iPad Mini 7 – *Not Sponsored by Apple* UNCENSORED First Impressions!

as my first iPad Mini I really wanted to love 
this you know um did Apple do enough to impress   me let's start there right it's literally the same 
box right no expenses pair here after spending   some time with it I've already got some thoughts 
bear with me some good some not so good I'm Alex   and I do down to earth tech videos off the bat 60 
HZ is not fine in my opinion it's not in 2024 the   jelly scroll we'll show that in detail later on 
but basically it's really visible it you know you   can not see it it's definitely there still just 
thought I get those two things out of the way I   know some videos may suggest the opposite and I'm 
not going to throw shade on anyone here you know   I I'll just review this from my own experience in 
my opinion at the end of the day that's what it is   I'm just someone on the internet but this channel 
is not going to follow any Apple's recommended   talking points and I'll leave it there there's 
plenty of those channels out there but there   are positives and plenty more to talk about not 
just the display issues whether you just got this   device and you're trying to learn a bit more about 
what it can do is quite a bit or perhaps you're   doing what I normally do before I buy anything 
just get different opinions and seeing what's you   know what can be done on this and just get some 
you know some thoughts before you go and spend 500   bucks on it and hey if you don't give a dumb about 
promotion or a brighter display I do appreciate   that this device has a specific target audience 
an audience that is passionate about the iPad mini   and loves it and you know most of them have been 
super happy with the previous iPad Min as well   some of you may have expected a lot more and I am 
in that camp even though it's my first one some   of you are like it's a decent upgrade and I got 
to respect all of that but it is 2024 and I can't   personally just can't you know not say anything 
about this but there are things here that to me   are just unacceptable and I'm not going to mean 
my words here today and as someone who hates flies   so what is it like using the iPad Mini in 2024 
it's very early days right just bear that in mind   as well it's a bit of a caveat there ask someone 
who's always on the Move I'm already enjoying it   so far you know just literally from the studio 
here and going home just 20 minutes drive and not   having to fire up the laptop or get a bigger iPad 
or any other tablet just to have this for quick   like scribbles quick review notes just reading the 
news whatever it might be know just quick access   to something that is bigger than an iPhone bigger 
than a um a Samsung device right it's a really   nice experience for people on the go but I've got 
some mixed feelings here you know especially when   it comes to the display performance multitasking 
it's quite a few things that I'm already kind of   thinking oh it doesn't need much to make this even 
better and I would have paid a bit more for it you   know and I'm pretty sure a lot of people out there 
would as well so starting with the display as   expected it's not great outdoors right in bright 
daylight it simply isn't bright enough and apple   under reflect Ive coating that they say it's on 
here it's you know it's not that anti-reflective   especially you know if you experienced any of the 
newer like LG TVs or Samsung displays on even on   the smartphones now there is a solution for that 
though with the iPad Mini which I'll share later   on – paperlike – and of course we're still stuck 
with 60 HZ refresh rates on this device right   there is a bit of a nuanced experience here 
right not everyone will pick this up straight   away I appreciate that I show this to my wife 
and she's like I I don't see it issue it very   much depends on what you're doing and whether 
or not you're used to better displays I found   for example that if you're just reading the news 
or reading an article or a book it becomes very   apparent not trying to second guess what Apple's 
strategy was here but I think they just reusing   components to make this you know to to sell this 
and they're probably thinking about selling a a   Mini Pro tablet in future with promotion either 
that or they would just bring affordable tablet   affordable iPhone again with promotion and let's 
be honest you know if we know Apple we know   that if this iPad Mini came with promotion there 
wouldn't be much of a reason for you to then buy   that device when whatever that comes out just a 
guess if you have been using 120 HZ display on on   your smartphone it will definitely feel like it's 
a bit of a downgrade experience when you switch to   the mini to use the mini at home or whatever if 
you've seen my previous videos you probably had   enough of it as well so I won't go on about it but 
yeah it's not great and I'm not going to lie right   that said when I look at this objectively and you 
know just holding it right now like it just feels   so good and if I was to pretend that 120 HZ didn't 
exist and you know I'm kind of trying to look at   the iPad for what it is I've got to be honest it's 
a lovely device to use I love how light it is and   it's comfortable to hold it's weird me saying 
this about the iPad because you know that has   not been the experience on on my other iPads but 
this out of all the iPads is the most honest it's   not pretending to be something that you know that 
it isn't and I actually like that Honesty it's so   portable it's a great size for someone who's you 
know used to carrying around much larger devices   every day I carry my MacBook Pro my my iPad Pro 
or my tab S9 Ultra this really feels refreshing   honestly you don't get the apple pencil Pro which 
I've got attached to this thing here it doesn't   come with this blue thing this is a paperlike 
