I don’t know about you, but before I consider picking up a new device I usually go over the reasons why IÂ need it. That starts with why I want it, of course, but before I’ll pull the trigger on a purchase I at least need to tell myself I’ll use it. And, depending on the device and just how expensive it is, that justification is a requirement. Because if I end up buying something and then not using it for a few days, or longer, I tend to return it or sell it off.
I’ve run into this situation before in the past, especially with various iPad models. I can safely say that the iPad mini is my “favorite” of the lineup, just because it’s so portable. Even when it had those big bezels. (Because we didn’t know any better at the time.) But, as Apple has refreshed its family of tablets and adopted the “all-screen” design, I gravitated towards the iPad Pro models. All the power, the best features, blah blah blah, and insanely portable.
Even after spending some time with the 12.9-inch model, that giant thing can still get around pretty nicely.
But I always knew in the back of my head, that if Apple hadn’t completely given up on the iPad mini and really did move towards updating its hardware and design, I’d end up getting one. I’d already planned out all the use cases for it: mobile gaming and especially my dedicated eReader. And now that it’s official, and it supports the second-generation Apple Pencil, I can add a couple of other things to that list, too: note taking and some drawing.
Here’s the thing, though, and I only realized this after the thing arrived on my doorstep late yesterday. Why now? The previous generation iPad mini supported the first-generation Apple Pencil and that didn’t sway me to pick up the tablet. Which probably has more to do with the fact I didn’t want to pick up the stylus, since I already have the second-gen model. And the previous model supported mobile games and reading and note-taking. Is the adoption of an A15 Bionic processor, the all-screen design, and a USB-C port (among other things) really worth actually owning this small tablet?
Right now, because I haven’t really played around with it much, I don’t have an answer. It really is great to hold in the hand, and the few rounds of Pokémon Unite I played last night on the small tablet was better than on my iPhone 12 Pro. I’ll need to give it a go as a dedicated eReader, I think, before making a final decision. Since that’s honestly mostly why I wanted the tablet.
But, what about you? If you’ve owned an iPad mini in the past and loved it, used it all the time, what was your typical use case? If you picked up the new sixth-generation iPad mini, what are your daily use cases with the small tablet?