iPad User Magazine - UK (2019-04)

It maylookthesame,

buttheupgradediPad

miniis nowa portable

powerhouseofa tablet.

++++++

Verypowerful

ApplePencilsupport

Greatnewdisplay

Tireddesign

VERDICT

GEAR iPad mini

W

ithoutanupdatefrom

Applesince2015,the

internalprocessingpower

oftheiPadminihadbeentrailing

behindtherestoftheiPadand

iPadProline-up.Thatlackof

upgradehasmadeit lesscapableand

a poor-valuepurchase.Thankfully,

thenewiPadminiisequippedwith

thesameblisteringlyfastA12Bionic

processorfoundintheiPhoneXSMax

andthenewiPadAir.

Themininowalsosupportsthe

first-genApplePencil,soyouhavea

trulypocket-sizedtabletthatcanbeusedwith

Apple’spressure-sensitivestylus,helpingto

takeadvantageofallthegreatillustration,

note-takinganddesignappsontheAppStore.

Sadly,likeontheiPadAir,thefirst-genPencil

hasnowirelesscharging,butinsteadplugs

intothemini’sLightningport.ThePencil’s

precisioninuse,though,remainsimpressive.

Internalchangge

Theexternaldesignisunchanged.Thatmeans

there’snoFaceIDsupport,butthesameHome

buttonthatauthenticateswithTouchID.The

headphonejackisalsostillpresent.

Theminicomesinsilver,spacegreyand

gold,andisofferedwithwith64GBor256GB

ofstorage,from£399or£549respectively.The

laminatedRetinadisplayisthesame326ppi,

2048x1536resolutionasbefore,andtherear

8MPphoto/1080pvideocameraremains

unchanged,buttheFaceTimecamerahasbeen

upgradedfrom1.2MPto7MP.Thescreennow

supportsApple’sTrueTonetechandP3

colour,whicharenotableimprovements.

LikethelargeriPadAir,it nowcomeswith

3GBofmemory,anupgradeoverthe2GBin

thepreviousmodel.Moresystemmemory

meanssmoothermultitaskingbetweenapps,

andensurestheminiwillremainonthe

supporteddeviceslistforfutureversions

ofiOSfora considerabletime.

Unfortunately,unlikethenewiPadAir,

there’snoSmartConnectorhere,whichmeans

noAppleSmartKeyboardsupport.

ThelaunchofthesetwonewiPadmodels

meansthere’snowquitea choiceif youwant

a newAppletablet,especiallyconsidering

there’salsotheoptionofthepricieriPadPros.

Screensizeisa matterofpreference,and

unlikea largertablet,theminicanfitintoa

largecoatpocket,soyoucanalwaysrelyon

beingabletocarryit withyou.Thatmeansit

canbeusedinplacesyoumightnotwant(or

beable)totakea regulariPadoriPadPro.

Thankfully,thislatestupdatemeans

optingfora smallertabletnolongerforcesyou

tocompromiseonperformance.Theminirips

througheventhemostdemandingsoftware,

givingsuper-slickperformanceiniOS.The

additionofPencilsupportmeansthenewiPad

miniisa versatile,powerfulandportable

computingtool.ORESTISBASTOUNIS

Optingfora

smallerApple

tabletnolonger

meansthere’sa

compromiseon

performance

iPad mini

Tiny tablet,big upgrade

From£ 399 FROMApple,apple.com/uk FEATURES 7.9in Retina

display with P3 colour gamut, A12 Bionic chip, 64 or 256GB storage,

Apple Pencil support, Touch ID

The design is unchanged, but internals have been boosted.

The display’s P3 gamut and True Tone are significant improvements.