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.

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.

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

While I obsess over smartphones and often find myself switching SIM cards daily, I tend to try only Apple iPads on an annual basis and then just for a few months before moving on. I passed my 2015 iPad Mini 4 to my youngest daughter and then my 2017 iPad Pro 10.5 inch tablet to my oldest daughter as...

Diminutive size for a tablet; Solid construction and simple design; Lightning fast performance; Apple Pencil support; Long battery life; 3.5mm headset jack

Large top and bottom bezels; $130 cellular premium

While I obsess over smartphones and often find myself switching SIM cards daily, I tend to try only Apple iPads on an annual basis and then just for a few months before moving on. I passed my 2015 iPad Mini 4 to my youngest daughter and then my 2017 iPad Pro 10.5 inch tablet to my oldest daughter as...

Diminutive size for a tablet; Solid construction and simple design; Lightning fast performance; Apple Pencil support; Long battery life; 3.5mm headset jack

Large top and bottom bezels; $130 cellular premium

A mini tablet is great for books; and even movies

It feels a little cramped to use the pencil with