The 6th generation iPad mini is nothing new. Apple introduced the iPad mini in 2012, not long after they introduced the first iPad in 2010. However, for the longest time, it was little more than a low-powered iPad. It was smaller and could do less than the other iPads. Then, Apple introduced the 6th generation iPad mini. With this iPad mini, Apple finally gave a “mini” product the “pro” treatment fans had hoped for.
Now if only they’d do that with the iPhone.
The latest iPad mini is the 6th generation, and, yes, it was first introduced nearly two years ago. Apple doesn’t update the iPad mini as often as the iPhone or iPad Pro and iPad Air, but it’s likely to see an update within the next year. Still, even today, nearly two years after its introduction, the iPad mini is still a worthy device. It’s powered by Apple’s A15 Bionic, a chip that is only very slightly less powerful than the latest iPhone processor, the A16 Bionic. In fact, the upgrade in performance between the A15 and A16 was so small, many people testing the iPhone 14 noticed no clear performance improvement over the iPhone 13, and benchmarks didn’t show much of a difference either. That’s a 6-core CPU, a 5-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine, along with 4GB of memory, up to 256GB of storage (which I recommend maxing out). For the 6th generation iPad mini, Apple finally added USB-C and Apple Pencil 2 support, making it feel more like a tiny pro-level device.
Apple basically made the iPad mini an iPad Air, missing only the keyboard attachment. That’s fine because you won’t likely use this in the same way you’d use an iPad Air. While I needed the Magic Keyboard for my iPad Air, I haven’t used a keyboard with my iPad mini. Despite that, it’s still my favorite iPad.
In This Article:
Who’s the iPad mini For?
Don’t worry about that Pixel 5a, they’re just being dramatic
I had a hard time visualizing the iPad mini before buying it. I took a bunch of photos with other items, so I hope it’ll help give you an idea of its size. It’s around the size of a small notebook and feels like a shrunken iPad Air. The only thing missing to complete the illusion is the lack of a Smart Connector. The iPad mini lacks a Smart Connector for a keyboard or a charging device and that’s actually fine. I don’t feel like I need a smart keyboard for a device this small. A hardware keyboard would be just too small to work with this. The software keyboard in landscape view is a bit too cramped for regular use already. I often type on this with my thumbs, like it’s a large iPhone. However, I usually don’t type on this. While I use my iPad Air for writing and a keyboard all the time, the iPad mini has served me more as a device for handwriting and reading.
Before the pandemic, I used to use an A5-sized notebook at work. Once I started working from home, I began using an iPad Air with an Apple Pencil, and couldn’t go back. Having searchable notes and drawings is just too convenient. Looking through my old notebooks for information, despite using a labeling and indexing system, is not easy. Using Notability on an iPad is much easier.
However, I noticed my iPad Air was taking up a lot of space on my desk. It also didn’t fit well in my smaller sling bags for taking into the office.
So who’s the iPad mini for? Are you the kind of person who likes to take notes by hand? Then this iPad’s for you. Do you want something a little larger than an iPhone Pro Max, but don’t want to carry a tablet with you everywhere? Go with an iPhone 13 mini and an iPad mini! Want to read books on your iPad? The iPad mini will be just the right size to hold for hours. The iPad is perfect for people who want something that’s about the size of an A5 notebook like a Moleskine to take notes, read, and even do some light sketching and photo editing. I’ve done everything from editing photos for this blog, sketching out tattoo ideas, reading comics and books, and, of course, taking notes at work with my iPad mini, and it has felt great for all of that.
iPad Air vs iPad mini
Still on the fence between these? Simply put, if you plan on using your iPad as a laptop replacement, the iPad Air is the right choice for you. If you’re looking for a small digital notebook for sketching, notes, and reading, the iPad mini will be right for you, especially if you want to be able to use a small bag or large pockets to carry your iPad around.
Performance
The iPad mini has an A15 processor, and my iPad Air has an A14 processor. The difference in performance between the two, however, is negligible. Apple’s processors for their mobile devices haven’t improved by leaps and bounds in some time, with each update being only a small bump in performance. I’ve noticed it’s about the same, performance-wise, as my iPad Air, which also has 4GB of memory. For a while, Apple had slightly better versions of their A-series processors in their iPads than their iPhones. However, the model in the iPad mini seems to be the same as the ones in the iPhone. Therefore, the A14 in the iPad Air and the A15 in the iPad mini seem to have identical performance in CPU benchmarks. The iPad mini definitely has a clear edge when it comes to GPU performance though, which will come in handy with exporting videos or processing photos.
