The best iPads of 2024

Read our full review of the iPad Mini.

Who it’s for:

Tablets are an incredibly versatile device, but we all have our go-to use. If you, like me, use your iPad to read, you gotta go for the iPad Mini. The other iPad models start at 10.9 inches, which is a lot of screen when you just want to flip through your e-book. Speaking from experience, holding a 10.9-inch iPad feels more like holding up a magazine than a book, so at 8.3 inches, the iPad Mini is a more comfortable handle for readers. Plus, it has an anti-reflective coating to protect from glare.

But the iPad Mini isn’t just a glorified e-reader, it’s still a versatile tablet. Like any iPad, you can read on the Kindle Apple, but you can also stream your favorite shows — a level of flexability that a standard e-reader simply can’t match.

So when should you avoid the iPad Mini? If you’re after a tablet that can double as a laptop, this won’t be for you. Eight inches might be plenty of room for reading or watching, but it’s going to feel tight when you want to flip between email and Slack. Plus, it’s not compatible with Apple’s Magic Keyboard, but you can connect a Bluetooth keyboard in a pinch.

Why we picked this:

The iPad Mini exists in a weird plane in the iPad line-up. Loaded with an A15 chip and 5-core GPU, it’s more advanced in some ways than the iPad 10th generation. But on the flip side, it’s missing key features like a landscape view camera, headphone jack, and Magic Keyboard compatibility. When we calculate all that, it’s clear that the iPad Mini is a great tablet, while the rest of the iPads in Apple’s line-ups are capable of being great tablets and laptops.

Above all, I love the iPad Mini for reading. Previously, I read with my iPad 9th Generation, which works great but is just too big. When I’m in bed reading, my wrist feels strained with a standard-sized iPad. So when I switched to using the iPad Mini, I was delighted by its light weight; it weighs just over half a pound. At 8.3 inches it’s about an inch and a half bigger than a Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, but having used both, the hand feel is negligible. Plus, unlike the iPad 10th generation, it has an anti-reflective coating to help you read in any lighting. The iPad Mini, while great for reading, doesn’t have the matte screen of other e-readers, which at night leads to some eye strain. If you want to give your iPad Mini the Kindle treatment, these Paperlike screen protectors add some nice friction to the screen so you feel like you’re reading and writing on paper.

The iPad Mini’s smaller size also makes it a better option for traveling. It will take up less space and weight in your bag than any other iPad on this list. Despite being smaller than the iPad 10th generation, it costs more. So what are you paying for? Slightly more advanced tech, the convenience of portability, and a better reading experience.

Mashable Senior Editor Stan Schroeder reviewed the iPad Mini and put it best: “If you value more screen real estate over portability, get something else. If it’s the other way around, the iPad mini is the best tablet you can get.”