ISSUE 378|COMPUTER SHOPPER|AUGUST 2019 19
FORAPRODUCTso popular–and made by a
company so fond of annual refreshes –it’s
been an awfully long time since there was a
new iPad Mini. The last, fourth-generation
version launched in 2015, and what adifferent
world we live in now.
It’s allthe more surprising,therefore,
that this new fifth-gen iPad Mini doesn’t
appear to have changed much physically.
The case design is the same,down to the
last millimetre; the button positions are
the same; and the screen is the same size
and resolution, too.
That’s alittle disappointing. Youmight
have thought Apple would have fitted
some more contemporary upgrades, such
as an edge-to-edge display, or perhaps
removed the home button in the interest of
ahigher screen-to-body ratio.
Still, it’s good to see that there have
been some tweaks. Despitesome familiar
keyspecs, the display’s underlying
technology has been upgraded, while fresh
internal, performance-critical components
mean this is the fastest iPad Mini ever.
And it’s also now compatible with the
first-generation Apple Pencil, making it a
handy note-taking companion.
In typical Apple fashion, it’s not cheap:
we tested the most basic £399 model, with
64GB of internal storage and Wi-Fi-only
connectivity.Splash out on the top£
model, and you upgrade to 128GB of
storage and mobile data as well as Wi-Fi.
Youcan also get acouple of other
combinations in between these storage
and connectivity options.
RECYCLABLE MATERIAL
On paper,the iPad Mini looks an absolute
shoo-in foranyone looking forasmaller,
more compact tablet, but we’ll reiterate:
physically,this tablet is no different to its
four-year-old predecessor.That will probably
be adisappointment forall those who like
new,shiny toys.
There are positives to this design, however:
it’s still super-light, weighing amere 300g; it’s
as slim as it ever was, at 6.1mm from front
glass to rear panel; and it’s small enough to
slip intomost bags without making much of
an impact on weight or bulk. The downsides
are that the tablet comes with enormous
bezels surrounding the 7.9in, 4:3 aspect ratio
screen. To saythat the new iPad Mini might
have been smaller and more compact would
be ahuge understatement.
With the tablet held in portrait orientation,
you’ll find the volume buttons located on
the right edge at the top, the power button
on the topedge at the right, the 3.5mm
headphone jack on the topedge at the left,
and the charger and speaker grilles on the
bottom edge.
Even things you might have expected
to change haven’t done so.The iPad Mini
still uses aLightning cable to charge and
transfer files, not USB Type-C like the
newer iPad Pro models, and it doesn’t have
Apple’s Face ID security system, either.
Forquick unlocking and payments via Apple
Pay, the iPad Mini is stuck with Touch ID.
That’s not aproblem, however.Touch ID
works as well as it always did: it’s quick,
reliable and very rarely fails.GETTINGTHE POINT
The only major new feature on this iPad
Mini is Apple Pencil compatibility.Again,
you mayexperience atouch of déjà vu as
it’s compatible not with Apple Pencil 2, but
the first-generation stylus only.That means
you’ll have to put up with charging it,
rather awkwardly,byremoving the cap
and plugging it intothe Lightning port at
the base of the tablet.
That’s abit of apain but, again, it’s not a
huge issue.The original Apple Pencil stillworks brilliantly –it’s very responsive,with a
240Hz pen touch refresh rate, it’s pressure-
sensitive,and it captures your pen strokes
almost as accurately as if you were using a
pen and paper.
Indeed, more than any other iPad, the
Mini makes perfect sense as anote-taking,
annotation device and, now that there are
hundreds of apps that take advantage of
the Apple Pencil, it would be silly not to
spend the extra and buy one along with
your shiny new iPad Mini.
It’s also worth noting that –just like
Apple’s cheaper £319,9.7in iPad (Shopper
366) –the iPad Mini is compatible with
third-party styluses. If you can’t justify
paying £89 forthe Apple Pencil, you can –
to give one example –pick aLogitech
Crayon instead for£60.