iPad mini 6 test: is the new small Apple tablet worth the detour?

Last September, during a highly anticipated back-to-school keynote, Apple unveiled a new 6th generation iPad mini. The latter arrives 2 years after the previous generation, which itself arrived after 4 years of waiting for a new version. Suffice it to say that with the iPad mini, Apple has arather long renewal cyclecompared to its other products. We therefore have the right to hope for significant changes from one generation to the next.

And as you may already know, this is indeed the case for this new iPad mini 6, at least visually. The tablet indeed sports anew design.But this is obviously not the only novelty it offers. Other changes are expected, and the following question arises: do all of the new features make the iPad mini 6 a tablet to consider for those looking to equip themselves in this area? ? Let's try to answer this question in the context of a test of the beast.

We were actually able to examine the iPad mini 6 from every angle over several days. Here is our complete return on it.

Discovery of the iPad mini 6

Finish and design

Like all Apple products, the finish of this iPad mini is exemplary. Nothing sticks out, everything is in its place, the materials used exude quality. In terms of design, the iPad mini 6 stands out from the previous generation by embracing a style close to what the iPad Air and iPad Pro have already been offering for several months. Namely, black margins of regular width all around the screen and flat edges with protruding edges.

Note also the disappearance of the Home button containing Touch ID. Fingerprint detection technology is here, as on the latest iPad Air, integrated into the power button. These changes to the front allow the tablet to display a slightly larger screen than that of the old model, while keeping the same case size, as we describe below.

As for the physical buttons, there are 3: two for volume management, one for power on. They are all located on the same slice.

The USB-C port is located on the opposite edge. Around it, 2 speaker grills can be seen with a series of small holes in the shell. Add to this 2 other grids on the opposite side.

Finally, a quick word on the purple finish that I had in my hands. She isseductiveand had an effect on the people around me who saw the machine.It’s a color that I can only recommend.!

Size, screen and weight

And here are the dimensions of the iPad mini 6: 195.4 mm long, 134.8 mm wide, and 6.3 mm thick. The weight is 297 g for this Wi-Fi + Cellular version that we are testing. Apple specifies that the Wi-Fi version weighs 4 grams less. Allow 403 grams in total with an Apple Smart Cover and a few millimeters more for the thickness of the iPad + protection pair.

The screen measures8.3 inches diagonal screenand offers a resolution of 2266 x 1488 pixels. It is equipped with True Tone, but unfortunately does not benefit from ProMotion. The old model displayed a 7.9-inch diagonal panel, with a resolution of 2049 x 1536 pixels. If the design of the case changes significantly from one generation to the next, the gain in screen size and resolutionis ultimately not that important. Especially since the margins are still very large and give the feeling that Apple could further optimize the ratio of case size/screen size of the machine.

iPad mini 6: what's in it?

Performances brutes

The iPad mini 6 is powered by a 64-bit A15 Bionic chip comprising 6 cores clocked at 2.9 GHz. The associated GPU has 5 cores. The tablet also includes 4 GB of RAM. Here's what it showed in different software test batteries:

• Geekbench 5 :1,591 points in single core, 4,486 points in multi-core
• Geekbench 5 Compute Metal :13 674 points
• AnTuTu :778,823 in total score, 210,106 for the CPU, 322,000 for the GPU, 118,395 for RAM and 25,259 for storage speed

The multi-core Geekbench score is comparable to what the 2020 iPad Pro 11″ obtains, for example. For the Geekbench Compute Metal test, the iPad mini 6 does better than this same iPad Pro, significantly!

For the AnTuTu test, in comparison, our 2017 iPad Pro does much less well, and fortunately: 447,252 points in total score, 115,587 in CPU score, 186,684 points for the graphics part and 56,106 for the RAM. For storage speed, it's still below the iPad mini 6: 7,955 poor little points.

We also notice that, in these tests, the 12 cores of the GPU of the iPad Pro 2017 are no match for the 5 cores of the GPU of the new iPad mini.

In practice, the iPad mini 6 is fluid, it never struggles for most tasks, internet browsing, music, video games, etc. In video editing or for other heavy tasks, it could show its limits, with its 4 GB of RAM, when the latest iPad Pros have up to 16. But I'm not sure that the iPad mini is a format appreciated by those who work with 3D creation, video, and advanced photo editing. Nor even those carrying out other specific tasks requiring a lot of computing power in a professional setting.

The iPad mini 6 in any case has more than enough power under the hood for most of the uses for which it is intended.

Connectivity and sound

In terms of audio reproduction, nothing to complain about. For such a format, the reproduction is very good, supported by the 4 speakers. The maximum level will not allow sound in the living room, but it will be adequate for playing a game with others or putting music to a small bedroom. Remember that the iPad mini 6 does not include a jack port. It has a USB-C port to which you can connect compatible sound systems. For wireless headsets, Bluetooth 5 is included.

