The iPad Mini has long held a special place in the hearts of tech lovers who prefer a smaller, more portable tablet. With its 8.3-inch screen and sleek design, it stands out as a perfect companion for reading, traveling, and casual use. However, the 2024 iPad Mini introduces several features that feel underwhelming, especially given its $499 price tag. If you're thinking about upgrading to the newest Mini, here’s why you might want to reconsider.
iPad Mini: A Unique Device in Apple's Ecosystem
When it comes to Apple’s iPad lineup, versatility is the hallmark of most models. Devices like the iPad Air and iPad Pro are designed to compete with laptops, offering powerful processing, robust multitasking capabilities, and support for a wide range of productivity apps. The iPad Mini, by contrast, has always had a different mission: to be a pocketable, go-anywhere tablet that complements your other devices, not replaces them.
While the iPad Mini offers unparalleled portability, it often feels like a secondary device in Apple’s broader strategy. Apple updates the Mini infrequently, and it typically has to run software designed for larger screens. Despite these drawbacks, it remains beloved by users who value its size and flexibility. But with this new 2024 model, there are a few significant issues that raise questions about whether it's worth the upgrade.
Design and Features: More of the Same
One of the most noticeable aspects of the 2024 iPad Mini is how little it has changed from its predecessor. Visually, it’s nearly identical to the 2021 model, and the few tweaks it offers are unlikely to sway most users.
Still Stubbornly Portrait-Oriented
Unlike other recent iPads that have shifted the front-facing camera to the center of the landscape side for better video calls, the Mini continues to cling to its portrait orientation. This decision seems particularly odd when paired with Apple’s official Smart Folio case, which props up the device in landscape mode. For users who frequently use the Mini for video calls or productivity tasks, this camera placement feels like a missed opportunity.
Touch ID Instead of Face ID
The iPad Mini (2024) still relies on Touch ID embedded in the power button, a feature that feels increasingly outdated in an era where Face ID has become the standard across many Apple devices. While Touch ID is functional, it doesn’t offer the convenience or speed of Face ID, especially on a device designed for frequent one-handed use.
Performance: A Step Behind the Competition
While Apple has included the new A17 Pro chip in the iPad Mini (2024), it's not the fully unlocked version found in devices like the iPhone 15 Pro. The Mini’s A17 Pro features six CPU cores and five GPU cores, which suggests that Apple is using binned chips — processors that didn’t meet the performance standards for the iPhone 15 Pro.
Although the A17 Pro still represents a performance boost compared to the previous A15 Bionic chip, it lags behind the powerhouses in the iPad lineup. The iPad Pro with the M4 chip and even the iPad Air with its M2 chip significantly outpace the Mini in terms of raw power. This makes the Mini feel like a compromise, especially given its $499 price point.
Gaming and Graphics Limitations
While the A17 Pro allows the Mini to handle casual gaming and lightweight applications like TikTok, it struggles with more demanding games. In our tests, Call of Duty: Warzone played well, but Assassin’s Creed Mirage stuttered significantly, even on medium settings. For users hoping to use the iPad Mini for high-end gaming, the limitations of the A17 Pro are apparent.
Apple Pencil Pro Support: A Silver Lining?
One of the few genuinely new features in the iPad Mini (2024) is its support for the Apple Pencil Pro. This stylus offers advanced capabilities like hovering, pressure sensitivity, and more, making it a potentially valuable tool for digital artists or note-takers.
However, the iPad Mini doesn’t support the Pencil 2, which feels like a strange oversight. Users who have invested in older accessories may find themselves frustrated by this compatibility issue. If you're an artist, the addition of Pencil Pro support might be a compelling reason to upgrade, but for the average user, it doesn’t seem enough to justify the price.
Color Options and Storage: Minor Upgrades
Apple has introduced two new colors for the 2024 iPad Mini: blue and purple. While these may seem like fun options, the actual color is so faint that it’s hard to distinguish from silver. For those who care about aesthetics, the new colors might not be the vibrant change they were hoping for.
On the positive side, Apple has finally increased the base storage of the iPad Mini to 128GB, up from the paltry 64GB of previous models. This long-overdue improvement means users won’t have to worry about running out of space as quickly. However, this storage increase is more a matter of necessity than innovation, given the increasing size of apps and files.
The Future of Apple Intelligence
One of the most intriguing promises of the iPad Mini (2024) is its ability to run Apple Intelligence, Apple's new AI-driven system. However, Apple Intelligence doesn’t exist in its fully realized form yet. Early iterations are expected to roll out in the coming months, but the most exciting features won’t be available until next year at the earliest.
This leaves the iPad Mini in an awkward position: it's being marketed as a device designed for a technology that hasn’t fully arrived yet. While Apple Intelligence could eventually revolutionize the way we use our devices, betting on a future promise feels risky, especially when there are other iPads that offer more power and versatility today.
Value Proposition: Is It Worth the Price?
At $499, the iPad Mini sits in an uncomfortable spot within Apple’s product lineup. For $100 more, you can upgrade to the iPad Air, which offers significantly better performance and a larger screen. Alternatively, you can save money by opting for a refurbished 2021 iPad Mini, which offers almost the same experience as the 2024 version for a lower price.
The only real reason to buy the iPad Mini (2024) is because it’s the only iPad Mini currently available. But with no groundbreaking new features, questionable camera placement, and performance that lags behind other iPads, it’s hard to justify the purchase unless you’re deeply attached to the Mini’s form factor.
Conclusion: Wait Before You Upgrade
The iPad Mini (2024) is a decent tablet, but it doesn’t feel like a necessary upgrade for most users. If you already own a 2021 or even a 2018 iPad Mini, there’s little here to make you rush out and buy the new version. The promise of Apple Intelligence is intriguing, but without concrete details about how it will work, it’s hard to recommend spending $499 on a device designed for a future that hasn’t arrived yet.
In the end, the iPad Mini (2024) feels like a stopgap, a product that exists because Apple needed to release something. Unless you absolutely need the Apple Pencil Pro support or can’t live without the new colors, we suggest holding off on this one. There are better options available in Apple's lineup, both in terms of performance and value.
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