iPad Mini 2021 is a total sensation among the recently presented Apple products. It is distinguished because it does not resemble its last, i.e. 5th generation, in any way. Everything has changed. That is, fans of iPad Mini do not have to look for an excuse to replace the equipment with a newer model. We have a larger screen, a new processor, camera, USB-C, a 5G connection, cooperation with a new stylus, WiFi 6, and a completely changed design in the new mini-clip. iPad mini now resembles a thumbnail of the 4th generation iPad Air. Unfortunately iPad mini there is no mini price – it costs a lot – from 2,500 to over 950 EURO depending on the memory and communication version (WiFi or WiFi/mobile).
The main advantages and disadvantages of iPad Mini 2021
Benefits of iPad Mini 2021:
- Successful design
- Very fast processor
- A very extensive system
- A very extensive ecosystem
- Great third-party apps
- Brilliant iPadOS 15 stability
- Brilliant system speed
- 5G
- USB-C
- Cooperation with the keyboard and stylus
- Very handy sizes
- Very fast fingerprint reader
- Very good stereo speakers (there are 4 in the Pro)
- Very low weight below 300g
- dual SIM: nano SIM and eSIM
- cooperation with iCloud
Defects of iPad Mini 2021:
- cosmic price
- screen worse than the most expensive iPad Pro – there is no ProMotion mode, brightness of 1000 nits, and mini-LED technology
- set of cameras worse than in the most expensive iPad Pro
- does not work with the dedicated Magic Keyboard
- there is no M1 processor
- Many iPad versions are still missing – they work like on a phone
- inconvenient location of the volume control and fingerprint reader
- no Face ID
- a very expensive stylus – additionally over PLN 600
- Siri still does not have a Polish version
Design
Most people who see the new Mini for the first time are delighted with it. The tablet is very neat and handy. It is also light. It can be easily held in one hand. The power buttons with Touch ID and the volume control are inconveniently placed. Now they’re on the top of the tablet because a magnetic charging port is on the side. There is also a tray for a SIM card under it. There are great stereo speakers on the sides. We also have a USB-C port (USB 3.1 up to 5 Gbps). The tablet also has two microphones. USB supports the DisplayPort standard. The design is in line with the Air and Pro series. The frames around the screen are very large, but thanks to this, we do not have a note. The rear camera sticks out of the case, so the tablet rocks on the table. The quality of the metal housing is first-class. The tablet is rigid, and the materials used belong to the premium segment.
Display
The iPad mini 6 generations display is 8.3 inches, larger than the fifth edition with a 7.9-inch screen. Liquid Retina has a resolution of 2266 by 1488 pixels at 326 pixels per inch (ppi).
UNFORTUNATELY, the LED screen (IPS) is not in the same class as the newest iPad Pro, which already has ProMotion technology and a mini-LED backlight. The screen in the mini also does not have the option of a brightness jump to 1000 or 1600 nits. The screen has an oleophobic anti-fingerprint coating and an anti-reflective coating. The display works with the latest generation of the Apple Pencil.
The most important feature of the display iPad Mini 2021 is that it is still small for a tablet. It gives us much more space to work with than the iPhone, but as a serious authoring tool, the iPad Mini is too small. It is a neat device for conveniently consuming content from the Internet. It can also be a great toy for the youngest, although its price means they will be Lewandowski’s children rather than Kowalski’s.
The screen is bright enough, the fonts are sharp, and the viewing angles are perfect – the ProMotion specification is missing, but you don’t see it in everyday tablet use.
Specification
Apple promotes its smallest iPad with a simple slogan: strong and mini. This reflects the characteristics of this equipment quite well. This is a tablet without any compromises, with a very strong specification, but in a version reminiscent of an oversized smartphone. The mini does not yet have the latest M1 processor, but the A15 Bionic takes no prisoners. The 6-core processor is reportedly 40% faster than the previous version of the tablet, and the graphics (5-core GPU) by 80%. We also get 5G and WiFi 6. External devices can now be connected via USB-C. There are two versions of memory, 64 and 256 GB.
Operating system
The new mini debuted with the latest version of iPadOS 15. The new system is primarily better multitasking support (i.e. easier handling of 2 windows at a time), new widgets, a quick note function, and SharePlay (i.e. watching Apple TV or listening to music together but virtual via FaceTime). by Apple Music). There is also a focus mode, which is supposed to be our virtual configurable barrier to protect us from the deluge of various notifications and messages. Apple has also redesigned notifications, which are now more readable and segregated. The camera also has the Live Text function, i.e. the OCR option of the texts we see in our photos. Of course, we can dream of supporting the Polish language, as in the case of the Siri assistant. Soon, iPad will also be available with so-called universal control, i.e., the same keyboard and mouse will work simultaneously on iPad and computer. Apple has also increased the protection of our privacy – this applies to the settings of all applications, but also, for example, the e-mail client (hiding our e-mail). For now, I cannot convince myself of the widgets – although Apple presses them forcibly after buying the tablet, I turn them off immediately. Unfortunately, when migrating from an older version of the tablet through widgets, the layout of icons on individual screens is disturbed, and you have to restore your favorite layout by hand painstakingly.
Camera
As you know, the tablet is unlikely to be used for taking photos and recording videos. However, it can be used as a convenient tool for video calling. As in the previous mini edition, the FaceTime camera is now 12MP, not 7MP. The aperture is ƒ / 2.4. The camera can track our faces and blur the background during the conversation. FaceTime call quality is very good.
On the back, we find only one lens (not two, as in the Pro version). It is a 12 MP matrix that gives advice, but it is the quality we know from the so-called smartphone mediums. The same applies to video – the image quality is not the worst (even 4K 60 fps), but stabilization is already limping.
We can change the video mode in the camera application, but only when we enable this access in the main camera settings.
Photos can be saved in HEIF and JPEG. Video can be saved in HEVC and H.264 formations, but 4K 60fps only in HEVC.
Sample pictures:
Battery life
You can probably get a 19.3 Wh watt lithium polymer battery iPad Mini in one day. With the so-called With normal use, our tablet should call for electricity every 3-4 days. The manufacturer promises us up to 10 hours of surfing the Internet via Wi-Fi and up to 9 hours via the mobile network. Charging itself is slow – we will get a 20W charger in the set and should be glad we got it.
Conclusion
The new Mini has a huge number of advantages and several disadvantages, including the biggest one – its price. The 6th generation miniature driver is still a tablet for a specific group of customers with rare requirements. Their tablet is supposed to be small, handy, slim, and light – these requirements describe the largest smartphones. The Mini is roughly 2.5 times the size of the iPhone 13 Pro Max at first glance. It looks microscopic compared to the newest iPad 9th generation, with Air and the biggest Pro. It is unlikely to be suitable for taking notes at school and in the office, and it will also not be a good tablet for people with poor eyesight. However, when we want to read an ebook on it, watch Youtube, a series on Netflix, read e-mails, chat on FaceTime, watch photos or surf the Internet, the mini will be a brilliant device that will not tear off our hand after an hour of holding a tablet in it. Apple has finally rejuvenated the mini-series and is now in line with the design of other, more expensive tablets.
We love: everything
We don’t like: prices
Who is it for iPad Mini 2021:
- Fans of the smallest tablets
- People who read books on the tablet
- People who are looking for the most handy tablet on the market
- People who will want to replace a smartphone with a tablet
For whom it is not iPad Mini 2021:
- Big screen fans
- Android fans
- Economical
