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
