iPad Mini 5 review: The best small tablet

Publish date: 2022-01-26

Apple iPad Mini (5th generation)

Small tablets are hard to come by in 2021, and the iPad Mini 5 is one of the last of a dying breed. Thankfully, it delivers on the promise of packing the best of Apple's larger iPad lineup into a smaller form factor. If you can overlook the large bezels and lack of USB-C charging, it's one of the best tablets you can buy — no matter the size.

Apple’s iPad lineup still sits atop the tablet kingdom more than a decade after the first device was released. Nevertheless, the iPad Mini seems to be in a strange spot. Most of the market gravitates toward the top-of-the-line iPad Pro or the cheapest standard iPad. At first glance, the iPad Mini feels like a worse buy with a higher price tag and a smaller screen.

But over the past year, the iPad Mini has easily become my favorite device to use on a daily basis. Find out why in Android Authority‘s iPad Mini review!

See also: The best tablet deals right now

iPad Mini 5 review: What is it?

Nick Fernandez / Android Authority

You can’t really talk about the iPad Mini without discussing its position within Apple’s iPad lineup. As mentioned above, its 7.9-inch display is smaller than the standard iPad’s 10.2-inch panel, but it adds Apple’s True Tone technology and an antireflective coating. It’s also more resistant, with a laminated display to prevent scratches and other damage.

The larger iPad Air and iPad Pro models are significantly more expensive. Due to their size, they don’t quite fill the same niche as the iPad Mini. That said, if you want a larger device and can spend a few hundred dollars more, the iPad Air or Pro won’t disappoint.

What’s good?

Nick Fernandez / Android Authority

What drew me to the iPad Mini over the other options is its size. The first tablet I truly loved was the Nexus 7, and despite the OS change, this gave me the same experience. I wanted a smaller tablet to use for reading and occasional media consumption, and that’s exactly what I got.

I also like that the base model comes with 64GB of storage. This amount feels right for a tablet, which needs nowhere near as much space as a phone. The base model of the standard iPad only has 32GB, and the 128GB iPad costs more than the cheapest iPad Mini.

The iPad Mini delivers everything you could want from a small tablet.

At first glance, the iPad Mini design looks dated with large bezels and a physical fingerprint reader/home button. More expensive models like the iPad Air and iPad Pro look much sleeker. However, in this case, smaller bezels would reduce the usability of the device. It’s nice to have some space to hold a tablet without unwanted taps, and I’m more than willing to give up a little screen real estate for it.

Battery life is also excellent. When reading or browsing the web for a few hours a night, the battery easily lasted for a week. Streaming video drained the battery a bit faster, but you can expect to meet or exceed Apple’s promised 10-hour battery life.

In terms of actually using the device, iPadOS has come a long way in recent years. It now has multitasking tools, mouse-and-keyboard support, widgets, and a host of other features that make it a breeze to use.

What’s not so good?

It’s hard to find many negatives with the Apple iPad Mini 5, especially considering the lack of competition in the space. The only real drawback is that it’s only compatible with the first-generation Apple Pencil, which has an awkward charging method. It plugs into the bottom of the tablet and sticks straight out. This both looks ridiculous and renders the tablet virtually unusable.

Apart from that, the dated design may turn away some consumers. Sure, Apple could have slightly reduced the bezel sizes. It also could have switched to the more ubiquitous USB-C charging standard. Still, neither of these should be deal-breakers for those looking for a small tablet.

iPad Mini 5 review: Should I buy it?

If you want a small tablet, there really is no better option on the market. The iPad Mini blows the competition out of the water with a powerful processor, light and compact design, fantastic battery life, and the best tablet operating system in iPadOS.

The iPad Mini blows the competition out of the water.

For consumers that just want a good tablet and don’t mind a larger size, the standard iPad offers incredible value. The iPad Air and iPad Pro are more expensive, but they’re both among the best tablets money can buy. There’s also a small selection of good Android tablets for those who want to avoid Apple’s ecosystem, but none can truly match Apple’s offerings in terms of performance.

Apple iPad Mini 5

Apple's smallest tablet packs all the power of its larger siblings into one of the best small tablets on the market.

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