital screen more realistically.
However, this is the second generation Apple Pencil and it can be attached to the right side of the device magnetically.
Not only does it make it easy to keep both devices together, but the iPad Mini will also wirelessly charge the Apple Pencil.
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The bezels here don't bother us at all, and if anything, we found that they provide a bit more room to hold the iPad Mini.
With such a small device at only 7.69 inches tall and 5.3 inches wide, you need ample room to hold and use it effectively.
Capable of almost anything an iPad can do
The iPad Mini belies the general notion that a smaller device is correlated with fewer features or less power.
It works with the A15 Bionic processor made by Apple, the same one that powers the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max.
It can handle business applications like Slack, Outlook, Word (actually, the entire Office suite), Photoshop, management systems, and even spreadsheets.
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The point is: The size is ideal for viewing or interacting with content, along with reading a digital book.
Apple promised up to 10 hours of playtime, and we beat it in our battery test.
In this test, we set the brightness to 50% and ran a video in a loop until the device died.
We also turned off all connectivity and monitored it with two cameras for redundancy.
The iPad Mini lasted 10 hours and 45 minutes.
In conclusion
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There's a lot to like about the iPad Mini - it has a vibrant display and a processor that is extremely up to snuff, and it really lets you do everything an iPad can do ... with some size restrictions.
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