The iPad mini’s main selling point is being the most portable iPad yet. — Picture by Erna Mahyuni
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 — Another year, another iPad mini. I remember when I bought the first iteration I liked the size but the low-ish resolution and comparative sluggishness made me sell it off in weeks.
There have been four more iPad minis since then and now the sixth generation has arrived and it is both a delight and a hard sell.
So small, so easy to love
There is no easier iPad to take around than the mini. I’ve taken it to cafes, read books on it before bed, slipped it into many bags that would not fit the typical 9 or 10-inch iPad, iPad Air or the Pro.
It’s the size of an average book but has the delightful ability to store my ebook collection as well as browse the odd PDF and sign off on forms.
Speaking of storage though, you only get two options here — the 64GB and and a whopping RM700 to upgrade to the 256GB model that makes it a fairly hefty investment.
Apple adding Pencil support from the 2019 version gave the tablet more utility but speaking to other iPad enthusiasts it makes it harder to sell as a content creation device.
It’s mostly about the 8.3-inch screen that is portable but it also means it’s not ideal for drawing beyond sketching and you need more real estate when editing video or photos.
Still, considering the stellar video editing app Lumafusion is available for mobile, the iPad mini offers a small step up display-wise and the USB-C port means the ability to use external storage.
About that jelly
Getting back to the display, though, I didn’t notice the so-called jelly scrolling effect on the iPad mini but it bothers enough people that I would suggest you head to your nearest Apple reseller to check out the mini before buying.
What is it? It means that the screen doesn’t refresh uniformly with half of the screen taking longer to refresh than the other half while scrolling.
Apple’s explanation for the phenomenon is that it’s just how LCD screens work. LCDs refresh line by line and not all at the same time — on the iPad mini it’s most noticeable in vertical mode but not so much horizontal mode.
It’s rather disappointing and makes me wonder if maybe bumping the refresh rate somehow might have fixed it but having read three books already on it, I have to admit it didn’t affect me personally.
So, as the saying goes, your mileage may vary. Just make sure there’s a return policy at the store you get it from.
Enduring power
The 8.3-inch screen might not be ideal for video editing but for most media consumption purposes is perfectly serviceable. — Picture by Erna Mahyuni
Anyhow I was excited about testing the iPad mini because I’ve been playing Genshin Impact for the past year and it’s been rough trying to find the ideal device for it.
My eyes are failing so I’m not even comfortable playing on the iPhone Pro Max phones and the iPads offer bigger screens but are murder on my already carpal tunnel-ravaged hands and arms, and while I’ve tried, I still don’t like using controllers with iPad games as they’re just better with touch controls.
While the 2019 iPad mini was serviceable as a gaming device, the 2021 model with its A15 Bionic chip that is the same as the latest iPhone 13 models is a tiny powerhouse. It’s a newer processor than the pretty great iPad Air and so far on my testing, holds up well to the games I’ve thrown at it including the very graphics-intensive Divinity: Original Sin II.
As far as media consumption goes it’s the perfect tiny friend that plays music, Netflix and YouTube with aplomb while also giving you iPhone 13-level gaming on a bigger screen.
Basically think anything you can do with an iPhone 13, you can do with the mini minus the phone bits.
You also get 12MP cameras in the back and front, that aren’t particularly spectacular but are serviceable especially in this age of Zoom calls, especially for those who like to run video calls full screen to show just one face at a time, and not everyone at once.
Who is this for?
It’s a device that’s easy to love — friends I’ve talked to said they would have loved to pick one up but conceded larger versions would have more utility but I know people who decided the size trumped everything else and got it anyhow.
That’s who the mini is for, I think. Someone who needs portable power and a device that’s easy to use anywhere and everywhere.
Though you could get smallish 6-8 inch tablets for half the price of the new iPad minis, the other thing that comes with the Apple price tag is longevity.
In four years those other tablets will be a lot slower and updates will not be guaranteed, depending entirely on the manufacturer but the mini will still get updates for the next four years at least — heck, I know people still using the comparatively ancient iPad 2, despite its lack of updates.
If you want a tiny tablet that will last a long time, can follow you anywhere, supports the Pencil for signatures and scribbles, while being expandable with external storage and accessories via the Type-C port, the iPad mini might be the tablet of your dreams.
Digital artists and professional media people might be better served with the iPad Air and for those on a budget, consider the base iPad instead.
The iPad mini is already available online and at your nearest Apple reseller for RM2,299 for the 64GB model and RM2,949 the 256GB version.