iPad Mini 6: Initial Hands-On
It’s here! After finally deciding it was time to upgrade my aging personal 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2019), the new iPad Mini 6 arrived Monday evening as a perfect way to start the week! Let’s dive right in!
It’s been a few years since I have had an iPad Mini before (version 4 back in 2017 was the last time I owned one), but opening the box still felt unreal! It’s size difference and portability were the main reasons in me choosing to go from the largest iPad that Apple makes to now the smallest version. It fits comfortably in one hand, about the size of a Moleskine notebook, which is great because I am hoping to increase my note-taking through this device.
I ordered mine through Verizon, as having cellular means I’ll have connectivity wherever I travel with this little friend. My particular model is the Starlight color (mix of silver and gold hues), 256GB storage, with 5G service and Apple’s blazing fast A15 processor (the same one that powers the iPhone 13 series), 4 GB of RAM and finally, a USB-C port for charging and connecting to external peripherals. Ordering alongside the device itself was a case, the Apple iPad Mini 6 Folio case in a bright orange that is not a color I would normally select, but pairs really well with the Starlight color of the iPad itself.
Let’s cut to the chase…24 hours, how has it been, Ryan? I used it Monday night on the couch for a bit, surfing the web and reading articles for an upcoming project of mine. I know the “jelly scrolling” issues has been reported ad nauseum in relation to the iPad Mini 6, so let’s clear it up: it’s a 60Hz refresh rate screen, so it was a bit jarring to drop from the iPad Pro’s 120Hz ProMotion display. That being said, if you LOOK for the “jelly scrolling” effect when reading an article with large amounts of text, and you scroll up and down incessantly, it’s there. No hiding it. One side moves slightly faster than the other side. If you are not looking for it, you don’t notice it. I let me wife try it out for an hour and she loved the size, thought it was a “cute device” and never once said anything about the screen scrolling issue. So there you have it: there, but only if you know it’s there in the first place.
Let’s talk Apple Pencil 2 support, shall we? This device is made even more awesome due to the support for the Apple Pencil 2, meaning it connects and charges magnetically to the side of the device, always at the ready. I LOVE the Apple Pencil 2, and writing notes yesterday felt ridiculously amazing and helpful. I can see this being extremely useful for conferences or meetings moving forward. Much more discreet than pulling out the 12.9-inch iPad screen to jot down notes.
The camera is a 12MP wide-lens camera, with a f/1.8 aperture and a quad-tone flash. It provides clear photos, with Smart HDR 3 support, and in a pinch can deliver some quality shots. I think it will be great for photos for on this site, and for documenting training tasks and activities around the schools I support or trainings/conferences which I attend.
The standout feature to me, after 24 hours at least, is simply the portability. The device itself is your typical run-of-the-mill iPad, it can do everything you want it to. Only now, you can place it in the palm of your hand and carry it comfortably with you wherever you go. That matters to me, someone who is not in the same location every day, and who is constantly on-the-go.
There is lots more to try out and do on this iPad, but I am definitely happy with the purchase after 24 hours. I need to try out the front-facing camera to see the new Center Stage feature in-person, and I need to try some heavier tasks like video editing and more over the next few weeks. I’ll be back in a few weeks with a full review after I have had enough time to really understand and push this device to see what it can truly do!