accessory but using the apple pencil Pro and   things like free form or even just taking notes 
on your favorite note taking app this app here   is notability which I love that's where any iPad 
and especially the iPad Mini starts to shine a bit   for me right that experience of just taking notes 
like you would in a in a small notebook I can see   already why people love this so much you know and 
the pencil feels great and the little touches you   know like seeing the shadow of the pencil in some 
apps or using the contextual Barrel squeeze menu   all all the stuff that you know I've been using 
this on the iPad Pro and sure you pay a lot for   this this apple pencil Pro isn't cheap but the 
experience is really nice and if you are going   to be doing drawings and using the apple pencil a 
lot I would say it is worth getting the the latest   one not the not the USBC version alongside the 
magic keyboard on the iPad Pro this is probably   the second best thing about the iPad for me I 
felt like using this with the iPad Pro it made   the experience a bit better even though I hate 
the fact that I can't do a bunch of things on   the iPad but when I'm not busy comparing it with 
other devices or being annoyed about the display   the experience is fantastic you know sometimes 
I have to kind of stop being a tech reviewer   and just enjoy the device for what it is and we'll 
talk about the jelly scroll in a minute I haven't   forgotten about that and spoiler alert it's still 
there by the way so many people ask about this   app this is concept it's not a well-known app 
but it's been around for a while and it's got   an Android version as well I love it for technical 
drawing but some people use it for taking notes as   well but whether you're taking notes drawing or 
using creative apps like free form or procreate   it feels quite natural at this size but there's 
something else that makes the note-taking and   drawing experience even better especially for 
writing in my case and this is where today's   sponsor paper light comes in paper light is an 
essential accessory for the iPad not just a mini   as you can see here I've had it on all the iPads 
I've used it's literally the first accessory that   I get for the iPad because I use the apple pencil 
A lot it makes the drawing and writing experience   so much better giving you that real paper feel 
don't just take my word for it have a look at this it completely eliminates that slippery glass 
issue which can cause your writing in my case   it does anyway to become pretty much unreadable 
plus there are two extra perks fewer finger   prints and very minimal Reflections for me this 
is crucial especially here in my space you know   it's entirely covered by windows and I get a lot 
of daylight in here and since Apple didn't upgrade   the unreflective display on any of their devices 
paper like is the perfect solution for using the   iPad on the go when it comes to Precision 
in drawing that's really important right   and paper like is amazing for that it actually 
makes my handwriting be readable which is great   the secret here is paperlike's own Tech Nanodots 
which provide just the right amount of friction   as well to keep your apple pencil from sliding 
around all over the place or without wearing   down the pencil tip as well which is fantastic and 
here's the best part paperlike offers 100 100 day   satisfaction guarantee it's like unheard of right 
so if you're not happy with it or you mess up the   installation for whatever reason they will replace 
it or give you a full refund they also have some   other cool accessories like the drawing glove 
which is fantastic if you're doing like creative   projects or if you just want a smoother writing 
experience as well so whether you're taking notes   sketching or just want a cleaner screen on your 
iPad Mini check out paperlike using the link in   the description or scan the QR code here if 
you're watching this from my TV and thanks   again to paperlike for sponsoring this video one 
big change here is the Apple finally upgraded the   base storage from 64 to 128 gig I still went for 
128 gig model though nice try Apple but I refuse   to give you more money for you know for storage 
unless I really need it but if you are planning   to load up with lots of games lots of heavier 
apps and large files like raw images videos I   definitely recommend grabbing an external SSD to 
expand your storage you know as a first option   before you give Apple more money because I know 
it's not as convenient but you get 10 gig speed   here now on the USBC Port so at least you know 
it's going to be faster to transfer that data and   Here's my thought process on this and hopefully 
you will find it useful just food for thought   there basically two main reasons why I chose 
128 gigs which honestly may or may not align   to your needs right just take this as a reference 
it's just for guidance really reason number one   is cost considering how much more Apple charges 
for storage I just don't see value for money on   this device and reason two is the device itself in 
terms of where it sits next to my iPad Pro or my   tab S9 Ultra or my laptop of course what I'll be 
do doing with it it's the iPad Mini barely updated   from 3 years ago if you're really honest about 
it so it doesn't make a lot of sense for me to   add any more money to this so I personally avoid 
overspending on internal storage you do you right   make just take that as a as a consideration 
performance- wise I've already been able to   do quite a bit with it even though it's only early 
days but I'd say keep your expectations realistic   here right with only 8 gig of RAM don't expect to 
work work with dozens of layers in procreate or   run super demanding apps without feeling a little 
bit of a strain here it's performed really well   though in most of the things that I've tried so 
far but if you need an iPad for heavier workloads   let's face it right there are other iPads for that 
