iPad mini 2021, the most powerful tablet in your hand
Apple iPad mini 6th generation.
The iPad mini 2021 is now in its 6th generation and is one of the most exciting devices Apple has released this year. The original was launched back in 2012 and featured similar internal specifications to the iPad 2, including its display resolution.
This year’s upgrade over the previous 2019 model is the biggest update since the original including a bump in screen size from 7.9 to 8.3-inches, a new ‘Pro’ design and now supports the 2nd generation of Apple Pencil.
The new 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display features True Tone, P3 wide colour, full-screen lamination and an anti-reflective coating. It’s powered by the latest A15 Bionic chipset that not only leaves competing tablets in the dust but also many laptops despite its diminutive size.
The new iPad mini features an all-new design borrowed from its bigger siblings in the Pro and Air lineup. It looks contemporary with small bezels and rounded edges that make holding the mini comfortable.
A big feature of the new design is the ability to accommodate the Apple Pencil which magnetically clings to the long edge. This means the pencil gets charged wirelessly. The pencil looks so good on the iPad mini thanks to the smaller form factor and is the best digital notebook or sketchbook that I’ve ever used thanks to its compact size. Of course, as with all iPads, the Apple Pencil is an optional extra for €135.
Gone is the home button from 2019. Instead, you get a Touch ID sensor that resides within the power button, just like the iPad Air. This works fast and reliably but at times, I found myself rotating the mini just to try and find the button to unlock it. Also on the top are the volume up and down buttons.
The new design now features stereo speakers as well as a USB-C port instead of a Lightning. However, gone is the 3.5mm headphone jack which some may lament. If you really want to use wired headphones you can buy the USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter for €10 or if hires audio is your thing then you can always use a dedicated headphone amp and DAC combo.
There’s no smart connector but it would be ridiculous to think you could type on a keyboard the size of the mini and in reality, the mini is not the iPad to buy if you need to do a lot of typing on. However, you can connect Bluetooth or even wired keyboards if you really want to.
Despite the larger display, the new iPad mini is actually slightly lighter than the previous model and only 69 g heavier than an iPhone 12 Pro Max.
The new design is a mere 6.3mm thin and yet it feels incredibly rigid. This isn’t to say it won’t break if you drop it and if you intend on using it with small kids, a good case is essential. For adults, the new Smart Folio cover is available to complement the Purple, Pink, Starlight and Space Grey colours that the iPad mini is available in.
During the last week, I’ve put iPad mini through as many torture tests as I could including lots of benchmarks. The results show that while it’s not as fast as the latest Pro models it is faster than the iPad Air. Everything from games, to creative apps like Procreate and Lightroom, just sizzle along at breakneck speeds. Outside of benchmarks, in real-world use, the iPad mini never feels slow.
This is the perfect tablet for gaming and media consumption on the go. The size means you won’t feel too conspicuous while playing games, reading a book or catching up on your favourite TV shows during your daily commute.
The iPad mini is so easy to hold that playing games on it is a pleasure. It has a much larger display than a Nintendo Switch but weighs about the same. The A15 Bionic means you can play any game at full graphics settings and still expect a smooth frame rate.
Internal storage options are 64GB and 256GB and now the iPad mini has 4GB of RAM.
Like all iPads, the battery life is up to 10 hours. It’s nice to see you still get a charger in the box and it’s the same 20w charger that comes with the iPad Pro.
The support for USB-C is amazing. I have so many USB-C devices that make the iPad mini a fantastic device that can be used for professional applications. I was able to connect my Sony A7RIV directly to it with a USB-C to USB-C cable and browse the massive 61MP files with ease via the Files app. I can even preview the massive RAW files with no delay or quickly import them into Lightroom or just copy them onto the internal memory of the iPad mini.
The iPad mini is the perfect size to be used as a monitor for my camera or drone. I was able to mount it onto the remote for my DJI Air 2 with a small adaptor. You can also connect portable drives and up to 4K displays.
I was also able to use a Focusrite USB-C interface to connect mics and guitars directly to the iPad mini and record music or podcast in apps like Garage Band app.
The new display is noticeably bigger than the 2019 model but I found it still fit comfortably in my hand while I was able to take notes and draw with the pencil. This is a class-leading feature that officially makes the iPad mini my favourite device to sketch with. I absolutely love the 12.9-inch iPad Pro for drawing in Procreate for its massive canvas size but the smaller form factor makes the mini so convenient to bring with you anywhere and use while out and about. I never felt the screen size was an obstacle and unlike the standard iPad, it is fully laminated meaning there’s no parallax effect. This essentially means there’s no gap between the digitiser and the glass since the two are laminated together.
The display does help to reduce glare but it’s still a glossy finish. This means the pencil does slide and is not ideal for writing or drawing. The quick remedy for this is a matte screen protector.
The pencil also makes using the sliders in Lightroom much easier. I like using it in apps like this for the extra precision it provides.
The stereo sound is a welcome upgrade over the standard iPad and provides an enhanced listening experience for music, video playback and games. Not surprisingly, it’s not on par with the fantastic quad-speakers found in the iPad Pro.
It may sound like a small tweak to some but Apple’s decision to move the volume buttons to the top of the iPad mini solves a problem I have with every other iPad. With all the other iPads which have these buttons on the right side, you press the top one for up volume and the bottom one for down volume — great. The problem is that when you’re in landscape mode — which is most of the time if you’re using it with any of the smart covers or keyboards — the left button is volume up and the right is down which is counter-intuitive. When the iPad mini is in landscape mode, because they’re on the left the volume keys work as they should.
The latest iPad OS 15 comes pre-installed on the new iPad mini and features new multitasking features, widgets, quick note and notes and Live text which recognises text in real-time using the camera.
The screen has a resolution of 1488x2266px so everything looks incredibly sharp. However, the app icons on the bottom of the screen — while in portrait mode — are tiny and I often hit the wrong app inadvertently.
Still to this day, some apps seem to ignore iPads. The perfect example of this is Instagram which forces iPad users to use the iPhone version of their app.
The iPad mini has a 12MP rear camera that can shoot up to 4K at 60fps and has an improved lens and sensor, as well as Apple’s deep hardware and software integration.
Camera modes include Panorama, Slo-mo video, Burst mode and time-lapse video.
The front-facing camera received a major upgrade and now features a 12MP ultrawide lens with Full HD at 60 fps possible. The real show stopper here is the new Centre Stage feature. When using it in video calls it will keep you in the centre of the frame even when you move around — within reason. It’s able to do this thanks to the ultrawide lens that crops in and then pans around digitally while using machine learning and AI to keep you centre stage. It’s pretty cool when another person walks into the room and the AI spots them and automatically zooms out to include them in the frame.
The iPad mini 6th gen is simply the best small tablet money can buy. It’s so easy to use single-handed and is small enough to carry with you everywhere. The new design is gorgeous and thanks to the hardware upgrades including the A15 Bionic, Apple Pencil 2 support, wifi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C and 5G (if you go for the cellular model) it will keep you going for years. I’ve always been a big fan of the iPad since I reviewed the original, but this new iPad mini is now easily my favourite.
The new iPad mini is available to order now on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app with availability beginning Friday, September 24.
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