In terms of sound, I would like to take this opportunity to point out an appreciable feature implemented by Apple. The + and – volume management buttonschange depending on the orientation of the iPad mini 6. So, if the latter is used in landscape mode with the power button on the top edge, the + will be the right button, the minus the left. If you turn the tablet over with the buttons on the bottom handle, they exchange their command. So, the + remains on the right and the – on the left. Well done Apple!

Let's also mention the very good operation of Touch ID in the power button, with this loading effect on the unscrambling text. Finally, a little regret for the Smart Connector, absent from the iPad mini 6.

Photography

I am in the camp of those who think that the iPad should not be used for taking photos in everyday life. The iPhone is much better suited for this. So the iPad's rear camera helps out.But don't rely on the latter to make magnificent prints. On the iPad mini 6, the rear sensor has the following characteristics: 12 megapixels with ƒ/1.8 aperture and digital zoom up to 5x.

On the other hand, an iPad is much more capable of serving as a device for talking with loved ones by videoconference, whether via Zoom, FaceTime or even Skype. Apple understands this well and has equipped its iPad mini with an ultra-wide-angle front camera of12 megapixels with ƒ/2.4 aperture. If some say that this is still not enough, for my part, I am largely satisfied with the rendering of this front camera, and the people with whom I was able to chat by videoconference also had nothing to complain about.

Some photos taken with the rear camera:

And with the front camera:

Screen

Let's come to the screen, an important part of the machine, of course. So it is certainly of quality, especially in terms of colors, but it suffers, according to my experience with the 10.5″ iPad Pro from 2017, from the absence of ProMotion. By comparing the two machines, we quickly realize that on the iPad mini 6,movements may appear jerky, in the management of iOS windows for example. It's not too annoying, but it's difficult to go back to a screen without ProMotion after you've had a taste of it, unfortunately. Another notable point is that I found the panel a little dark, even at full brightness and with TrueTone on or off.

Note that the iPad mini 6 screen is compatible with the 2nd generation Apple Pencil.

Autonomy and recharging

The iPad mini 6 includes a battery of5 100 mAh environ. Apple announces a capacity of19,3 Wh(see here to understand the difference between mAh and Wh). I tested its autonomy over several days and it did not disappoint me. The machine lasted 5 hours 54 minutes of non-stop YouTube video playback. It needed 2 hours to fully charge with the included USB-C power adapter (20W). But in just 34 minutes the charge level was already at 40% and in 50 minutes it rose to 50%.

iPadOS 15

If you read us, you know that this iPad mini 6 comes bundled with iPadOS. As of the publication date of this test, iPadOS is available in version 15. And if iPadOS 14 was already a very good iteration of Apple's tablet system, iPadOS 15 is even better. We sawhere all the additions made by this major update. The software is in any case ergonomic, well thought out and easy to access. It is also full of features intended for those who like to go further with their machines, we are thinking in particular of the Shortcuts app and the concentration modes.

If the basic system is very good, without even needing to compare it with what competitors offer on their tablets, the applications offered natively can do even better. Unlike Safari for example, which has seen some nice additions in recent years,Mail still remains well below third-party solutions, just likeApple Plans. And then, we always regret the absence of two practical, but basic, applications on iPad:Weather and Calculator… This lack is so laughable and incomprehensible for a machine at this price that we end up laughing about it, as if Apple mastered repetition humor to perfection…

Fortunately, Apple offers many apps with the App Store to meet all your needs.

iPad mini 6: general opinion

In the end, the iPad mini 6 is a tablet that questions me. Certainly, it is an excellent machine, powerful, extremely well finished and with various features perfectly implemented (photo, Siri, internet surfing, music, video streaming, etc.).

But its format only seems to generate little interest in me. In fact, I simply find it too small for the house and useless outside when you have a recent iPhone, even more useless if you go out with an iPhone Pro Max version. And then the new design does not drastically increase the screen size either, the iPad mini still displays clearly visible edges. It's a shame, because its price has increased from one generation to the next and is now very close to the iPad Air (€559 for the mini, €669 for the iPad Air).

On the other hand, where the iPad mini shined, in my test, was with children. The tablet is the perfect size for a child between 5 and 10 years old, it is light, well held by small hands, much better than another iPad in the range, obviously larger.

The iPad mini 6 is therefore an excellent tablet for those who know how to be satisfied with its format, mini, of course. Powered by iPadOS, perfectly adapted to the machine, the duo will be aideal companion for many users, I'm sure of it.

Despite everything, I can only advise you to try the iPad Air in store, which has a much more comfortable screen size for the home for 110 euros more, or even the iPad itself. Failing to sign a modern design, which is not very good in itself, to offer 5G and a very latest generation chip, the latter costs much less: €389 for 64 GB (€170 less than the mini 6). You will know better than anyone whether the mini format is right for you or not.

Also read:our review of the Apple Pencil 2.