Apple iPad mini review: When small things make a big difference

If you have four children then does the middle child syndrome come into play? The middle child syndrome is when you are neither the oldest nor the youngest child and as a result, you get rather less attention. Talk about feeling caught in the middle, right?


The iPad mini has perhaps been suffering from the middle child syndrome.

While the entry-level iPad has seen a refresh every year now and the most expensive iPad Pro too has got a lot of love from Apple recently. Even the iPad Air last year got an all-new design. The iPad mini had last seen an upgrade two years back. Apple this year, however, has showered all the affection on the smallest iPad in its lineup. We have been using the iPad mini for a while now and here’s what we think of it:

Apple iPad mini review: Design and display
The iPad mini gets an all-new design — on the lines of iPad Air and iPad Pro — with flat edges. It is a compact device but is sturdy enough. The iPad mini weighs just around 293 grams and is really the only tablet you can use easily with one hand. For example, in the portrait mode

In portrait orientation with the FaceTime camera at the top, the right button raises volume while the left lowers it. Flip the iPad mini upside-down, and the buttons flip function to match the orientation of the screen.

Apple has added a dash of colours to the iPad mini. It is now available in Pink, Purple, Starlight and the good old Space Grey. Our review unit was Starlight and it is rather a unique combination of gold and silver.

iPad mini comes with a USB-C port which is compatible with various hubs and docks. You can also connect HDMI displays, external drives using the port.

The 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display has a resolution of 2266 * 1488. The display is really sharp and nice to look at. For those who like watching content on the go, the iPad mini is a real blessing. The colour reproduction is accurate and viewing angles remain sharp as ever. Even under direct sunlight, you will find the iPad mini’s display performing at optimum levels. Though it has to be said that after using the OLED displays on iPhone, it does look a tad dated but only when you keep them side by side.

The biggest advantage of the iPad mini is its compactness. You can easily hold the device for long hours — to read, FaceTime calls, watch content — and not feel much fatigue.

Apple iPad mini review: Performance and camera
The iPad — any variant — has been known to deliver better performance than what competition has to offer. Apple has kept the benchmark high for iPad mini as well with the A15 Bionic processor. It may be small in size but when it comes to performance, the iPad mini delivers big. Day to day tasks are easy-breezy on the iPad mini and even photo editing can be done quite smoothly.

With iPadOS, multitasking has become much better on iPads and it’s true for this one as well. Features like Slide Over windows, side-by-side apps all are extremely smooth even on the smallest iPad.


Some might be disappointed that Apple doesn’t sell special keyboards for the iPad mini. You can find one for all the other three iPads but not this one. However, you can buy any Bluetooth keyboard — or for that matter mouse — and pair it with the iPad mini. So if you want to write emails, or make presentations, then the iPad mini isn’t for you.

What does work remarkably well with the iPad mini is the Apple Pencil. Sometimes we do wonder if the Apple Pencil has been made specifically just for the iPad mini as it fits like a glove on it. Be it casual doodling or scribbling notes, the Apple Pencil works smoothly on the iPad mini. The size of the device also makes the Pencil rather easy to use compared to the bigger-sized iPads.

One of the biggest use of the iPad mini for casual users would be reading. Reading articles on websites for long hours is quite a delight on the iPad mini. For those who want to read eBooks, the iPad mini is a very good option. The competition — not directly — it faces is from Kindle. The Kindle has the e-Ink display which is really meant for just eBooks and a lot of people love it. Plus, the Kindle will cost you quite less compared to the iPad mini. Having said that, the Kindle is just an eBook reader and not a tablet per se. So if you want a tablet that doubles up as a really good eBook reader as well, go for the iPad mini as reading on it is quite a pleasure.

Apple has after many years given the cameras on iPad an upgrade and the iPad mini too benefits from it. You will find a 12MP wide-angle camera on the rear whereas the front has. 12MP ultra-wide camera. Apple’s Centre Stage feature — which makes video calling much better — is also available on the iPad mini. The Centre Stage uses Apple’s ultra-wide camera on the iPad and relies heavily on machine learning to transform how users can participate in video calls. What happens is that as you move around, the camera automatically pans to keep you right in the centre of the frame. When others join in or leave the call, the view expands or zooms in. It works quite well on the iPad mini.

The cameras on the iPad mini are frankly one of the better ones we have seen. That’s also because this is one of the rare tablets which you can easily pick around and click day to day images. Other iPads are just too big and slightly awkward to shoot on. The images clicked from the iPad mini have enough details and sharpness but it’s not a device that you are going to use for its camera capabilities. At least not the rear camera.

The stereo speakers on the iPad mini are fine and adequately loud but nothing compared to the iPad Air or the iPad Pro.

iPad mini can easily last you for a day on a single charge and moderate usage. Considering its size, it delivers commendable battery performance.

Apple iPad mini review: Verdict
The sheer utility — because of its compact size — that the iPad mini offers will appeal to a lot of users. While there would be many to whom the screen size will be a deal-breaker as they might seem it could limit their functional usage. If you want to buy your first iPad then perhaps the entry-level one is a better choice — cheaper and bigger in size.

But if you have been an iPad user — non-Pro kind — for years and want something different, then the iPad mini is the right choice. The ease of use is just too big a plus in its favour. Add to it the excellent performance it delivers makes the iPad mini a compelling option. For those who like reading on the go and don’t want to be glued to their smartphones all the time, the iPad mini is a good alternative. Readers of eBooks too will find the iPad mini a really attractive option.

At Rs 46,990, the iPad mini is expensive than the entry-level iPad (Rs 30,990) and cheaper than the iPad Air (Rs 54,990). As we said it’s the middle child but this time has got a lot of love from Apple, which makes it a really good offering but is a rather niche device.