Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro) review: The compact champion

Apple’s iPad range is extensive and somewhat confusing too. I write about and use these tablets all the time and even I would struggle to choose just one to recommend. The iPad (10th generation) is great for a family tablet and the iPad Air (M2) is the one I would suggest to most people for work and play. The iPad Pro (M4), meanwhile, has an unnecessary amount of power for the majority, but it is utterly fabulous, both in performance and design.

They are the bigger tablets in Apple’s portfolio though, and you really ought to spare a little thought for the mini, because the mini is genuinely excellent. It sits in the middle of Apple’s tablet line up and after three years of no update, it’s back with a power boost. Here’s why you shouldn’t overlook it. 

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The Disconnekt Downlow

The Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro) is an excellent tablet and my favourite in the line up for browsing and taking notes. It’s the perfect size: compact, lightweight and lovely to use one-handed. The bezels around the display could be narrower, there’s no multi-user support on iPadOS, and it would have been nice to see support for a 120Hz refresh rate. But all of those qualms are minor. The iPad mini is a fantastic tablet, offering an excellent design, great performance and a really lovely user experience.

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The reasons you should choose the Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro)

I don’t think the iPad mini gets anywhere near the attention it deserves. It was redesigned in 2021, moving to flat edges like the rest of the iPad line up, along with symmetrical bezels around the display. Those uniformed bezels allowed for a larger screen within the same footprint as previous mini models, making better use of the space available. That design hasn’t changed in the new model, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s so delightfully cute and compact. Small enough to take anywhere, light enough to barely notice it in your bag and narrow enough to hold in one hand.

It of course depends on what you want to do with your tablet, but if browsing, watching content and making notes are near the top of your list, the iPad mini is the perfect size. I’d go as far as to say it’s my favourite in the line up, unless I’m planning on working. Sure, I’d have loved to have seen the bezels reduce slightly for this generation but that probably would have bumped up the price and that I wouldn’t want to see (it’s not exactly cheap as it is). 

The 8.3-inch screen is punchy and vibrant and there’s ample brightness. It’s not as impressive as the Tandem OLED screen you’ll find on the iPad Pro (M4), but let’s remember the Pro is double the starting price of the iPad mini and there’s still good colour and vibrancy on the mini. Everything is detailed, content looks good and there’s an anti-reflective coating – something you don’t get on iPad (10th generation) – and this does make a difference in use, especially when outside. The “jelly scrolling” issue the iPad mini (6th generation) had also seems to have sorted itself out in this model.

Performance is great too with a slick and fluid experience. The iPad mini (A17 Pro) isn’t as powerful as the iPad Air (M2) or the iPad Pro (M4), but there’s more than enough oomph for everyday tasks, and the more strenuous ones too. The A17 Pro processor means the mini is compatible with Apple Intelligence (more on that in a second), just like the iPad Air (M2) and iPad Pro (M4), though even without Apple’s artificial intelligence (AI) features, there’s a great experience here, just like the rest of the line up.

What the Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro) could do better

I mentioned that I’d like to have seen slightly reduced bezels for the iPad mini, but what I’d really like above that, is multi-user support. It’s an option on other tablets, and it’s possible on Apple’s macOS too, but for some reason it isn’t something iPadOS offers. 

It means that if you want to buy the iPad mini (A17 Pro) as a family tablet, you will need to keep in mind that you can’t switch between your profile and your child’s profile very easily. You would need to sign out of your Apple ID and into your child’s Apple ID each time, which let’s face it, is more faff than many of us have time for. 

The display only supports 60Hz refresh rate too so while there is a Game Mode that will minimise background activity to sustain 60Hz refresh rates, you won’t get the smoothness you’ll find on the iPad Pro (M4). There is no 3.5mm headphone jack either, which isn’t a big deal these days – it’s pretty much obsolete now. That said, you’ll want to get yourself some Bluetooth headphones like Apple’s AirPods or Sony’s WH-1000XM5s, or USB-C headphones to make sure you can fully appreciate watching content or playing games when out and about.

The only other thing to complain about is that while the iPad mini (A17 Pro) supports Apple Intelligence, it wasn’t available at the time of review (at least not in its final build). It’s not a huge issue as the overall experience doesn’t necessarily need it – Smart Script, Maths Notes and Audio Transcription are all pretty smart without the AI features. Apple Intelligence is therefore more a cherry on top of an already pretty yummy cake, as oppose to the key ingredient, but it does mean the full experience isn’t here yet. 

There’s also multi-tasking as you’ll find on other iPad models, though the smaller screen of the iPad mini doesn’t cater for Split Screen quite as comfortably as the rest of the range and there is no support for Stage Manager. The virtual keyboard also takes up a lot of the screen so if working on the move is one of your main reasons for buying the iPad mini, I’d recommend considering the iPad Air (M2) instead. 

A bit about iPadOS 18 and Apple Intelligence 

I have written more extensively about iPadOS 18 if you want to know everything there is to know about the software, but what I will say here is that Smart Script is superb. I love taking notes with the Apple Pencil on the iPad mini (and the other iPads for that matter) and Smart Script automatically neatens up my handwriting as I write, which gives off serious Harry Potter vibes. 

Math Notes is also some sort of wizardry – genuinely – enabling you to write or type maths sums and equations in Notes and simply type an equals sign to get the answer. iPadOS is also the first time both the Calculator app and Health app have come to iPad and I’m here for both, though Calculator is certainly smarter. Audio Transcription is another feature that is close to my heart as a journalist, automatically transcribing voice notes, though I appreciate this is one of the more niche features.  

A few of the other iPadOS features worth mentioning briefly are Home Screen customisation, and in particular the wallpaper suggestions, which you’ll also get on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models where photos from your Photo Library are recommended as good wallpaper photos based on your layout. The ability to edit the Control Centre is also very much welcomed. Centre Stage has been around for a while now so it’s not part of iPadOS 18 as such but it is great for video calls, keeping you in the frame as you move so that also deserves a little shout out.

As I mentioned, Apple Intelligence will expand on this already solid experience, and hopefully enhance it. As with the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, I chose not to focus too hard on Apple Intelligence as yet and will instead update this review when the final software is out.

But I am excited about Clean Up for photos, which is similar to Magic Editor on Google’s Pixel phones, allowing you to remove unwanted objects from the background of your photos. Samsung offers something similar on its Galaxy S24 range, and the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6. Writing Tools will also no doubt come in handy for some, with AI helping with writing, summarising and proofreading wherever you can write, like Mail, Pages and Notes. As with iPadOS 18, I’ve written more extensively about Apple Intelligence separately so you can understand what to expect.  

Should you buy the Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro)?

The Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro) is an excellent tablet and my favourite of the line up for browsing and taking notes. It’s the perfect size: compact, lightweight and lovely to use one-handed.

The bezels around the display could have been narrower this time around, I’d really like to see multi-user support on iPadOS so the mini could be used as a family tablet, and it would have been nice to see support for a 120Hz refresh rate. It’s also not the iPad I would recommend for working on the move.

But all of those qualms are minor. The iPad mini has long been associated with those in healthcare and aviation, but the iPad mini is for everyone in my opinion. It is a fantastic tablet, offering an excellent design, great performance and a really lovely user experience.

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