Already close to a decade of existence, the iPad mini is one of those Apple products that it is not very clear how they have survived in these days of large smartphones. Some might even have thought that he was, in fact, completely missing. keep reading the review !
But it is not like that, and here we have the new iPad mini 2021 with its renewed design, full of power, excellent screen and everything one could want in a tablet … but in a very compact format. Will it be worth it with that price tag above 500 euros?
Compact design with superior model elements
Less than 70 grams heavier than Apple’s largest iPhone. It is what marks the scale when we place the new iPad mini 2021 on it. Said like this, the new iPad Mini 2021 could look good as well as Apple’s iPhone 13 Pro Max bad.
Given our experience these days with the iPad mini 2021, we are left with the first option: the great achievement of the iPad Mini in terms of weight … and dimensions.
The new iPad mini 2021 undergoes one of the greatest transformations in its long history at the design level. It is nothing revolutionary because it picks up elements of more complete iPad models such as the USB-C port or straighter lines, but it suits him very well.
The design change only delves into the same idea behind the Mini: an iPad that you can use with one hand as long as you want.
Using it, the iPad mini 2021 conveys the same idea as previous generations: I always want to have it in hand. It is very light (293 grams for the Wifi model) and can be held with one hand comfortably. And for those who consider the colour of the housing attractive, this new iPad Mini is available in four shades, including a subtle purple, which is the model we have tested in Engadget.
From its older brothers, the iPad Air, the iPad mini 2021 also picks up the glove of smaller frames and the end of the physical button on the front for the TouchID. This identification system goes to the power button, and it works just as well as in the older iPads where we had already tried it. It is convenient to assign several footprints because we will never know how to grab them.
With its price and deep renovation, one would have sincerely expected the move to FaceID for convenience, especially when it is a product that, in many cases, will be used in the privacy of the home. For that of the masks and the discomfort of FaceID right now.
The power button acts as a fingerprint reader.
In the small frames of the new iPad mini 2021, there is room for the FaceID camera that also comes with Center Stage. It could not be less given that it is a device that invites you to make video calls all the time for comfort while having a good screen and very good sound.
However, we will end up making those video calls in portrait mode since, if we place the tablet in landscape mode as it seems more intuitive with this format, we will have to make a huge effort not to be continuously covering the FaceTime camera, which is at the perfect height. .. of our thumb.
More screen for extraordinary clarity
The reduction of frames in this iPad mini 2021 implies that we can already speak of a diagonal of 8.3 inches. The panel has IPS technology, a resolution of 2,266 x 1,488 pixels (which gives us 326 dpi density), True Tone technology, a P3 colour gamut, and everything one expects from an iPad not entry-level.
The screen, of course perfectly laminated and with a good anti-reflective film, stands out for its high brightness of 500 nits. Its brightness, depth of colour and fidelity, both indoors and outdoors, is a pleasure to view, although it already begins to suffer as expected with direct light.
No snag for the 2021 iPad Mini screen. It looks spectacular
The screen of the iPad mini 2021 is also the one that offers the sharpest of the Apple catalogue. And that, with smaller content and a theoretically more consuming use of text, is. Thank you. It could only have been rounded by including ProMotion technology, which Apple reserves for its iPad Pro range.
Another novelty that the iPad mini 2021 brings with it is the compatibility with the second-generation Apple Pencil. Therefore, artists or those who usually use the pencil to write by hand on the iPad are in luck. But you already know that it means adding 135 euros to the shopping cart if you do not already have one at home.
Ipad Mini 2021 Pencil Pen Review
Support for second-generation Apple Pencil … but You have to add 135 euros to buy it if you don’t already have it at home.
The multimedia experience with the iPad mini 2021 screen is accompanied quite well by the sound section. We have stereo speakers (they act in landscape mode) located on both sides of the screen (at the edges) that offer us a fairly powerful and faithful sound, although far from what larger iPads achieve. And at high volumes, you notice a clear vibration of the tablet.
It is an enjoyable iPad without headphones and with them, although it must be borne in mind that the iPad mini 2021 has lost the 3.5 mm port along the way with the redesign.
Power to spare for a compact iPad
There could not be a complete upgrade from the previous generation iPad mini without a corresponding jump in power thanks to a new chip. Here Apple does not hesitate and gives its sixth-generation iPad mini the new Apple A15, which gives the chest do in synthetic performance tests such as GeekBench 5 (exceeds 4500 points) and in day to day.
With the Apple A15 inside, the iPad’s limitation for any task is not in the performance but the size of the screen.
The iPad mini 2021 performs excellently on all the tasks you think of it for. Navigation, reading, multimedia playback and even your creative steps with video or photo editing. The limitation is not in power but in the size of the screen, for example, to enjoy or take advantage of multitasking, something little optimized for this very small screen.
Regarding the heating of the iPad mini, no worries. Something critical in a device that we use holding it that it does not get too hot is good news, but be careful because in demanding games like NBA 2K21 from Arcade, we could appreciate a few minutes of playing with it warm-up of the rear.
The only niche market (or use) that this A15 chip fits like a glove is gaming. Although the screen does not have the ideal size to play seriously (nor are there any packaging titles as such), with external control, this iPad mini 2021 is a very good option as a portable game system if, with the options that Apple especially gives With Arcade, you are satisfied.
The reinforced power in this iPad mini 2021 makes this tablet a ready product for those users who require adequate performance for on-site photo or video editing.
