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Far from the well-oiled annual releases of the iPhone, that of the iPad mini occurs at intervals, when the smallest of Apple’s tablets seems ready to take off again. It must be said that its compact form factor, its relatively small screen, in a world where those of folding smartphones reach 8 inches, mean that the iPad mini occupies a special place, where uses oscillate depending on the users. Some will see it as an extra tablet, others a note-taking or mobile input terminal, still others a muscular and more versatile alternative to an e-reader – minus the visual comfort. In short, the iPad mini is polymorphous. At the end of 2024, Apple is updating it without any major revolution – as is often the case – after three years without news. However, the tablet is equipped with the penultimate generation of A chip, the one we discovered in the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max in September 2023. Does it deserve a place in our comparison of the best tablets tactile? Answer in our test.
Design: unchanged and pleasant (4/5)
The iPad mini has grown and changed its appearance in 2021. In 2024, nothing new on this front. The case displays the same dimensions, which now give it the appearance of a giant smartphone. Apple could, however, have narrowed the borders of the screen. We take comfort in the tinted aluminum sides, a sign that we are indeed dealing with a premium device.
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Unlike what happened on other iPads, the front camera is always placed at the top of the screen, held in portrait mode – it must be said that this change of location is justified especially when a tablet transforms into a PC, this which is not really on the agenda here. The On/Off and Volume buttons are also placed on the upper edge. Finally, we still only find a photo module at the back.
In short, if the change is not there, the offer nevertheless remains very high quality and the whole particularly well finished and cared for. Add to that new colored finishes: Blue and Mauve, which are added to Starlight and Space Gray…
Connectivity: no big changes, but better (4/5)
As with the previous generation, Face ID is absent. You must therefore continue to use Touch ID which is located on the On/Off button. It is still very responsive and can be found quite easily at the tip of a finger, but in the Apple ecosystem where facial recognition is efficient and has become widespread on (almost) all of the brand’s smartphones, we cannot rely on it. prevent you from regretting your absence.
Since nothing really changes, good news is that we find the USB-C port (now 3.1 gen 2), which can be used both to charge the device and to transfer files.
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It is on the wireless connectivity side that we see the most new developments. Wi-Fi 6E replaces the previous standard and Bluetooth 5.3 replaces version 5.0.
For fans of drawing or taking handwritten notes, the iPad mini is compatible with the Apple Pencil (USB-C) and Pencil Pro. Two accessories which, however, must be purchased separately, and which cost 89 and 149 euros respectively. In our opinion, as pleasant as these two styluses are, Apple has not yet succeeded in making writing comfortable with a pen on paper, as Remarkable can do with its Paper Pro, for example.
Ecran : excellent, mais LCD (4/5)
No change on the screen side, although we must admit that we would have liked, without really believing it, to have enjoyed an OLED panel. While iPhones (and main iPads) get us used to thinner bezels, those of the iPad mini are quite wide, which results in a screen occupancy ratio of around 77.4 %.
In any case, the 8.3-inch LCD panel, called Liquid Retina, continues to offer its wide color coverage (P3), and True Tone technology, to adapt the warmth of the colors displayed to the lighting ambient.
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What does this panel give in terms of color reproduction? She is truly exceptional. We noted a Delta E 2000 of 1.54, well below the threshold of 3 from which the human eye differentiates between a displayed color and its reference value. LCD requires, however the contrast is much worse than on OLED, where it is considered infinite. We thus noted a ratio of 1220:1 for a brightness which peaks at 364 cd/m2.
Fortunately, however, the anti-reflective treatment is effective, because it will be difficult to view the screen in direct sunlight. However, the panel is sufficiently comfortable for the iPad mini to take on the role of a versatile e-reader – you can read and play, for example.
Performance: even more power and a promise to come (4.5/5)
At the controls of this iPad mini 2024 – seventh generation, if you are keeping score – we therefore find the A17 Pro, the chip of the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. The same? Not quite. If it has six CPU cores, there are only five GPU cores, where the iPhone had six. A detail which will obviously have a small impact on performance. On the other hand, it is 8 GB of RAM which are mobilized to give breath to this chip.
The results compared with the previous generation, which used an A15 Bionic SoC, and the entry-level iPad, released in 2022 (10th generation, if you’re still keeping score), are largely to the advantage of the iPad min. The gains noted range between 30 and 43%, which is very appreciable and should guarantee something to come in terms of power.
As you would imagine, the iPadOS experience is perfectly smooth and responsive, apps download quickly over Wi-Fi 6E, install and run in no time. Multitasking is also neat, and you never have to suffer from latency between an interaction and the reaction of the device.
The most demanding games run well – the advantage of an integrated and controlled ecosystem. Of course, the rare titles that offer ray tracing will be less beautiful than on the latest iPhones, but, frankly speaking, we will survive.
Where we regret the most is having to wait until next year, and the month of April, to be able to take advantage of the Apple Intelligence functions which arrived in the United States at the end of October last. This discrepancy is regrettable, because these new features are, as with the iPhone 16, one of the selling points of the Apple brand. For now, you will only purchase a promise, which will therefore be delivered to you in the spring…
Photo: micro-changes for accessory use (3/5)
As we said above, there is only a rear photo module. Those who hoped to see the reign of “space” photos come to the most compact of iPads have been disappointed. Photography is clearly not an area that Apple seems to want to emphasize here. And that’s a shame in a way, because it could offer a pretty incredible 8.3-inch viewfinder.
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In any case, the 12 Mpx sensor associated with wide-angle optics (f/1.8) is identical, a priori, to that of the previous iPad mini. Only the computing power and the choice of photography processing will differ. Thus, Smart HDR 4 support will impact color rendering, exposure quality and light management in general.
The front module is also identical. The photos taken are honest in direct sunlight, but quickly lose quality when the light is lacking. We will be satisfied with it for family video calls…
Autonomy: best, without being the best (4/5)
Since their origin, iPads have set themselves the mission of lasting around ten hours before requiring their charging cable. Depending on usage, of course, the promise will be more or less kept. If you are surfing the Web or watching a movie, the battery life will be much better than during a gaming session.
By reducing the brightness a bit, we were able to use the tablet for most of an eleven-hour flight, switching between reading and playing a few games.
To be more precise, during our 4K continuous playback autonomy test, we noted an autonomy of 10h20, which is a slight improvement compared to what we obtained with the iPad mini 2021 (10h). The trend is therefore positive, even if some competing tablets do much better.
Charging, wired necessarily, is limited to 20 W, so you will have to be patient. Allow 43 minutes to cross 50% and 118 minutes to reach 100%…
Alternatives to the iPad mini 2024
Apple iPad, the best affordable tablet
Even though it has evolved a lot in recent years, it remains the foundation of the Apple tablet range. With a slightly larger and more comfortable screen, it represents above all the gateway to the iPadOS universe at a low price. Please note, it is not Apple Intelligence compatible for the moment.
Xiaomi Redmi Pad SE 8.7.
Affordable and compact, that sums up Xiaomi’s small tablet well. Its 8.7-inch panel displays Android 14 and should allow you to surf, watch movies and play quite comfortably for a low price.
Conclusion
To prepare for the arrival of Apple Intelligence more than to shake up its vision of its most compact tablet, Apple is now offering a seventh generation iPad mini still as well finished but with few changes. The screen borders remain quite wide, and the eternal Liquid Retina LCD panel remains on the program, with a peak in brightness that we would have liked to see improve. But the gain in power is interesting and reinforces its long-term versatility. Not enough to justify renewing an iPad mini 2021 in our opinion, but if you are looking for a compact tablet designed to withstand the weight of the years, this is the device you should turn to.
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