Apple iPad mini 7 (2024) review: Still the Best Small Tablet

Price When Reviewed

$499 (128GB; Wi-Fi only) | $599 (256GB; Wi-Fi only) | $799 (512GB; Wi-Fi only)

Best Prices Today: Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro)

It took a few years to arrive, but Apple finally updated the iPad mini late in 2024. While it might be a niche size, the iPad mini makes for a perfect tablet for many users.

This latest model, the iPad mini 7 as it’s commonly known, arrives with a nearly identical design to its predecessor and a very Apple asking price starting at £499/$499.

So why buy the new iPad mini? Well, it’s arguably the most powerful small tablet money can buy with Apple’s A17 Pro chipset but let’s see what else it has to offer.

Design & Build

• Same design
• Two new colours
• Extremely portable

As mentioned at the top, the latest iPad mini (A17 Pro) looks almost identical in its design to the 2021 model.

In fact, it comes in the exact same chassis, so you’ll need to pick up one of the two new (very pale) colours – Blue or Purple – to differentiate easily. The other available colourways are Starlight and Space Grey.

If you’re not familiar with the previous iPad mini, the 2024 model has a design like recent iPhones with flat sides and rounded corners. I’m not the biggest fan of this trend on phones but I feel like it works much better on a tablet.

The iPad mini is a svelte 6.3mm thick and only 293g (or a few grams more if you get a cellular version). It makes it incredibly easy to sling around the house or in a bag.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

If it’s portability you need, then the iPad mini puts a huge fat tick in that box. And unusually, it’s not something you can easily find elsewhere with most Android tablets opting for screen sizes around 11-inch.

One thing to point out about the iPad mini, especially if you’re used to modern iPhones is that it has Touch ID. The fingerprint scanner is embedded in the power button and there’s no Face ID here.

It’s more secure and very easy to use, particularly when using the tablet in portrait orientation since you’re using the power button to wake the device anyway.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

As you’d expect from an Apple product at this price, build quality is exemplary and Apple does better than most rivals in terms of eco-credentials. Many parts are 100% recycled including the aluminium enclosure.

Like most tablets, there’s no IP rating for dust and water protection. It’s also worth a small note that the Nano-SIM card slot is gone so it’s just eSIM now.

Screen & Speakers

• Still 8.3-inch
• IPS LCD
• Pencil Pro support
• Stereo speakers

Much like the design, the Liquid Retina display on the iPad mini 2024 remains the same. It’s an 8.3-inch panel using IPS LED backlit technology.

While an upgrade to an OLED Ultra Retina XDR panel found on the iPad Pros would be welcome, it’s understandable that Apple reserves this tech for those models. Regardless, the screen on the iPad mini is more than good enough for most people.

It’s crisp, and colourful and offers plenty of contrast and brightness. It’s compatible with Apple Pencil and now Pencil Pro, opening up a lot of possibilities for different use cases from note-taking to graphic design.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

An addition to the iPad mini 7 compared with its predecessor is support for Apple Pencil hover. It shows where your tip will touch down on the screen as well as showing a shadow of the tool you’re using.

You might be looking at pictures of the iPad mini and wondering why it has an unusually large bezel around the display. Sure, it looks quite dated but in day-to-day use, it makes absolute sense in order to hold and use it without touching the display.

Two drawbacks to make you aware of start with, like a lot of Apple devices, a 60Hz refresh rate. It might not bother a lot of people but at this price, we’d prefer 90- or even 120Hz for a smoother experience. Even the Xiaomi Redmi Pad SE has a 90Hz screen and it’s less than half the price.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

It’s also not the best iPad for multi-tasking due to, of course, the size. You have access to features like split-screen and floating window but if you rely on them daily then a bigger iPad might make for a wiser choice.

The iPad mini still has stereo speakers when you use it in landscape orientation, which makes sense for watching video content. They are decent as you would expect and produce quality sound regardless of what you’re using them for.

Specs & Performance

• A17 Pro chipset
• Double the storage
• Small wireless upgrades

Some of the biggest upgrades to the iPad mini 2024 are invisible to the human eye. They come in the form of core internal specs starting with the A17 Pro.

This is the SoC (system on a chip) found in the iPhone 15 Pro models and is based on an impressive 3nm manufacturing process.

While you could argue using an M2 chip like the latest iPad Air would be preferable, this may have cost and thermal implications, making it a less sensible choice. And I’ve had no problems with performance from the A17 Pro.

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