I tried and couldn’t find use cases for iPads in the last few years. In 2021, I replaced my old iPad with the iPad Air 4 in hopes of integrating it into my workflow. But that didn’t happen. And since I’m a remote worker who’s always on the go, I found my iPad Air sitting in a drawer for most of its life. I don’t remember the last time I felt the need to use it.
But I knew I needed a smaller tablet for consuming media and reading on my travels. That’s why I bought the iPad Mini after my most recent trip to CES and it has become a part of my daily life ever since. Unlike the fancier and more expensive iPad, the Mini works for me because it’s not trying to be a MacBook replacement, but rather an extension of my phone and laptop.
In 2024, when Apple is expected to unveil its next generation of iPad Pros and Airs, here’s why I’m sticking with the smaller but still powerful iPad Mini.
What works with the iPad Mini
My use case with iPads is browsing, reading, and watching videos, and in that order of priority. When I first tried the iPad Mini, I didn’t expect to prefer it to my iPad Air or the foldable phones that were being tested at the time.
The iPad Mini is the perfect combination of form and function. Unlike the Air, it’s extremely comfortable to hold for long periods of time and doesn’t strain my wrist. I can dive into the depths of Wikipedia at 2am without feeling the need to quit. I’m a fan of the paperback size; It’s thin, small, and less heavy than anything larger.
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The iPad Mini is a great travel companion, thanks to its small, ultra-portable size that makes it easier to fit in a backpack than any other tablet. I’ve never carried my iPad or iPad Air when traveling, but I definitely have the iPad Mini in my bag, whether to de-stress during a work trip or for vacation entertainment. It doesn’t take up too much space and gives me an extra media consumption device so my phone still has enough battery when I land.
The 8.3-inch screen is just the right size between my phone and my laptop. I haven’t felt weighed down by the screen and it easily fits on a folding airplane table. It helps that the small size doesn’t compromise the Mini’s performance. The multitasking and split view modes are as fast as ever, and reaching for quick notes with a swipe is more useful at this size than on larger iPads. I wrote articles on my iPad Mini, synced notes to my iCloud, and then archived them from my MacBook Air.
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The iPad Mini also has decent battery life, with even better battery backup. Like my iPad Air, I can access it after two days and see only a minimal drop in power. I’ve had cases where I didn’t even have to look for a charger during short work trips of one or two days.
Another benefit of the Mini is its support for the second-generation Apple Pencil, meaning you can achieve a similar level of precision when editing photos in apps like Lightroom as you can on the more expensive iPad Pro.
What I would like to see in the next model.
All that said, there is one major design flaw in the sixth-generation iPad Mini: the unnatural placement of the volume controls. Even after having it for a little over a month, I haven’t gotten used to having the volume buttons in the top left corner. It is not ideal in any orientation: portrait or landscape.
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While watching videos, I reach the top edge (like any other tablet or smartphone), but then I realize it’s at the bottom left. Repositioning these buttons to the right side would improve the experience, but it’s a challenge because that area of the table is where the Apple Pencil connects.
Second, a 64GB base storage won’t be enough in 2024. If you’re downloading movies and TV shows for travel or editing a lot of photos, which I do often, you shouldn’t have to spend $150 more on the next storage level. I hope Apple doubles the base storage to 128GB or at least introduces that storage variant with the next iPad Mini.
While the company is rumored to be updating the iPad Air and iPad Pro lineup for April, the next iPad Mini is said to launch later this year, albeit as “an iterative update” rather than a complete overhaul. That’s fine with me, as long as Apple can fix the two minor but notable flaws in the current model.
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