The iPad Mini: A Versatile and Powerful Tablet

As I held the new 9th gen baseline iPad mini in my hands, I couldn't help but think about its potential uses. The device is small, but not too small, making it perfect for a variety of tasks. Whether you're looking to use it as a super fast tablet, take notes with an Apple Pencil, or simply enjoy some music and videos, the iPad mini has got you covered.

One of the standout features of the iPad mini is its performance. With a powerful A15 chip and a five-core GPU, this device can handle even the most demanding tasks with ease. The multitasking experience is seamless, with slide-over windows, app library access from the side of the home screen, and more. And with iOS 15 running smoothly at 60 Hz, you'll feel like you're working on a top-of-the-line iPad Pro.

But what really sets the iPad mini apart is its Apple Pencil support. The new 2.0 stylus is designed to work in tandem with the device's advanced display technology, allowing for precise and accurate note-taking, drawing, and more. And with Face ID, you can unlock the device quickly and securely. But I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to have a slightly larger screen and improved performance.

In terms of storage, the iPad mini starts at 64 GB, which should be enough for most users. However, if you need more space, there's only one other option available: 256 GB. This is where things get interesting, as the additional storage comes with a $150 price premium. So, if you're on a budget, the 64 GB model might be the way to go.

But what about competitors like Samsung or Microsoft? The Surface Go and Kindle tablets offer unique features and use cases that might appeal to certain users. For example, the Surface Go is designed for productivity, with a built-in keyboard and pen support, while the Kindle offers wireless charging and e-reading capabilities. However, when it comes down to it, the iPad mini has a clear advantage in terms of versatility.

As I continued to explore the iPad mini's features and capabilities, I couldn't help but feel that this device is perfect for those who are looking for a compact yet powerful tablet. Whether you're a student taking notes, a hobbyist pilot using the device for flight planning, or simply someone who wants a reliable and efficient tablet for everyday tasks, the iPad mini has got you covered.

One thing I did notice, however, was that the UI can feel a bit compressed at times, particularly with small text in the widgets. But this is largely mitigated by jumping into an app, where the bigger screen comes into play. And while there's no built-in stylus case or other accessories, the Apple Pencil support makes up for it.

In conclusion, the iPad mini is a device that's perfect for those who know their use case. With its powerful performance, advanced display technology, and Apple Pencil support, this tablet is ready to take on whatever tasks you throw at it. Whether you're looking for a compact and portable solution or simply want to upgrade from an older model, the iPad mini is definitely worth considering.

If I were to imagine what an iPad mini Pro would be like, I'd picture a slightly larger screen with improved performance and features. Maybe a 120 Hz display and Face ID would make it feel more premium. And who knows, maybe there's even a possibility of a device that bridges the gap between this tablet and the iPad Pro line. But for now, the standard iPad mini is an excellent option.

