Just a good product

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.

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

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

The iPad Mini might seem like the odd man out in the iPad lineup, but it's still the best small tablet you can buy in 2020....

Small and light Excellent performance Great iPadOS 14 features Little competition

Dated design No Apple Pencil 2 support No USB-C charging

Had my original iPad mini for over 5 years and was well due an upgrade and I'm pleased to get a new one just after the launch of this new model and although the appearance is still very much like the original it's super fast and does everything the original did but faster and apps are nice and...

The looks haven't changed, but under-the-skin improvements make the latest iPad Mini even better than before

Bright; punchy and vibrant; Lots of dark detail; Crisp sound

Blacks could be deeper; Speaker placement

I swapped my old iPad mini 4 for this newer iPad mini 5th generation which is faster due to the upgraded A12 Bionic processor vs the older A8 and has improved features including Side car functionality which extends workspace from your computer to iPad with screen mirroring, a higher spec front...

When I decided to purchase a new tablet I sat down and did some research. I paid attention to what similar devices i owned before (Galaxy Tab 7", Surface 3, Kindle Paperwhite*) and how I used them. I also thought about what devices I currently own (iPhone XR, Asus Zenbook 13, Dell Inspiron 15).