As for how that actually feels? I can switch apps and look up items online, and easily run multiple apps at the same time without issue. I’ll have Firefox open on one side and my notes on another side with apps in the background, ready for when I’m distracted. It’s just not something I have to think about. I reach for my iPad, I use Touch ID to turn it on, and launch the app I need. It’s fast, I don’t feel annoyed waiting, and it’ll have my notes ready to go as soon as I open the app, already loaded and held in memory.
Some people may look to use these for photo processing. I generally found that I preferred editing photos on my iPad Air, but liked sketching and note taking on my iPad mini more. So, while the iPad mini could hold up to the current generation iPad Air for exporting videos and doing image processing, you’ll generally prefer to use this for less intensive tasks. For that, it has more than enough performance. But for the power to use it as a laptop replacement, with video out and display extending? No, that’ll only be on the “Pro” model iPads.
Battery Life
Smaller devices have smaller batteries. However, they also have smaller screens. In the case of the iPad, that screen makes a large difference, as does the A15 chip in the iPad mini over the iPad Air 4th generation I also use. The iPad mini has surprisingly good battery life, outperforming the iPad Air I own by a small amount. It tends to last with screen on for note taking and web browsing for just over 6 hours. Regular usage, letting the iPad mini turn its screen off when not in use for 5 minutes, nets about 8.5 to 10 hours of battery life. It easily lasts me a day of usage, sometimes into the next day.
The screen is bright enough to have under my bright desk lamp, and I find that I don’t always need it at peak brightness. If you rarely need it at or near peak brightness, you may find it lasts you even longer. I definitely found I had to charge my larger iPad Air more often, even when it was brand new. The iPad mini is a tiny all-day powerhouse.
Screen
Apple does a nice thing for developers. They keep the screen device pixels at a ratio that allows an engineer to make apps that work on any display. Often, this means the smaller displays, like those on the iPhone 13 mini and iPad mini, have higher resolutions than their larger versions. The iPad mini has 326 pixels per inch(ppi), while the iPad Air and even the iPad Pro have resolutions of 264ppi. It’s a small difference, but the iPad mini will appear sharper than the iPad Pro, and you’ll likely be able to notice it.
The screen doesn’t have Apple’s “ProMotion,” which lets their pro devices scale up the refresh rate above 60fps. This will make for a smoother screen, which you’ll notice when scrolling or viewing other animations or games. It’s a difference you’ll notice if you’ve used display with a faster refresh rate, but it’s not a dealbreaker.
One other slight difference between the iPad Pro and iPad mini is the screen brightness. The iPad Pro can get up to 600 nits of brightness, while the iPad mini can only get up to 500 nits. Neither is as bright as a modern iPhone, but certainly passable for indoor use. In fact, I often don’t use the full brightness of my screen on my desk indoors, and I have plenty of lights in my office.
The screen itself measures up to the iPad Air and iPad Pro, even featuring the same P3 color gamut. This is a display that isn’t quite as good as it could be, because Apple’s holding off on adding ProMotion to all of their devices, but it’s still an excellent screen with a sharp display and decent brightness.
Portability
You wouldn’t think there would be a huge difference between a device with a 8.3-inch screen and an 11-inch screen. However, the iPad mini really fits in a bag better than even the 10.9-inch iPad Air. I found I could even squeeze it into some of my crossbody bags and my hip sling. When you put it in a bag, it’s not taking up an entire part of the bag either, unless it’s a small bag. I even found some pairs of jeans have back pockets large enough to fit the iPad mini, and cargo jeans that could as well. The iPad mini is just the right size, and still remarkably thin and light. It’s the perfect “go anywhere” iPad size.
Sound, Camera, Etc
The sound coming out of the speakers is definitely “smaller” than the iPad Air. Less volume, less bass. That’s to be expected out of speakers with a smaller resonance area. Still, you can use it for watching videos comfortably. I usually put on my headphones for any and all audio though, and I think that’s true for most people anymore.
The camera is good for scanning documents. In fact, I did find that sometimes it was handy to just take a photo with the camera of something I was working on, and annotate it directly in an app like Notability. Still, this doesn’t require a great camera. In fact, the camera is ridiculous. The iPad, something you have to write on, rocks on a table now. The camera bump is so large the iPad actually does rock on a table. This was something I worried about with the iPad Air, but found the bump was small enough and the iPad large enough that it wasn’t a problem. However, on the smaller iPad mini, it’s definitely an annoyance on a hard surface. Apple could have increased the case area, perhaps for a larger battery and larger speaker areas, but I’d prefer more than anything, a smaller camera. It just needs to scan documents, it doesn’t need the camera of an iPhone. This is ridiculous, Apple, you need to buy a case for the iPad mini just to use the thing as intended.
