great for reading, but not much else

After spending the last few weeks with Apple’s 7th generation iPad mini (2024), I’ve decided it isn’t for me. The tablet is great for reading, playing games, and watching video content on platforms like Netflix and YouTube (as long as you can deal with its lackluster display), but its 8.3-inch screen is too small to do anything else comfortably, like editing photographs, writing, or multitasking — all tasks I often use my iPad for.

In the truest sense of the term, the iPad mini (2024) is a companion device. But in a world where most smartphones feature 6-inch to 7-inch displays, it isn’t easy to justify dropping $500 on a tiny tablet. Those considering upgrading from the 6th generation iPad mini won’t find much to get excited about here, either. Sure, the A17 is plenty powerful, and Apple Pencil Pro support is welcome, but unless you plan to play AAA games or draw on the iPad mini 7, there isn’t much of an upgrade here over the iPad mini (2021).

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Price, availability, and specs

The iPad mini 7 is available now for $500. The smallest tablet in Apple’s iPad lineup features an 8.3-inch 2266 x 1488 pixel resolution LCD display. Storage configurations include 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. The tablet’s front camera is a 12-megapixel ultra-wide shooter, and its rear camera is a 12-megapixel wide camera.

Regarding dimensions, the iPad mini (2022) comes in at 7.69 x 5.3 x 0.25-inches (195.4 x 134.8 x 6.3mm). The Wi-Fi version of the device weighs 0.65lbs (293g) and the cellular version weighs 0.66lbs (297g). Colors include space gray, starlight, purple, and blue.

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The tablet is great for reading and playing games

While I’ve been pretty negative about Apple’s tiny tablet so far, there is a lot to like about the new iPad mini. First off, I’m a big fan of the size — but only for specific purposes. 8.3-inches feels cramped for anything besides web browsing, reading, and playing games. Attempting to do any work on the small screen, even simple photo editing in Adobe Lightroom CC, feels extremely cramped and has me quickly longing for a bigger display, whether I’m using it in landscape or portrait mode. The size is fine for quick photo edits, but anything more in-depth feels like a chore.

On that note, it’s great to see Apple support the Apple Pencil USB-C and Apple Pencil Pro for the iPad mini (2024), though it unfortunately doesn’t support the 2nd generation Apple Pencil. While I don’t see myself using the iPad mini (2024) with a stylus very often, the fact the option is there is great.

What I’ve used the iPad mini for the most over the last few weeks is browsing the internet and reading content I’ve saved in Pocket. I love e-readers, mainly the Kobo Libra Colour, but it’s often nice to look at the websites I visit often in a standard browser. That said, this also means I’m easily distracted by notifications and the aimless Threads scrolling that often captures my attention. Still, as an all-in-one reading device, the iPad mini is solid. Its size is perfect for that purpose, and it’s far more capable than an e-reader. I still prefer single-use, focused devices like the Libra Colour for reading, but I understand the iPad mini’s all-in-one appeal.

It’s worth noting that, despite not featuring an M-series chip, the A17 Pro — which was included in last year’s iPhone 15 Pro — remains powerful and can even play high-end games like relatively smoothly. Of course, now that iOS 18.1 is available, the iPad mini supports Apple Intelligence features like Clean-Up, which lets you remove objects from images, questionably useful notification Summaries, and a more conversational Siri.

More features are coming with iOS 18.2, including ChatGPT integration, Siri being aware of what’s on your screen, and Visual Intelligence, which analyzes what’s in the photos you snap.

Could Apple Intelligence be a key iPad mini selling feature down the line? I’m still skeptical, but maybe. Hopefully, iOS 18.2 changes that.

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In a world of massive smartphones with impressive screens, the iPad mini 7’s display is disappointing

What’s most shocking about the iPad mini is how dated it looks. The bezels are chunky and a throwback to iPads from several years ago (of course, not including the entry-level iPad), and its LCD LED display just doesn’t compare to the iPad Air, iPad Pro, or even the entry-level iPad screen.

I know that probably isn’t an entirely fair comparison (especially the OLED iPad Pro), but I’m coming from these more expensive devices. And even for a $500 8.3-inch tablet, I expected more. The fact the screen is 60Hz and still seems to have a bit of the “jelly scrolling” the 2021 version of the iPad mini suffered from doesn’t bode well. Even the colors on the tablet’s screen feel muted and low-key compared to other LED LCD iPads in Apple’s lineup.

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Regarding jelly scrolling specifically, it doesn’t seem to be something everyone notices. I see it sometimes when scrolling; parts of websites will stick and drag oddly, but in other situations, it’s non-existent. It’s an odd issue, but the problem seems to have vastly improved over the iPad mini (2021), where I noticed this issue nearly all the time.

With all of that said, if you’re not used to higher-end displays of the mini LED and OLED variety, the iPad mini’s lackluster display will likely be good enough for you. For me, though? I want more from a device I use almost exclusively for playing games and watching content, especially at $500. At this point, Apple needs to bring at least a 90Hz display to most of its iPad lineup, including the iPad mini.

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If you’re a one-stop-shop media consumer, it’s not bad

Unless you’re looking for an all-in-one media consumption device and don’t mind a lackluster display, most people will be better off consuming content on their smartphone over the iPad mini (2024). This doesn’t necessarily make it a bad tablet, but it’s designed with a specific type of iPad user in mind.

Most people are better off just using their smartphone instead of shelling out the cash for an iPad mini. After all, if you have an iPhone or a recent Android device, the display is likely OLED, features a higher refresh rate, and is nearly the same size as Apple’s tiny tablet.