Apple iPad mini 6 (2021) review: Awesome and ultraportable
Our Verdict
The iPad mini 6 2021 is the pocket-size-only-powerful iPad we needed
For
- Amazingly portable, light design
- Speedy A15 Bionic processor
- Sharp and bright display
- Splendid webcam
- USB-C charging
- 2nd Gen Apple Pencil support
Against
- No Magic Keyboard or headphone jack
- Pricey
Tom's Guide Verdict
The iPad mini half dozen 2021 is the minor-but-powerful iPad we needed
Pros
- +
Amazingly portable, light blueprint
- +
Speedy A15 Bionic processor
- +
Precipitous and bright display
- +
Excellent webcam
- +
USB-C charging
- +
second Gen Apple Pencil support
Cons
- -
No Magic Keyboard or headphone jack
- -
Pricey
Writing this iPad mini 6 (2021) review, I kept thinking near how the iPad mini is no longer the iPad mini it in one case was. I don't know how Tim Melt resisted the urge to say "Honey, I shrunk the iPad Air" when Apple introduced the tablet, though that'south exactly what the company did.
Apple likewise added a fantastic screen, excellent battery life and the super-speedy operation of Apple'southward A15 Bionic chip found in the iPhone 13 to its smallest tablet.
iPad mini half-dozen (2021) specs
Bone: iPadOS 15
CPU: A15 Bionic
Storage: 64GB, 256GB
Display: eight.3-inch (2266 x 1488 pixels) Liquid Retina
Rear cameras: 12MP broad (f/i.8)
Video: Upwardly to 4K at up to threescore fps
Front end camera: 12MP FaceTime Hd
Wireless: Wi-Fi 6, optional 5G (Sub-half-dozen)
Battery life: ten:29 (tested)
Size: 7.7 x v.iii 10 0.iii inches
Weight: 0.vii pounds
Price: $499
And by doing and so, Apple's made nonetheless some other of the best tablets you tin find today, edifice the case in favor of a pint-sized tablet of premium quality. At 8.iii inches, information technology's the kind of slate that would brand some ask, why not just buy a big phone? Just that audition isn't looking for a perfectly portable tablet that is a joy for reading books and comics, browsing the web and more than, all with simply one hand.
The only real downsides for the iPad mini half dozen come for multitaskers and typists with a penchant for Apple-made keyboards. So, should yous purchase the iPad mini 2021? Here'south everything to know near why Apple's smallest iPad is one of its biggest updates.
- The best tablets for everyone
- Cheque out our iPad Pro 2021 (12.nine-inch) review
- Plus: iPad 9 vs iPad mini 6: Which 2021 iPad is correct for you lot?
On top of that, the new iPad mini offers 1 feature the iPad Air doesn't: Center Stage for keeping y'all in the frame when you're on video calls. Only should you get the iPad mini 6 over, say, the iPad 9? Or should yous spend more money on the iPad Air 2020? These are the questions I'll intermission downwards in this iPad mini six review.
The only existent downsides for the iPad mini vi come for multitaskers and typists with a penchant for Apple-made keyboards. So, should you purchase the iPad mini 2021? Here's everything to know almost why Apple'south smallest iPad is one of its biggest updates.
iPad mini half dozen (2021) review: Release date and price
The iPad mini 6 is available for purchase at local retailers and via Apple's website. The price starts at $499 for the 64GB configuration, and you tin can upgrade to 256GB for $150 — which brings you lot to $649. LTE cellular connectivity costs $150 more, bringing the max price to $899.
A Black Fri deal on the iPad mini six for $459 at Walmart just came and went in less than 2 hours, a reminder to not wait and go along your optics on our all-time Blackness Fri iPad deals folio.
Almost notably, that $499 price is $100 more than the iPad mini 5, which was previously $399. But you're getting a much more than interesting iPad here.
iPad mini half-dozen (2021) review: Design
If the iPad mini vi had cheeks or a nose, I'd endeavor and pinch them, considering this thing is adorable. Just looking at the slate next to the regular iPad, you might call up its proper noun is misleading. Sure, it's smaller, simply information technology's not the 'mini' version of the regular iPad — as I mentioned to a higher place, this is instead the shrunk down version of the iPad Air (2020).
It's got the aforementioned virtually bezel-free design, Bear upon ID-enabled power push button on the side, no dwelling button, apartment edges and USB-C port — all iPad Air staples. Mayhap "iPad Air mini" is besides long of a name for Apple, only that'southward what this is.
Similarly, the iPad mini 2021 is akin to the iPad Air in that it's sold in more interesting colors than the iPad. Instead of but argent and Space Gray, Apple offers the mini in purple, pink, Starlight (think champagne) and the Infinite Gray color of our testing unit.
The iPad mini half dozen's 7.7 10 5.iii x 0.25 inches frame has a much smaller footprint than the iPad Air 4 (9.7 x vii.0 x 0.24 inches) and iPad 9 (9.8 x 6.8 x 0.29 inches). The Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite (8.iv x four.ix x 0.31) is near imperceptibly larger (by 0.35 square inches on size and 0.06 inches in thickness).