I put sound and camera in one area because they’re the things Apple does well but really doesn’t have to. In fact, I’d support a version of the iPad that has no camera, but I’d prefer just a smaller one, one that fits more flush against the body, one that doesn’t make the iPad rock on a table without a case.
Touch ID
Touch ID is perfect for tablets. Your device is frequently on a table, face down. Face ID can’t detect users in this orientation, forcing you to lean over it. But Touch ID? Perfect. A quick tap on the lock button and you’re unlocked. I did find that, without a case, the button is a bit too close to a table to get enough of your finger on it, but, again, you’ll need a case anyway because of that silly camera bump.
I wish my iPhone had Touch ID. Face ID is such a pain, especially when wearing sunglasses, a mask, or both. I do that pretty frequently, especially on the train. What I’d give to have the speed and accuracy of Touch ID from my iPad on my iPhone. I’d give up Face ID in a heartbeat, that’s for sure. It rarely works for attention or previewing notifications anyway. Just give me my Touch ID back, Apple, let me have it everywhere!
Accessories
The iPad is ahead of the iPhone in many ways. The obvious part is the accessories. Smart cover cases that attach magnetically and the Apple Pencil are obvious. But do you know what one of my favorite accessories for the iPad is? A USB-C hub! I love my 6-in-1 USB-C hub from Hyper, the Hyper-Drive (they also have a version with media controls). I absolutely love this. I can take photos from my camera’s SD card, put them directly on my iPad mini, and get working.
The Apple Pencil 2 is a fantastic drawing and writing tool. I love using it for fine adjustments in photos and for taking notes. It’s responsive, accurate, and pressure sensitive. I consider the Apple Pencil and a USB-C dock must-have accessories for any iPad that supports them. These remind you that, while the iPad mini may be smaller, and potentially too small for a keyboard case, it’s absolutely still a full iPad. A computer in your pocket. No, really, I have some cargo jeans that actually allow me to carry an iPad mini in my pocket! I could go out with my camera in hand and iPad in my pocket for fast photos taking, editing, and sharing.
Odds & Ends
What, you don’t carry a fingerboard and iPod Shuffle everywhere?
So, one of the first things I did for my iPad mini is buy a case. I already had a USB-C hub, an Apple Pencil 2, all I needed was a good case. Oddly enough, there aren’t as many cases for the iPad mini as there are the other iPad models. I found what appeared to be a good one from Elago. You could take the front off, and it had extra magnets for their own magnetic mount. However, I didn’t like the texture much, and had to take the front off to lay the iPad flat. So, I caved and bought an official one from Apple. The felt was smoother, the silicone grippier, it just felt better. So, when in doubt, just go with the Apple one unless it’s a really high-end case.
I also got a felt sleeve to put my iPad in when I travel. The smart protector doesn’t protect the edges of your iPad mini, just the front and back. I also skate everywhere and, while rare, I have fallen before. You know, just like, once or twice. Some extra protection is welcome.
Overall 9.5/10
Apple has made two products that I have absolutely loved in the past two years, and they both have “mini” in the name, the iPad mini and the iPhone 13 mini. The iPad mini has become my constant desk companion. I like it more for reading books than my iPad Air, for note taking, and for its portability. I still use my iPad Air as a laptop replacement on the couch or on trips, where portability and comfort on a lap (no hot bottom, unlike my MacBook Pro) is welcome. Why didn’t it get a 10/10? That damn camera. I had to knock off something for the fact that, on a hard surface, this will rock around without a case. You can’t just use it as-is from the factor for what it’s intended to be used for. That’s just terrible designing so they could re-use components from their iPhones.
Otherwise? The iPad mini is the best buy I’ve made in a while. It’s the perfect note taking companion, and great for sketching or writing on the go. It’s the iPad I’d bring into the office, take with me to the bar to read and sketch, or bring to the park. If you only buy one iPad, and don’t need a laptop replacement, this is it. I may even consider getting a small bluetooth keyboard, just to try it out as a mobile writing tool too. I didn’t expect to love the iPad mini so much, but this is what I think of when I think of an iPad now. It’s the quintessential iPad. If you’re thinking of getting one to take notes at work, just carrying an iPad wherever you go, or just to supplement your Apple ecosystem, I say go for it.