iPad Mini Review - 6 Months Later

Why would you go for an iPad Mini over another iPad? After using one for 6 months, what are the top features? Should you get one over a Kindle for reading ebooks? What downsides come with using an iPad Mini? And which storage option should you get?

In our long term of review of the iPad Mini we answer all of these questions and more, taking you through the size difference that sets the iPad Mini apart from Apple's other iPads and the top software features that make getting one worth it. We also compare it to Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite and explore whether or not the Kindle is still better for reading ebooks. Lastly we'll take you through the downsides of using an iPad Mini and our recommendation on if you should get one and which storage option to pick.

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0:00 - Size & comparison to iPad Air
2:04 - Hardware features & accessories
3:28 - iPad Mini vs. Kindle for reading
5:16 - iPadOS 15 & other software features
6:29 - Downsides
7:17 - Pricing & Recommendations

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#Apple
#iPad
#iPadMini

[mozziestern]

Bought the mini somewhere in october, and till this day happy with the purchase. Yeah, there are some cons to it, like storage capacity, the screen, the screen scaling, but besides that, its the best home tablet for the money. Compact, good for reading books, comics, manga or everything you want. Battery is quite good, and the jelly scroll effect, not so noticeable, and easy to forget. Media consumption on it is just a pure joy, youtube, netflix, Crunchyroll, and so many other things you can watch on it, and not get tired of carrying aroung this tablet. The ability to use apple pencil 2 are a cool addition for those who like to draw or keeping notes, even tho its 60 Hz, it can be enough sometimes. The sound is very decent. In other ways, if you dont look for a big tablet, and wont use an external keyboard, the mini 6 is your pal. Hope this helps someone!

[jessicamou]

I had a iPad 2 when it first came out, it’s amazing for what it was and then I got a mini 2. I stayed with the Mini-line ever since. I like Minis simply because I can hold it in one hand.

[NizarNoor]

I love my iPad mini. It’s my main media consumption device. Great for watching videos, playing games, and reading forums & articles. I still read books on my Kindle (no distractions).

[hayleyharrison]

I like my mini a lot, biggest gripes are the storage options not having a 128gb version, the software scaling on the Home Screen being too small, and just the screen technology in general not being super great. But the form factor is right for me.

[JCU]

I agree with you on the mini iPad Pro. That’s what I want. I bought an iPad mini around launch but the scaling bothered me. I also prefer Face ID. I must say I have my eye on the iPad mini again because of the size.

[sookipops]

I have an ipad air 4 & the mini 6 sharing one apple pencil and I love both of them for different uses! My ipad air 4 is mainly docked on the magic keyboard and the mini 6 stays by my nightstand to be used at home to consume content and I’m loving the smaller form factor without it being too big and heavy to hold in the hand for extended periods of time. Also I almost never leave home without either of my ipads now depending on how big of a bag I want to carry, and the apple ecosystem makes my experience so much smoother with the ability to instantly switch between devices while doing concurrent tasks. I have both of them in 64gb and 2TB icloud storage and everything syncs up nicely, no issues with the lack of storage options.

One really cool feature you should try when using the ipad at night, apart from the grayscale is Reduce White Point. Mimics the Kindle and makes it easy on the eyes at night before bed!

[mauramoneerichardson]

I don’t have an iPad yet but my plan is to get one for university to use it for notes and annotating my textbooks. Since everything is going digital I feel that transferring my notes and annotations to digital version will not only save me money yearly on school supplies but also to save tree’s by reducing my paper use for school. I think the iPad mini sounds like a great option for what I’m looking for since it’s not to big like a pro which means traveling with it in my school bag since it does weights a lot.

[davidmcivor]

Phone & tablet size has disproportionately risen lately when they were always originally intended to be small, the iPhone mini 13 & the iPad mini 6 are the perfect combination of fully functioning lightweight powerful products in a compact portable format, expensive yes but totally unique & niche.

[sloppynyuszi]

I bought the mini as my secondary sketch tablet. I get all my ideas and brainstorming on that. Sometimes I’ll take it through to finished product. I just like carrying it around a lot more than the pro. It’s small, powerful and the apps run great. Once I hit layer limit in an app, I just air drop it onto my iPad Pro.

The 120hz thing is a ridiculous complaint though. Especially for content consumption. Movies and TV shows usually range from 24-30 fps with the rare 60fps. The fact that the footage is rarely different to 1080p or 4k it means that these tablets don’t even have accurate pixel representation so things are morphed. The image is so sharp no one sees it, just like 120hz in these instances.

HDR is different, and that’s a fair complaint, but unless you a competitive gamer, 120hz makes no sense. And not sure what game are you playing competitively on an iPad. And if you need more than 60fps for scrolling through IG, tiktok or your home page icons. Either you have a crazy privileged life of luxury for this to be an issue, or your priorities are weird.

I switch between the iPad Pro and my Cintiq (which is 60hz) and honestly the latency between the two is a non issue. I remember when I had the iPhone 11 Pro, couldn’t see the refresh rate difference between that and my Pro let alone have it be jarring.

This complaint is just a lack of imagination, and people reading spec sheets for reviews instead of experiencing. I’m 100% sure people have failed the blind test on this, as a lot of apps just don’t support this. So they watching 60fps content on their 120hz screen thinking it’s 120hz.

[itsmedon]

2 weeks ago i Bought my ipad mini 6,
It’s really handy and makes a lot easier for me to use for taking notes especially on the piano chords, can fit on any small bag i have and also a Light weight one,

[danksquidward]

I am planning on getting this for media consumption and productivity, and the storage will be fixed with my cloud. Great video!

[Kxshk]

I love my mini. My first tablet and I use it daily for multiple tasks.

[noah_d_turtle]

I use iPad mini for watching live sports during slow periods at work. Working weekends and afternoons I would miss all relevant sports (NFL and NBA). It’s portable enough to store in my lunch box and small enough to be discretely hiding at my desk so it’s not obvious I’m watching tv and enjoying my time at work. 😂

[urbaneplanner]

I recently got a mini - I have an 11’’ pro but was intrigued by the more compact mini for travelling. If you are being active while travelling, buy don’t want to leave valuables at your accommodations, the 11’’ can seem a bit bulky. I don’t mind the touch id vs Face ID tbh, as it works quite well and on two fingers. One thing I would like to see is more ability to customize the icons on the Home Screen and dock - with the smaller screen, these can get unreasonably small depending on how many apps you have going

[paulomark]

I have both the pro and the mini and my personal choice is the mini because of the portability and there is no hiccup with the performance or lagged

[williamnewland]

If you are using a iPad for hand held only the iPad mini 6 is unbeatable the perfect size tablet

[adamburke]

I treat my iPad Air like a netbook. I use it for note taking and PDF marking, but I’ll also use it for word documents and web browsing, as well as some drawing.

[drscrubs]

I use my Mini at work at the hospital. I have to wear a mask at the hospital. The fingerprint scanner is superior to Face ID for this reason.

[joshuaduca]

i love my ipad 8 its great tool for reading editing gaming music and making documents files and for note talking and for drawing is perfect

[paultrewin]

I am a committed iPad mini user for over 4 years now. I made the decision then about which iPad was right for me. I use it every day and have no complaints at all. I think so many YouTubers over analyze every tiny detail when it just isn’t necessary. My question is should I upgrade from the iPad mini 4 to the mini 6? What improvements have been made that should tempt me to change? I can’t find any videos making comparisons between the 4 and the 6. Does anyone have any thoughts?