The iPad mini with A17 Pro chip is my favorite device. Let’s talk about why.
The good
The iPad mini A17 Pro is a beast of a machine. The raw power in this thing is a force to be reckoned with. The star of the show, the main upgrade from the 6th gen, is the A17 Pro CPU. This is the same processor found in the iPhone 15 Pro / Pro Max. Let me tell you – this thing is no slouch.
The A17 Pro goes toe to toe with the M2 found in my other iPad and in my Mac. The only weak area is in the graphics processing – it scores about 3/4ths on benchmarks in comparison. But honestly, I’m not doing graphically intensive work on my iPad besides editing video. And for my video editing use case, 3-4 1080p streams in Final Cut Pro, it is no problem.
Besides the A17 Pro, we also get upgrades to the base storage and RAM. RAM is up to 8GB, which is a hell of a lot for an iPad. Remember, iPad apps are very light weight compared to desktop counterparts. This means that 8GB on an iPad goes a lot further than it does on a Mac or Windows box.
Storage starts at 128GB base now, which is the correct minimum for a tablet in 2024. The 64GB on the 6th gen base model was almost insultingly low.
The bad
Besides the new chip, doubled RAM, and doubled storage, nothing else has changed. We have the same body, same screen, and same Touch ID fingerprint reader on top.
This isn’t a bad thing in my book. The thing about it is that all these external components are just fine as they are. Sure, the screen is 60hz, and it does still suffer from slight jelly scroll (not as bad as the 6th gen), but these things are excusable for the price if you ask me.
Conclusion
Should you upgrade? Well, if you are happy with your 6th gen iPad mini, no. But if you’re finding yourself wanting to run more pro level apps, have a better multitasking experience, or low on storage, yeah this is the device for you.
If you can’t accept a 60hz screen, this isn’t for you. But as far as I can tell that is the only real potential deal breaker. The rest of the device is modern and provides great value for the money.
If you care about Apple Intelligence, this is the device to get. It is the cheapest way to get into Apple’s AI flavor, and it does a great job running the features available in the 18.2 beta.
My use case
This was 100% a luxury purchase for me. I already own an 11″ M2 iPad Pro. But it is in a bulky case that makes it too heavy for me to comfortably hold in one hand. I know, this could be solved by going to the gym. But it legitimately prevented me from taking it with me on the go or using it in bed.
There are a lot of things I do on the iPad mini A17 Pro:
- video editing in Final Cut Pro
- photo editing in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop
- web browsing
- simple server maintenance (running updates etc. You need a real keyboard for much more than that)
- planning projects
- keeping up with messages from loved ones
Again, total luxury purchase. But worth it in my book.