intro
Instead of capitalizing on the fanfare and spotlight of September’s Glowtime event, Apple chose to announce the new iPad mini rather quietly through a press release and a new pre-order page. It’s the same portable shape and size as before, but with a new and more powerful chip, the A17 Pro.
Apparently, iPad mini 7th generation has been refreshed to support new Apple Intelligence features (Coming Soon™). However, one tablet was left behind. The trusted old iPad 10th generation.
The last time the iPad 10 received any updates was earlier this year when the price was lowered. Starting at $349, it’s the most affordable tablet in Apple’s lineup. The iPad mini, on the other hand, is the smallest, but it starts at $499. The obvious question here is which one is better to buy?
Differences between iPad mini (A17 Pro) and iPad 10th generation explained:
| iPad mini (A17 Pro) | iPad 10th generation |
|---|---|
| The small 8.3-inch tablet can be held in one hand while drawing with the other. | A “regular” 10.9-inch tablet suitable for most use cases |
| Supports Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil USB-C | Supports basic Apple Pencil (1st generation and USB-C variants) |
| No official keyboard accessories | magic keyboard folio |
| landscape stereo | landscape stereo |
| 128GB/8GB 256GB/8GB 512GB/8GB |
64GB/4GB 256GB/4GB |
| A17 Pro chip (3nm) | A14 bionic chip (5nm) |
| USB Type-C with USB 3 speeds | USB Type-C with USB 2 speeds |
table of contents:
Also read:
Design and display quality
cut from the same fabric
Apple has slowly but surely made all iPads look the same. All models have an all-screen front, but the cheaper model has a slightly thicker frame than the Pro. The iPad mini’s selfie camera is still on the top bezel, unlike all other iPads, which have been moved to the side frame for horizontal orientation (which is FaceTiming in 99% of situations).
So it’s no wonder the iPad mini looks like a smaller version of the iPad 10th generation. But it’s actually a higher quality product. Yes, it’s expensive because of the hardware inside, but the screen is also laminated. It’s a process that fuses the digitizer and the actual display panel into one layer, making the glass appear thinner (well, in a way it is). And the top has an anti-reflective coating.
The base iPad 10th generation’s screen itself isn’t bad, but it definitely looks more “sunk” into the body of the tablet. The base iPad also doesn’t have an anti-reflective coating, which definitely gives you a sub-premium experience when using it. Also, the iPad 10th generation has an sRGB color profile, and the iPad mini 7 has a wide color P3 profile, which is more important for professional graphics work.
Meanwhile, the iPad 10th generation’s larger 10.9-inch screen is much better suited for a wide selection of everyday tasks, from doing homework to reading books to Netflix and gaming. The iPad mini can definitely do these things. However, the screen will feel small during long or focused sessions. This is definitely a tablet that puts portability first.
And while Apple proudly says it supports Bluetooth keyboards, there is no official keyboard cover for the iPad mini. Imagine if we didn’t support it. The iPad 10th generation comes with its own Magic Keyboard Folio, which is great, but also a bit pricey at $250. That’s about the same price as the iPad itself.
Performance and software
M1 function of A17 chip
So mini is small but fast. And for gamers out there, it’ll run Assassin’s Creed, Resident Evil, Death Stranding, and other AAA games that will appear on the App Store in the future.
The question here is, can I also run Stage Manager when I connect my iPad mini (A17 Pro) to an external monitor? It seems like this processor is powerful enough to support it, but looking at the wording on Apple’s page, it looks like the mini only supports screen mirroring. That would be a big mistake, but oh well.
camera
sounds like the same thing
Few people use huge tablets as their daily main camera, and of course manufacturers don’t put as much emphasis on tablet cameras. A good selfie camera is required for video calls. You’ll also want a rear camera that’s good enough for scanning documents and taking quick photos of random things and moments.
iPad 10th generation and iPad mini 7th generation both have a 12 MP main camera and a 12 MP front camera. That’s it. Performance seems to be about the same, but based on my experience with the iPad so far, it’s in the “perfectly fine” range.
The front camera has an ultra-wide-angle lens and enables Center Stage functionality with iPadOS. This means the camera automatically zooms in on your face and follows your surroundings, so you’re not tied to a specific location during a video call.
Battery life and charging
“All day”
Apple says both of these will give you up to 10 hours of web browsing and video watching. So battery performance should be about the same, but I’m still wondering if running heavy 3D apps, video editing, or audio software on the iPad mini will drain it faster.
In any case, the iPad 10th generation’s benchmark tests saw it last for the web browsing part (10 hours and 30 minutes, actually) and for video streaming, it lasted for 6 hours and 30 minutes. Assume that Apple’s benchmarks refer to watching videos on the device. It also now offers 6 hours and 40 minutes of gameplay.
Based on Apple’s specifications, we would expect similar results for the iPad mini (A17 Pro).
Spec comparison
| specification | iPad mini (A17 Pro) | iPad 10th generation |
|---|---|---|
| size | 195.4×134.8×6.3mm | 248.6×179.5×7mm |
| weight | 297g | 477.0g |
| screen | 8.3 inch LCD 60Hz Wide color P3 |
10.9 inch LCD 60Hz sRGB |
| processor | Apple A17 Pro (3nm) | Apple A14 Bionic (5nm) |
| RAM, storage, price | 8GB/128GB – $499 8GB/256GB – $599 8GB/512GB – $799 |
4GB/64GB $349 $499 for 4GB/256GB |
| camera | 12MP F1.8 12MP front, ultrawide, f/2.4 |
12MP F1.8 12MP front, ultrawide, f/2.4 |
| battery size | 5,078mAh | 7,606mAh |
| charging speed | 20W wired USB-C |
20W wired USB-C |
Which one should I buy?
These are different tablets for different needs. The iPad mini in particular is a very niche device. It’s more powerful than many tablets, but it doesn’t have as much screen to work with. This is for people who really need a portable power source, especially those who need to sketch with their Apple Pencil on the go.
The 10th generation iPad is more of an “all-purpose” tablet. It’s cheap by iPad standards, supports a basic Apple Pencil, a basic Magic Keyboard Folio (although the price is anything but basic), and has core features of iPadOS.
So, to answer your question, most people will want the iPad 10th generation unless they want to pay for something like the iPad Air M2 or iPad Pro M4. However, please be careful. There’s a good chance that Apple will silently launch iPad 11th generation in the near future to bring AI capabilities to its most affordable iPad series.
People who need portability, power, and a professional experience already have an iPad mini in their shopping cart.
