More than ever before,the 7th-gen iPad minisplits thedifference between Apples smartphones and tablets.
You wont slip it into your pocket, but its the perfect size for a small bag.
Just don’t expect to use it for intensive tasks like gaming.
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
Which one would I choose?
The only question is how much Apple Intelligence will truly change how we might use a tiny iPad.
How can you even compare the two?
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
One starts at $1,300 for its size.
Its Apples thinnest, most powerful, and not to mention most expensive iPad to date.
Compared to that, the humble mini starts at $500.
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
Its essentially the same Air-like chassis as the6th-gen iPad mini from 2021.
More than ever, the iPad makes the case for small tablets over massive Rosetta Stone-sized slates.
Unlike the Air, it comes in fun colors like light blue and purple.
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
At first, I thought it was gray.
Theres a 12MP rear sensor and a 12MP ultra-wide front-facing camera.
The front camera uses Center Stage, which adjusts the zoom level to keep you in the frame.
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
I used it during a lengthy video call, and it works well enough.
These include Writing Tools, notification summaries, and a few added photo editing features like Clean Up.
At least its a relatively simple interface.
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
Writing Tools is far more of a mixed bag.
The proofreading feature isnt bad.
It will rejigger the sentences in my emails to fix any accidental comma splices.
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
Unfortunately, I cant currently bring up Writing Tools in Google Docs.
Perhaps that might change in the future, but Googles promoting its own AI tools for Workspace apps.
I prefer the Key Points feature, which makes an email into bullet points.
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
The new Siri interface is a fine upgrade.
Instead of a giant floating orb, Siri is now presented as a wavy, colorful border.
Apples upgraded Siri should have all the product knowledge of Apples support pages plugged into a large language model.
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
Still, when I asked standard product questions like How can I use my iPad to scan documents?
or How do I fix a photo if someone is blinking?
it used internet-based results rather than anything coming directly from Apple.
For example, the iPad mini 2024 cant use Stage Manager on the 8.3-inch display for better multitasking.
Instead, youre limited to Split View.
Even on the 13-inch iPad, Stage Manager could barely paper over the lack of macOS-like versatility.
Even with Split Screen, small-screen iPads are barely better at multitasking than your regular iPhone.
Im more disappointed Apple didnt supply this rig with its top-end iPhone CPU instead.
And yet, theres no real comparison between this mobile chip and the iPads running on Apples M-series silicon.
The iPad mini scored 3,000 points less in Geekbench 6 multicore controls.
For 3D graphics performance in 3D Mark, the desktop-level CPU and GPU will vastly outperform the A17 Pro.
Theres simply no reason to get into the iPad mini expecting desktop-level performance.
I played demanding games like Death Stranding: Directors Cut and Resident Evil 4.
It wont look as good as on any of the recent M3 MacBooks or your iPad Pro or Air.
As for Resident Evil 4, it was unplayable.
Simply put, youre better off running less demanding games on the iPad mini.
That, of course, all depends on how you use it.
What does constant use look like?
Its essentially the same battery life as the 2021 iPad mini.
This small-scale iPad can also connect to up to one external monitor through USB-C.
In my experience, that will sap your battery, depending on the screen resolution.
Outside of that, youll want a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro.
Were finishing our full benchmarking and battery tests, and well be updating this review when those are finalized.
Update 10/22/24 at 2:45 p.m.
ET and 10/24/24 at 2:38 p.m.
ET: This post was updated to include our performance and battery test findings.
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