In 2007, Apple unveiled the iPhone and changed the world of cellular phones forever. In 2010, they repeated the success in larger form with the iPad. However, for me, 2012 is the year that matters most—"Honey, I shrunk the iPad." Apple unveiled the iPad mini to roaring applause, and they flew off Apple Store shelves, proving a device between an iPhone and iPad could and would work. Now, 15 years later, we have the first iPad mini with an OLED display, and it is absolutely stunning.
Those who know me know I love good advertising and marketing—mostly, I love the design behind a product and what makes you want to pull out your wallet (or iPhone, in the case of Apple Pay) and spend several hundred dollars on a new, shiny piece of glass and aluminum with stark white packaging. The new iPad mini with A20 Pro showcases how portable and pocketable the form factor is, emerging from a jean jacket pocket and instantly transporting you to another world whether you’re watching YouTube, drawing in Procreate, or scrolling the depressing world of US politics in Apple News+. They utilize Goodnotes on the set of a film shoot and showcase drawing on the beach under the bright, warm sunlight (showcasing the 1,200-nit brightness and nano-texture display).
The form factor of the iPad mini has always been a very attractive point for me; I currently daily-drive an iPad mini with A17. The size makes it comfortable to watch media in bed or lying on the couch, or to have a larger display for browsing Reddit. For me, it’s a winner and always will be. What is hard to swallow is the new $699 entry price tag. That hurts… a lot. However, in today’s economy and storage shortages, what can you do? For $699, you get the A20 Pro chip with a 5-core CPU, 7-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine, along with 128GB of storage and the standard glass display. The nano-texture upgrade and double the storage are available for $100 more, and for an eye-watering $999, you receive the nano-texture display, 512GB of storage, an extra CPU core, and the dual 16-core Neural Engine. Do I think the upgrades are worth it? No, not really—I’d much rather get a MacBook Air at $1,299.
As someone who has a special place in their heart for the iPad mini, I can definitely recommend the base model iPad mini with A20 Pro—maybe even the nano-texture display upgrade, if that is something you insist on having. Apple has a smash hit on their hands with this, and it slides perfectly into the current offerings for the iPad family.
The iPad mini fits my lifestyle and likely will fit yours, so if you’re in the market for a new iPad this holiday season, consider the new iPad mini with A20 Pro over the more expensive and larger iPad Air or iPad Pro. I can guarantee it’s like no other iPad you’ve used before, even if you have an older iPad mini already.