And at 0.65 pounds, the iPad mini vi is lighter than the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite (0.81 pounds), iPad Air 4 (ane.01 pounds) and iPad 9 (i.09 pounds). That lightness makes information technology incredibly easy to use with just one hand, an aspect that's just not out at that place for most high-cease tablets, unless y'all've got the high-powered biceps of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
The iPad mini 2021's biometric Touch ID sensor is in its lock/power button (just like the iPad Air 4), since information technology doesn't take the Home button where the iPad nine hides its Touch ID. The Galaxy Tab A7 Lite, though, has login via facial recognition, something that no iPad outside of the pricey Pros offer.
Touch ID was a breeze to set upwardly, on the iPad mini and both unlocked the tablet and confirmed my identity for Apple Pay in a speedy mode.
The new iPad mini does something we wish Apple would do to the normal iPad: ditching the Lightning port for USB-C. The Lightning port's relevance continues to compress down to just the iPhone, AirPods Max and AirPods instance.
Frustratingly, the iPad mini half dozen doesn't have a headphone jack, some other design change it "inherited" from the iPad Air. This is OK for everyone who is in on Bluetooth and loves AirPods, but my wired headphones nonetheless work and I wish the iPad mini six would back up them without a USB-C to headphone jack adapter.
iPad mini vi (2021) review: Display
The iPad mini vi has one of the all-time screens for a tablet of its size, which I noticed as I re-watched the Spider-Man: No Way Dwelling trailer. Not merely did the reds of Peter Parker's conform popular in an accurate hue, simply the bister glow of Doctor Strange's powerful spell (which he told Wong he wouldn't exercise) looked cracking every bit did the dark-green glowing out of the goblin grenade on the freeway. Details such every bit the intricacies of Strange's spell, the crumbling highway underneath Parker and the snowy textures of Doctor Strange's winter wonderland of a living room looked nice.
The iPad mini 2021'due south 326-ppi (8.iii inches, 2266x1488 pixels) screen is sharper than smaller than the 264-ppi iPad 9 (ten.2 inches, 2160x1620 pixels) and 264-ppi iPad Air 4 (10.9 inches, 2360 ten 1640 pixels) and the 179-ppi Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite (8.seven inches, 1340 x 800 pixels).
But while information technology is sharper, I noticed i issue with a screen this small — splitting your screen between apps can make for tiny text in Safari (endeavor a 66% vs 33% split up over a 50/50 split to improve that) or for incredibly minor touch targets. This makes the iPad mini 2021 less of a multitasking device and more than of a one-thing-at-a-time device.
When it comes to color output, though, an iPad screen is an iPad screen, as the iPad mini 6's 103.1% sRGB output (according to our colorimeter) is very close to those of the iPad 9 (105.3%) and iPad Air four (102.nine%). The Galaxy Tab A7 Light (81.8%) is less colorful.
That said, the iPad mini 6 is much brighter than all of those tablets, with a maximum of 520 nits. The iPad 9 (472.7 nits), iPad Air four (440 nits) and Galaxy Tab A7 Lite (315 nits) aren't equally vivid.
The iPad mini 6 does exhibit one display upshot that some owners are finding annoying. There's a "jelly scrolling" trouble apparently for some units, especially in portrait mode, where both sides of the display are scrolling at different speeds. We expect Apple to address this issue.
iPad mini 6 (2021) review: A15 Bionic performance
The iPad mini vi boasts the powers of the A15 Bionic organisation-on-bit, with a six-core CPU, five-core graphics and sixteen-core Neural Engine. And, since the iPad Air four's A14 Bionic impressed with its speed, I'thousand not surprised to say that the iPad mini 2021 is a pretty fast tablet. After I split my screen between 12 Safari tabs and a 1080p YouTube video, I saw no lag.
On the Geekbench 5 multi-core full general operation test, the iPad mini 6 notched a solid 4,540 score, which fifty-fifty beats the iPad Air 4 (4,262, A14 Bionic), iPad ix (3387, A13 Bionic) and Galaxy Tab A7 Calorie-free (907, MediaTek MT8768T).
Playing a quarter or two of basketball in NBA 2K21 Arcade Edition, I saw the Knicks take on the Heat, and everything ran smoothly. The exasperation on charabanc Tom Thibodeau's face looked natural and similar what I recall from when Trey Young took down New York during round 1 of the playoffs.
That speed as well comes in handy for Apple'south automobile learning tricks like Live Text. This iPadOS 15 feature (1 of my favorites) lets you select text in images only past belongings your finger downwards on the paradigm. This worked simply as smoothly on the iPad mini 2021 as it has on my iPhone 12 Pro Max and the 2020 iPad Pro models.
iPad mini 6 (2021) review: Audio
The iPad mini vi'south stereo speakers tin pump out a surprising amount of sound for a tablet so small. I learned this when listening to it accurately produce Hayley Williams' vocals on Paramore'southward "Hard Times," where guitars and percussion emitted conspicuously.