but Apple did make a big song and dance here about   the a17 pro chip you know on this iPad mini and 
I think um sadly the AAA games that they they   mention right whatever still lag for me and don't 
feel as fluid as it does on other devices to be   fair it doesn't exactly fly on the iPhone 16 Pro 
either despite that having the A18 pro chip so for   my needs and I'm pretty sure that's going to be 
like 90 plus percentage of the people who buy the   iPad Mini it's fine it's going to be absolutely 
fine performance- wise some of these apps are   perfect for the mini iPad OS apps are great right 
there's no deny despite some of the limitations   that I'm calling out here and I'm only calling 
those limitations out because you know whether   you are spending $300 or $500 it's still quite a 
bit of money right and I think you deserve to know   what you're getting for that money now let's talk 
about something that has been an issue with the   iPad Mini before which is a jelly scroll it's when 
part of the screen lags behind when you scroll and   unfortunately it's still here it's subtle to 
the ice but once you notice it you will always   notice why does it happen well there's a lot of 
videos out there who cover this in way more detail   than I can here but in layman's terms the screen 
refreshes unevenly you know this this thing where   you know one side of the display updates slightly 
faster than the other the controller basically the   brains of the iPad sits over here on the side 
or it might be this side this causes the images   or text to look like they're wobbling a little bit 
or stretching out when you scroll too quickly it's   more obvious on slower 60 HZ displays like the one 
here on the iPad Mini honestly I've seen videos   out there people saying oh 60 HZ is fine I don't 
know to say all right I'll take that word for it   but if you were used to like a buttery smooth 
display on devices like the iPhone 16 Pro or   any other Android devices from like 5 10 years ago 
the difference is going to be very noticeable many   of you asked me about stage manager as well and 
unfortunately it's just another limitation of the   iPad Mini Apple says it's because of the M chip 
right it needs the M chip to do that anyway should   we even expect though that stage manager should 
be on the mini to me considering that you can't do   any multitasking at all on the iPhone even on the 
16 Pro Max with a massive display I'd say yes this   display is big enough right but let me know in the 
comments if I'm alone on this right maybe if you   feel passionate as I am about multitasking just 
leave a window Emoji with your comment and uh yeah   let's have a discussion down there look I'm not 
just hating on Apple right I'm this is coming from   someone who used to buy everything Apple you know 
once I experienced basic multi- window on a mobile   a few years ago it was hard not to expect that on 
every handheld device in my opinion and this may   sound a little bit harsh the M1 and M2 iPads are 
kind of already lagging behind with Stage manager   the iPad Mini without it just feels like a very 
outdated experience you know I'm not going to lie   when I opened it not just because they use the 
same box like is bad but when I opened it it did   feel like I was using a a 2017 a 2018 device 
you know like I said might be too harsh here   but it's a lovely thing if you don't care or need 
those things but I think Apple should have given   us at least multitasking stage manager having 
USBC and that new chip did nothing in this case   yeah it's just a big Miss for me but it'll be 
amazing for Apple intelligence yay whenever   that gets here but and before I forget um a quick 
mention as well on the camera it's nothing amazing   like any iPad cameras right but on the mini it 
makes sense and I know how important this can be   for for people on the go for students for people 
who work in you know kind of field sort of work   scanning documents or taking quick photos in the 
corporate world this is a perfect device for them   as long as you're not expecting to use these 
cameras for like high-end photography you're   going to be fine for work and for like you know 
quick snaps of pets kids or whatever it's going   to take okay photos at a pinch definitely usable 
and doesn't feel as weird as a massive iPad right   so at a pinch you run out of battery on your phone 
or whatever this could come in handy but yeah not   exactly a selling point here so is the iPad Mini 
worth $500 to me it depends if you're able to get   it and not pay full price maybe you got it you 
know as a trade-in or an education disc as well   or both I've seen people like paying $240 for it 
but if you're paying full price like I did you   might feel a little bit short changed especially 
with the limitations that I showed here today but   I will say this this is my first iPad mini and 
as someone who loves tech gadgets you know I'm   excited about it I can see this eventually growing 
on me if you know if I learn to live with its   limitations and look at it for what it is which 
is a basic honest tablet unlike the iPad Pro for   example either that or am I still being honeymoon 
period my first impressions are good overall but I   will need more time to test it out adjust my brain 
to the fact that I did spend £500 on this but more   importantly what do you think let me know does 
the iPad Mini for you offer good value for money   or is Apple still like cutting Corners here this 
video over here can help you if you're undecided   on which iPad to get and this playlist over here 
has some videos that I think you might like I'll   be reviewing lots of accessories for the mini 
I don't think it'll be the last time this will   feature on the channel don't forget to leave it a 
like And subscribe if you liked my content cheers

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