Just in time for the first reviews, here comes my iPad mini 7 Review Roundup! The sources are: MacStories, The Verge, Engadget, Six Colors and Wired.
So, first, The Verge, Six Colors, Engadget and Wired all know that Apple Intelligence, the main sales pitch for the new iPad mini, isn't complete, and The Verge even thinks it would never wow even when it is (though it does concede, along with Wired, that this is the cheapest Apple Intelligence-supporting device). You only have a few new features rolling out in iOS 18.1, after all, and you'll have to wait until next year to get all of them. MacStories also laments that even when it is, it won't be there in Italy where he lives due to the fact that the country is in the EU, and Wired, MacStories and The Verge both lament too about the lack of iOS 18.1 public beta (which has some Apple Intelligence features) on the new iPad mini.
Next, The Verge and Wired both don't like the unsupported status of the Apple Pencil (2nd-gen) and doesn't make much mention of anything else, while MacStories focuses on the Apple Pencil Pro support itself (MacStories took a deep dive into how good the new functionality is, especially with Apple Pencil Hover, and Engadget took a smaller dive into it). Wired, MacStories and Engadget even like how the lineup was made simpler by no more 2nd-gen Pencil. Speaking of accessories, all sources except Engadget lament the lack of Stage Manager, even with an external display, and The Verge and MacStories both lament about the lack of keyboard support. Split View/Slide Over is also mentioned by The Verge and MacStories as being "more constrained" on the iPad mini's small screen, though MacStories otherwise praises the multitasking capability, saying that the mini is "the only Apple device I can hold with one hand while using Split View".
After that, the colors are just so pale, according to The Verge, Six Colors and Engadget, and often you'd think your "gorgeous" color was just where silver went (both The Verge, Engadget and Six Colors agree, even with their different color choices), but the storage upgrade is nice (and "long overdue"). The "jelly scrolling" effect has been solved according to Six Colors, MacStories, Engadget and Wired (the last one never even had the issue!) but unsolved for The Verge. Speaking of the display, all sources lament the absence of a 120Hz refresh rate (or at least 90Hz!), though Engadget thinks that the screen is nice by itself. The battery is also nice, according to The Verge (but according to Engadget it normally powers through only 8 hours, including light gaming, instead of the 10 hours Apple advertises), and everyone loves the 128GB starting storage tier (instead of a measly 64GB) and new 512GB tier.
Next, the chip (last year's A17 Pro, which gives the mini its official name "iPad mini (A17 Pro)") isn't even the full performance of last year's chip (but still 30% faster in CPU and GPU, just like Apple said), which makes its score a bit lower than the iPhone 15 Pros. The chip is also much less powerful than the iPad Pro and Air, and this is noticeable in high-demanding games like Assassin's Creed: Mirage, even when not on high settings (although anyone looking for "a Mirage machine" won't be looking here). No one practically hates the performance, though, because you don't have to have an M-series or A18 chip instead of the A17 Pro (though Six Colors mentions how small it is compared to the iPad Pro). MacStories also thinks the Wi-Fi 6E capability is even more robust than the iPad Pro, by a lot, while other sources which mention it more pass it as "not a game-changer". Finally, there is also the nice addition of Smart HDR 4 (something only Wired mentions).
Speaking of what isn't there, the landscape front camera (Six Colors and Engadget agree with Apple because you will never be able to use a keyboard with the iPad mini, but The Verge vehemently disagrees, thinking that since every other iPad has it, the iPad mini should have it, and Wired disagrees more kindly, while Engadget also notes that the photo quality is bad), and Face ID, mentioned by The Verge, Six Colors and Engadget (speaking of Touch ID, The Verge hates the change of place of the button but Six Colors only thinks it's "weird" and reasons about Apple Pencil Pro compatibility). Finally, something that only Six Colors and Engadget mentioned, the bezels are not "huge" but "enormous" compared to the iPhone or iPad Pro (according to Six Colors, the iPad mini is the only strange holdout among a sea of reduced-bezel iPhones and iPads).
In general, while The Verge hates how small of an upgrade the mini is and MacStories thinks that the iPad mini (A17 Pro) feels old and heavy (the latter is just an effect) compared to his iPad Pro, all sources talk a bit about how the iPad mini has always been a great device. Also, no one says it's a big upgrade you must upgrade to even if you just had the last generation (The Verge even thinks their 2018-bought iPad mini is going great still!), but according to Engadget, those with home-button iPads will love this upgrade. MacStories also praises its capability as a video game "streaming companion device", and says in general that "the iPad mini is the ideal third place device for things I don’t want to do on my iPhone or iPad Pro". All other sources agree by saying that it's a good "secondary device", and Engadget thinks that it's a great device for reading, watching video, light gaming, texting, using the Apple Pencil Pro, and for battery life (even with what Engadget said before), and that it's great for its price as an iPad that you can bring everywhere (something other reviewers also said).
By Leo
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