One Month with an iPad Mini 6 (2021)
I never thought I’d be in the market for another iPad, but that’s exactly where I found myself in September this year. Long time readers may remember that I received an iPad Pro 2015 with the original Apple Pencil. It was a good device, but ultimately, I found it a bit too big and bulky for me to tote around. I used it for about a year or so, before moving back to my desktop Mac. (The iPad Pro has since found regular use with my teenage daughter.)
My rationale for buying an iPad mini (2021) was simple: I wanted a portable device that was a little larger than my iPhone for a more comfortable experience when viewing streaming content, reading, video conferencing, writing (emails, blog posts, etc.) or surfing the web.
The iPad mini does all of these tasks really well. To be fair, it’s a bit expensive for what it is, but I had a rather sizable gift card on hand that greatly minimized the collateral damage to my wallet. I opted for the larger capacity 256GB model as I felt 64GB would have been too limiting for long term usage. Apple could have clearly offered a 128GB model, which would have been *perfect*, but that’s not in Apple’s best interest, it seems…
To make the most of the iPad mini, I’m using it in conjunction with a Keychron K3 v2 (half height Red Gateron switches). I’m absolutely smitten by this keyboard. The K3’s key switches are tactile and very comfortable to type on. It pairs easily with the iPad mini – either via Bluetooth or USB-C. Having a keyboard transforms the iPad mini from a small tablet to an ultra-portable. While the keyboard comically dwarfs the iPad mini, the functionality is there – and that’s what I truly care about.
For those occasions where I want to sketch, I will pull out the Apple Pencil v2 and knock out a few drawings in Procreate. Incidentally, I vastly prefer the Apple Pencil v2’s magnetic charging capabilities to the v1’s Lightning connector. Plus, the magnet keeps the Pencil in place so I don’t have to worry about losing it.
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: Jelly Scrolling. Yes, jelly scrolling is evident when quickly scrolling in Portrait mode, but it’s not noticeable to the point where I’m annoyed by it. In landscape mode, Jelly Scrolling is nowhere to be found. For me, Your mileage may vary: the only way to see if you are okay with it is to try an iPad mini out in person.
The iPad mini’s camera is quite nice, with a camera quality that’s about on point with my iPhone 11 Pro. I especially like the iPad mini’s Center Stage feature, which lets the camera track my movement when I’m on FaceTime.
Battery life on the iPad mini is good, and by “good”, I mean that the iPad mini gives me about 10 hours of usage (surfing, writing, watching YouTube, etc.) before recharging is needed.
The iPad mini has been plenty fast for me, so I guess it’s A15 processor is doing its job well. Overall, I have no complaints about its speed.
Things aren’t perfect, though. I feel like a new version of iPadOS is needed to improve the overall spacing between icons. There’s a lot of negative space to the left and right of the icon grid, which makes it seem like the iPad mini isn’t really using its screen real-estate as well as it could. What’s also annoying is the size of the software keyboard. The keyboard takes up nearly half the screen (!).
This is my biggest irritation with my iPad mini as a standalone device. In my view, a physical keyboard is definitely a must, if one plans to use the iPad mini for serious writing / correspondence.
Ultimately, at least for me, the pros of this device outweighs the cons. The iPad mini is a welcome addition to my tech arsenal.
Krishna
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