With its unique blend of portability and performance, the iPad mini has solidified its place as one of the top tablets on the market. Whether you're looking for a super fast tablet or simply want to take notes with precision, this device has got you covered. So if you know your use case, go ahead and give it a try – I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by what this little tablet can do.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enall right no time for the gossip it's like an ipad air but smaller hey what's up mkbhd here and the ipad mini has always been so fascinating to me just because i always wonder who buys them and who uses them and what they use them for and why they chose it over other options like i know my dad uses one but my sister and i got it for him as a gift so he didn't really choose it it kind of chose him but then i see the pilot with an ipad mini example constantly like i feel like that's in every ipad mini keynote but it turns out that's fairly common for hobby pilots which is awesome i've already realized that as a huge fan of the ipad pro this isn't for me but this refresh for 2021 makes it a real option again for a lot of people so this is my mini review of the new 2021 ipad mini so most of what's new here is the design refresh which is pretty simple the unibody aluminum there's four new colors and it gets all the beauty of those squared off sides which i also think make it easier to hold and like the ipad air you drop the home button you keep the touch id in the form of a power button fingerprint reader combo up top it adds usb type c at the bottom thank you very much and this is actually the first ipad mini with a camera bump that now houses that new 12 megapixel camera on the back the only real quirk though is the volume buttons which are now also at the top seemed questionable at first but then you realize this new ipad mini has second generation apple pencil support and that slaps right onto the side magnetically and the pencil is literally the size of the entire side of the tablet so there's no room for volume buttons over there where they usually are so they put them on the top and i got used to that pretty fast anyway mostly because i find myself using it in landscape all the time all that being said it's the smaller form factor to give you an 8.3 inch display that you can hold in one hand that you can fit in smaller bags put in smaller places and take with you more easily these bezels look kind of big at first but then as soon as you start using it you quickly realize this is about as small as bezels on a tablet can be to give yourself something to hold with your fingers before you start touching the screen so this is the same size bezels as ipad air and ipad pro just with a smaller screen and that screen is fine it's fine it's an okay screen it's 8.3 inches like i said which is bigger than the last generation which i think was 7.9 and it's also bigger than the galaxy z fold 3 unfolded but it's a much better aspect ratio it's uh closer to widescreen but it's not an amazing quality display so it's an lcd again still 60 hertz same pixel density as last year same not that great 500 nits max brightness as the last generation i mean it's nice that it has full p3 color support and has true tone but generally speaking this is uh still a pretty basic display it's fine indoors for sure for reading watching videos all that stuff no problem i just wouldn't expect to be able to use this comfortably outside in the sun this one's got cellular antenna lines as you can see so it is a cellular model that now supports 5g but just so you know no millimeter wave 5g on the ipad mini which honestly is not a big deal it's useless for most people in most places but if you were trying to use it on one of those hot spots many won't support it but honestly that's probably kind of a good thing considering the battery life probably the worst thing about the ipad mini as tested is the mini battery granted i was testing it pretty hard using it full brightness all the time about as much as my phone and on cellular on the go but i felt like i needed to charge it at the end of every full day so i could get seven eight hours of screen on time out of it which is good it's a tablet and it has great standby time but that's something to keep in mind it might not last like a week like my ipad pro sometimes does with light use my use of the ipad mini though is very generalist like you know i'm scrolling through social media lots of emails i'm watching videos things like that but that's the thing about the ipad mini is i feel like so many people who are intending to get one already have some specific thing in mind that they want to do with it like i bet there's someone out there who's going to get one of these ipad minis and they're going to make it the home kit smart hub light switch that they're going to put in the wall in their house and of course you want the smallest ipad possible to do that you know there's probably a student who's about to go back to school right now who's going to get this and an apple pencil and they're going to use this just for note-taking all day they're on this thing with the apple pencil sketching taking notes writing things down all the time and you already know actually i do already know that there's going to be hobbyist pilots out there that are going to get these ipad minis because apparently they're very popular as the small ipad you'd use to plot out your flight map and it's the one that fits comfortably in the cockpit of a smaller airplane this is the tablet they want to use so for me this ipad is also fine as a super fast 500 tiny tablet and it happens to have decent features across the board to make it versatile the stereo speakers on either side for listening to music or watching videos like i do are really good the new 12 megapixel camera on the back it's plenty good for a tablet it's basically the equivalent of what's in the ipad air and the new ultra wide front-facing camera with center stage works exactly as well as it does in the ipad air which is to say a little bit shaky but perfectly fine for video calls and face time or zoom and then of course that apple pencil 2.0 support which is top of the line in this price range ties right into ios 15 and the swipe up from the corner for quick notes and all the benefits of having a dedicated stylus that's so good matter of fact it's literally running essentially the exact same software experience as all the other ipads out there same exact software as the 800 ipad pros the multitasking the slide over windows the app library over to the side of the home screen it's all here and of course many people are already very familiar with it and it's all running on apple's absolute latest chip the a15 with the five core gpu which is actually better than what's in the ipad air right now so not only will this ipad be running very smooth pretty much locked right at 60 hertz out the box but also virtually guarantees you many years of software support and ios updates being the latest chip the one thing that's kind of annoying in this software here seems to be all this padding around the home screen icons so the whole ui is like a little more compressed than i remember inside of even those bezels it just made the ipad mini feel really mini sometimes with all that small text in the widgets especially when that weather widget is literally bigger on the iphone than it is on the ipad mini's home screen but as soon as you jump into an app though then of course you take advantage of the bigger screen i'm just not sure what that padding is about so i don't personally have a use case that really fits this ipad mini so that's why i won't be getting one but i think those who are thinking about getting it already know you probably already have a thing that you're imagining getting it for something that you want it to do and so for that i would encourage you to think about whether or not the new 9th gen baseline ipad might actually be better for that because it's 170 bucks cheaper and has a bigger screen but of course it's a different type of tablet and if you're after the mini then yeah it's pretty good oh but it does actually it starts at 64 gigs so maybe you could consider that a weakness of this um if you want to upgrade there is only one other spec it's the 256 gig which is 150 bucks more so at that point you're playing in a different price range but the baseline 64 gigs 4.99 if that's all the storage you need this one's a go but yeah you know it would speak to me just selfishly and maybe a little off topic i was imagining like an ipad mini pro or maybe it would be an ipad pro mini but you know what i mean like a tablet this size with a nice 120 hertz display and of course you get face id and then you get the pro camera system on the back and probably a bigger battery but then you're probably looking at like two three hundred dollars extra so that's probably why that doesn't exist but yeah at this price what are you cross-shopping it with like a galaxy tab that's out there you could be looking at a surface go or maybe you're looking at like the new uh kindle that just came out with wireless charging something like that all these have different specific use cases in mind this being the most versatile of the bunch definitely worth a look it's the ipad mini so yeah know your use case that's the advice i got for you today that's been it thanks for watching catch you guys in the next one peace\n"