This year's iPad mini and the new iPad Air ($499) are basically bigger and smaller versions of each other. Here's how it steps up: The existing $329 iPad (just called iPad) is for all of your basic tablet needs. The $399 iPad mini is for people who specifically need a smaller, lighter tablet.

Powerful processor; Solid screen; Broad LTE options; Apple Pencil support; Light and easy to carry

Compatible Apple Pencil isn't the better model; Aging design

With a powerful A12 Bionic chip, the new iPad mini (2019) is still the best small tablet yet, and will likely remain so in the coming years.

Apple's new $399 iPad mini has almost all the power of the iPhone XS, at half the price. It's the tablet to get if you have demanding software needs, but you want something that will fit in a hand, a lab coat, or on a vehicle mount. Apple has done its usual yeoman job here, and there aren't many other tablets on the market that are both small and powerful. That makes the 2019 iPad mini our Editor's Choice for small, high-end tablets. iPad mini Use Cases Who's the iPad mini for? That's going to color a lot of my judgment from here on out. I'll say that it's not for people who want a "cheap iPad" or a "cheap tablet." There is a better cheap iPad for your kids to play Toca Boca games on—the $329, sixth-generation, 9.7-inch iPad—and much cheaper tablets for basic use. But if you look around, there are a lot of iPad minis in business. Smaller tablets work well on vehicle mounts, as point-of-sale systems, for taking your restaurant order, for writing a prescription by a bedside, for g...

Apple's iPad mini is the only small, premium tablet you should consider buying right now.

Powerful processor; Solid screen; Broad LTE options; Apple Pencil support; Light and easy to carry

Compatible Apple Pencil isn't the better model; Aging design

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro sits next to my home desktop computer. Its beautifully large screen is a creative canvas I love using, Face ID continues to feel futuristic, and the magnetic, second-gen Apple Pencil is so darn convenient.

Great screen; Strong performance; Portable and compact; Apple Pencil support; Good battery life (so far

Same old design; No second-gen Apple Pencil support; Fast charging adapter and cable not included

The iPad Mini is not the best tablet Apple makes (that's the 11-inch iPad Pro ). It's not the good enough tablet either (that's the iPad Air). It's the awkward one. A little too small, but a little too big, and demanding a fairly radical change to how you operate a tablet if you've been using any...

A mini tablet is great for books; and even movies

It feels a little cramped to use the pencil with

I've been a convert to Apple's iPad line of tablets with the launch of the astounding iPad Pro 2018 last year. Utilising the iPad Pro daily as a MacBook replacement (but alongside my Mac Pro desktop computer), I've grown accustomed to the quirks and limitations of the iPad family – but also the...

When Apple announced the first iPad mini in 2012, the tablet's purpose was clear: It squeezed just about everything that made the regular iPad such a pleasure to use into a smaller, cheaper package. It's no wonder the mini built such a devoted following.

Light and portable; Powerful and fast; Display is excellent; Surprisingly versatile;

Design feels dated; Cameras aren’t amazing…; … and neither are the speakers; Uses the older Apple Pencil;

The iPad mini is back, apparently by popular demand. Many thought the mini might be gone for good, but much like Apple’s release of the HTMLTagInstance html-tag-20e878f9-96b5-45a5-9203-01a5b32183da iPhone SE, the company’s meeting users’ demands for a smaller, up-to-date device with the HTMLTagInstance html-tag-cb3e134d-572c-40b8-8cf2-64c43b20b726 2019 iPad mini. It’s a simple formula really: use the same mini form-factor, but stuff it with the company’s latest and greatest internals. After nearly four years with no new iPad mini releases, it seems Apple is pretty confident that fans of the mini will spring for the upgrade. But should you?In the box:iPad mini (2019)USB Lightning CableUSB Power AdapterQuick Start, Safety Guide, and StickersDesign ImageTagInstance gallery-67e3b2fa-e9a4-49ca-b02f-6cfa2972a33e Yes, it looks pretty much identical to its predecessor. That can be a tough bite to swallow for some, as its predecessor, and even the first iPad mini from 2012, are pretty hard to t...

Light and small with class-leading internals; Lightning quick performance is smooth and effortless even in heavier tasks; Solid camera in daytime lighting; Easy-to-read display in almost any situation; Great battery life; Apple Pencil support;

Older design looks like the first 2012 iPad mini; Gesture navigation needs some streamlining; Camera isn’t a great low-light performer; Takes forever to recharge;

Apple has a reputation for forcing change on us right when we've gotten comfortable with its designs. Sure, we often resist (and sometimes Apple is wrong), but more often than not the Cupertino company proves that breaking out of our comfort zones leads to better user experiences and perhaps even a...

Powerful A12 Bionic chip delivers remarkable performance; Support for first-generation Apple Pencil; Pleasantly portable size

Older design is starting to show its age