I know the market is trending toward big screens, but I love tiny electronics — especially devices I’m meant to carry around (as much as I love the Pixel 6, I’m still mourning the apparent death of one-handed Google phones). So of course when Apple announced a refreshed iPad Mini, one with a modern design and the correct charging port, I jumped on it. And believe it or not, it’s quickly found a central place in my daily life — but whether it’ll be able to do the same for you really depends on your expectations.
The new iPad Mini looks like a pared down 2020 iPad Air: same high-end boxy build, same slim bezels. “Slim” is a relative term here, though — the Mini’s bezels look large compared to any phone. But if they were much slimmer, it’d get hard to hold the thing without accidentally touching the screen along the edges.
That screen, an 8.3-inch LCD, is… complicated. It’s a 1488p 60Hz panel, and in most situations, it looks really nice: at 327 pixels per inch, it’s plenty crisp, colors are vibrant, and Apple’s True Tone really does make a difference in maintaining a natural and pleasant white balance.
But this is an iPad, and surprise, it ain’t cheap. For the $500 the Mini costs, I don’t necessarily expect a 120Hz OLED screen, but a 60Hz TFT panel, nice a one as the Mini’s may be, feels decidedly like a compromise — there are $200 Android phones with 90Hz displays. Apple’s decided features like mini LED and high-refresh rate screens are Pro-level features, so I’m not surprised, but I’m still a little disappointed.
The orientation of the panel also makes its refresh rate more visible than it is on other iPads, which has caused a bit of a stir. Screens typically refresh from top to bottom, but here, the panel is mounted so it’s right side up when the tablet is held in landscape, despite the webcam being at the top while in portrait. So when it’s vertically oriented, the screen refreshes from side to side, and at 60Hz, you’ll probably pick up on the so-called jelly scroll effect that can cause. As the screen refreshes, there’s a very small delay between the right and left side, which makes scrolling look kind of jiggly (hence “jelly scroll”). It’s not as obnoxious as it might sound, but if you’re at all picky about screens, you’ll definitely see it.
Even at the highest brightness setting, I noticed the Mini’s screen is hard to see in bright light. At a max of 500 nits, it’s actually not unusual for a tablet when it comes to brightness, but the anti-glare coating on the screen gets very fingerprinty, which can make the display barely visible outdoors. Depending on what you’re doing with it, it can even be a challenge to use indoors with natural light coming in: I’ve had to move away from the window in my office to better see photos I was editing more than once.
It’s a real shame, because the Mini’s compact build and strong performance should make it a perfect mobile photo editor — it fits very comfortably in my small camera bag, even when it’s loaded up with other gear. But having to retreat from the sun to see what I’m doing really compromises that use case. For context, the fanciest iPads can hit up to 1600 nits when viewing HDR content (though those use different display technology and cost way more).
Once I’ve found a suitable spot to use it, though, the Mini’s a joy to interact with. Packing Apple’s beefy A15 Bionic chipset, it’s eminently capable of most tasks you’d want to do on a small tablet. I put it through its paces editing more than a few large batches of RAW files in Lightroom, and performance was never an issue — though it did get pretty toasty during export. You’re far more likely to get tripped up by the small-for-a-tablet 5,124-milliamp hour battery — only good for about 10 hours of casual use, according to Apple — or the maddeningly restrictive 64 gigabytes of base storage. There is a 256-gig model available, but it’s an extra 150 bucks, which is a huge leap.
But if you’re not trying to do professional work on the Mini’s tiny screen (and you probably shouldn’t), you likely won’t feel limited by any of its specs. The screen’s really nice for watching videos (indoors, at least), and sound out of the tablet’s stereo speakers is robust; it’s a great little media machine.
Its compact size also makes it a dream digital notebook with the Apple Pencil: I’ve taken to writing outlines and entire first drafts of some projects on it by hand. It probably sounds impractical (heck, it probably is impractical), but writing that way feels much more laid back than typing on a laptop; I can even do it splayed out on the couch without having to crane my neck a weird way. That alone isn’t a reason to spend $500 on the tablet and a bunch more on Apple’s overpriced stylus — pen and paper are pretty cheap — but it’s a tangible benefit to me.
Tight Apple Notes integration is something else I didn’t expect to value here, but the ability to start writing at any time by swiping in from the corner of the screen is super convenient when I’m researching or brainstorming.
Coming from an Android-centric perspective, iPadOS is a bit of an adjustment. Text editing feels universally less robust, there’s no system-wide back function, and the way Apple handles notifications is plain bad; they’re so useless I’ve more or less stopped paying attention to the ones that I don’t see pop over the screen while I’m using the tablet. But it’s not so fundamentally different an experience overall that you’ll be lost if it’s your first Apple product.
Now, should it be your first (or next) Apple product? If you have to ask, no. Even as someone who openly loves small gadgets, I feel the Mini’s limitations: The compact form factor means it’s got a small battery you’ll need to charge more often, and limited screen acreage makes work of any kind harder to do than it would be even on an 11-inch tablet.
And wouldn’t you know it, Apple sells more than one such bigger tablet. The 2020 iPad Air is marginally less powerful than the Mini on paper, but it’s considerably larger, which, in addition to making the tablet more usable on its own, opens it up to compatibility with a wider selection of Apple’s accessories, like the Magic Keyboard. The Air is also available for just $30 to $40 more than the Mini most of the time.
That kind of pricing isn’t a coincidence, either. Apple’s always got a better option for a bit more money — it hopes you’ll be intrigued by the $500 Mini, find the Air is available for just a little more, and opt to splurge on the slightly pricier model.
And honestly, you probably should. I really like the Mini — it’s a great size for reading or doodling, and it’s just so little and mobile and neat. But unless you specifically need a tiny tablet, it’s not easy to justify dropping $500 on this one — especially with larger, more capable devices priced so similarly.
Buy the iPad Mini (2021)
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