When I turned on Grandtheft and Keys North Krates' EDM rail "Keep It 100" to check out the bass, I noticed some (but non too much) of the depression ent of the audio spectrum. The bass also rumbled on Pusha T's "Come Back Baby," but (again), I thought it could use some more than.
Much similar the iPad Air iv, the iPad mini half dozen offers stereo sound when you're using information technology in landscape orientation (just not in portrait).
iPad mini 6 (2021) review: Apple Pencil 2, only no Apple Keyboard
While the iPad mini 6'southward apartment edges let it to support the fantastic Apple Pencil two ($129 actress), information technology lacks the other iPad Air four and iPad Pro accessory we honey: the iPad Magic Keyboard. This is likely because the 8.3-inch iPad mini 6 is too pocket-sized to allow for a keyboard with decently-sized keys.
We love the iPad mini's back up for the Apple Pencil 2nd Gen, though, because information technology'due south simply easier to apply. The first generation Apple Pencil has to be charged by plugging its Lightning port into the bottom of an iPad, which always feels awkward. The Apple Pencil 2nd Gen instead charges by snapping magnetically onto the apartment edge sides of the iPad mini 6.
Only as ever, the Apple Pencil 2 provides speedy input with depression latency. That performance is also helpful when using the iPadOS Scribble feature that turns handwriting into blazon. It's the power to write into text fields with the Apple Pencil and accept that handwriting plough into legit text. And information technology even works with my craven-scratch writing.
And every bit much equally I wish there was a kickoff-party/Apple-made Magic Keyboard for the iPad mini 2021, information technology does support Bluetooth keyboards, equally all tablets do. Testing it out with the Logitech MX Keys and MX Master 3, I found everything to work well, as I thought about how the iPad mini 2021 is the perfect size for a second screen on my desk (especially since the Clock app's World Clock mode will salvage my lazy brain from doing the simple math to figure out what time it is for my colleagues around the world).
iPad mini 6 (2021) review: Cameras
The smaller a tablet gets, the more I understand people wanting to use information technology as a camera, and the iPad mini 2021 makes a skillful case for this purpose. Its 12-megapixel front and rear cameras provide pretty good prototype quality, with the latter capturing the greens and myriad of spikes of the cacti around my living room and the dark purples of the protea bloom that's nearing the end of its life.
The equally, if non more, of import news is that the iPad mini five's 7MP camera is junked for the 12MP FaceTime Hd camera. Not simply did my colleagues say I looked actually crisp on our forenoon Google Run into call, but the camera features Apple's Centre Stage engineering science, which keeps you in the heart of the frame should y'all move around in front of the camera. It's neat, and (in my experience) works better than the automobile-framing tool in the $169 Logitech StreamCam.
I noticed that the selfie cam also provides accurate photography, reproducing my skin tones correctly, besides equally the blueish of my t-shirt. It'southward not the sharpest sensor I've ever seen, but information technology did pick up the small amount of stubble with some detail.
The iPad 9 (12MP front-facing, 8MP rear) has a less-sharp rear camera, the iPad Air 4 (7MP front-facing, 12MP rear) doesn't accept Center Stage and the Tab A7 Lite (two MP front-facing photographic camera, 8MP rear) doesn't compete on either sensor.
iPad mini 6 (2021) review: Bombardment life
Apple claims "all-day bombardment life" with upward to 10 hours on a single charge, and our test shows they're beingness small-scale (again). The iPad mini 6 lasted 10 hours and 56 minutes on our Wi-Fi-based bombardment examination (constant web browsing at 150 nits until the tablet dies), which is impressive when y'all recollect of how many pixels there are to illuminate.
The iPad mini'southward time beats those of the Air 4 (10:29) and Tab A7 Lite (10:07), while the larger iPad 9 (xi:59) lasts about an hour longer. We're guessing it has more room for a larger battery.
iPad mini six (2021) review: Verdict
I expect the questions about the new iPad mini to come hard and fast this fall, equally iPad owners wonder if they should treat themselves to the new-new or continue what they take. Those who want a tablet with an excellent screen can merely cease correct here with the iPad mini 2021. And with the mini's speedy A15 Bionic performance, yous should be confident that yous tin run even-more demanding apps on information technology.
For even more battery life, yous can save $170 with the $329 iPad 9. Recollect yous're going to type a lot? The iPad Air 2020 is calling your name, but it's $100 more at $599 and its Magic Keyboard is $299 on superlative of that. Want a 8-inch tablet for less than half the price of the iPad mini vi? Well, only know that the $159 Galaxy Tab A7 Low-cal's screen isn't equally abrupt, its performance can't bear upon the iPad mini 6 and information technology doesn't last as long either.
At the cease of the twenty-four hour period, those who want an excellent one-handed tablet experience for reading books and watching shows and movies — with no compromises — should check out the iPad mini 2021.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/apple-ipad-mini-6-2021
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