Customer Ratings & Reviews

Faster, thinner and with a better screen, the iPad Mini 4 is a return to form and the best small tablet. 2014's iPad Mini 3 was a perfectly respectable tablet, but unfortunately it just wasn't the upgrade from the iPad Mini 2 that most people were expecting. Rather than revamping its internals, the only new feature introduced was Apple's Touch ID sensor and that was your lot. As a result, the Mini 3 seemed pretty poor value by comparison with its older brother. Fortunately, it looks like Apple's back on track this year, as the iPad Mini 4 seems to improve on its predecessor in pretty much every way, cramming eerily similar iPad Air 2 specs into a significantly smaller body, looking to bringing an even greater level of parity between the small and large tablets Apple puts out. Build quality There's one thing that seems to have remained a constant yet again, and that's Apple's excellent build quality, with the iPad Mini 4 seemingly retaining its crown as the best-made mini tablet. Its aluminium body, which is available in gold, space grey and silver, looks stunning, but still provides that reassuringly rugged feel that you expect from an Apple tablet. You just don't get this re-assuredness from plastic tablets, with the iPad Mini 4 blowing them all out of the water. There are a couple of minor changes here, which I feel are for the better. As was also the case with the Air 2, the iPad Mini 4 no longer has the switch on the side, which could be set to toggle the screen rotation lock or silent mode. However, given that rotation lock is now in the swipe-up Control Centre menu in iOS and you can make the iPad silent by holding the volume down button, the button has now become quite unnecessary; in fact, I didn’t miss it on the iPad Air 2, as is also the case here. There's also some newly redesigned volume buttons on the side too, so that rather from jutting out from the surface, they now sit inside a little hollow, which is yet again very similar to the button design on the iPad Air 2 Moving from the iPad Mini 2 and 3, the 4th iteration also has slightly different speaker grills at the bottom (one row of holes at the bottom, rather than stacked rows), and the size is now very slightly different: at 203x134x6.1mm the iPad Mini 4 is slightly taller and thinner than the iPad Mini 3 (200x135x7.5mm). During use, I felt that there’s very little difference between the new model and the older models: it’s actually extremely comfortable to hold and use one-handed, as you'd expect. Display In use, there wasn't anything particularly wrong with the iPad Mini 2/3’s screen: it was bright and clear. But, put the older iPads next to a tablet with a better display, such as the iPad Air 2 and the differences became much more obvious, with the iPad Mini losing out on colour accuracy and detail in images. The Expert Reviews colour calibration tests sadly reaffirmed this, finding out that the iPad Mini 3 was sadly only capable of displaying 67.1% of the sRGB colour gamut. This time around, we've now got a brand-new IPS panel with the iPad Mini 4 and the results are somewhat spectacular in comparison. I found that the new display was considerably better than the older version, with the colour calibrator registering that the iPad Mini 4 was capable of producing 94.8% of the sRGB colour gamut. What this means in real terms is that there's more detail in photos and more accurate colours, and I certainly found that the new display was one of the best that I’ve used. There's been no alteration with the resolution in this year's model, with the new screen maintaining the same 2,048x1,536 resolution of the iPad Mini 3. At a high 324ppi, it means that everything looks extremely sharp. I have to say that this improved screen makes a clear difference to the product and it’s good to see that the one slightly weaker area of previous models has been improved substantially. Performance and battery life Up until this point we’ve had two generations of the iPad Mini using the same old A7 chip, but Apple has boosted the iPad Mini 4 with an A8 chip this time around, the same as used in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. It's worth noting that this is not the A8X chip, as used in the iPad Air 2, which has three cores and greatly improved graphics performance. It’s also not the new A9 chip, as used in the iPhone 6S. Still, the difference in performance from the previous generation is definitely noteworthy. Running GeekBench 3, which measures processor performance, I found that the iPad Mini 4 scored 1694 in the single-core test and 3058 in the multi-core test; a clear improvement over the 1385 and 2485 respective scores of the iPad Mini 3. That also puts the iPad Mini 4 in good stead against its closest competition, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, which scored 1244 and 4182 - it's higher multi-threaded performance is because it has quad-core processor. Web performance was also exceptionally good, thanks to the combination of the slickness of Safari, paired with the efficient processor and operating system. Running the PeaceKeeper browser test, we got an exceptionally high score, showing that this tablet can easily cope with any website. In the GFXBench Manhattan benchmark, the iPad Mini 4 scored 925 running at native resolution and 1330 in the 1080p offscreen test. It shows that it’s more than capable of running any existing game you throw at it. Indeed, firing up Hearthstone, which is surprisingly graphically intense, the iPad Mini 4 ran the game beautifully as you'd expect. The 5,124mAh battery was also incredibly good at keeping its charge, with the tablet lasting for 10h 43m in our video playback test with the screen set to a brightness of 170cd/m2. That’s a little over an hour more than the iPad Mini 3, which is mostly down to a more efficient OS and processor. It's also the best iOS tablet battery life score I've seen this year, as it beat both the iPad Pro and iPad Air 2 in our battery life head-to-head table. It's still got a some way to go before it matches other small compact tablets, such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 and Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact, but it's still pretty good overall. iOS 9.2 The iPad Mini 4 originally had iOS 9, which brought with it some beautiful optimisations and animations for the diminutive tablet. The biggest introduction at the time, however, was the Split View mode, which allows you to run two apps side-by-side. It instantly makes the iPad Mini feel much more like a productivity tool. Now, iOS 9.2 has been released and is available on the iPad Mini 4, but it wasn't quite so revolutionary. You do get some useful new apps, however, such as Apple News that brings curated news articles presented in an attractive and easy-to-use manner. Mail Drop, in particular, is also a welcome addition, which lets you attach large files to emails up to 5GB. It works by sending a preview of the attachment to the recipient who will then be able to download the attachment within 30 days. Camera The 8-megapixel camera installed in the iPad Mini 4 is up from the 5-megapixel camera in the iPad Mini 3, which certainly means that there’s more detail in our test shots. Outside, I’m pretty impressed with the camera, as my test shots were well exposed with plenty of detail across all parts of the image, from the brightness of the sky to the darker parts in shadow. Inside and the camera’s limitations start to show up, with noise creeping into the image and colours becoming significantly more muted. It's worth mentioning that there’s no flash on this model, so if it gets too dark you simply won’t be able to take any shots. Given that most people will have a smartphone with them that's not necessarily a problem; what's important is that you can at least take some pretty good shots with this tablet outside when you need to. There’s the usual range of options we’ve come to expect from Apple devices here, including Panoramas, 1080p video and 120fps slow-motion at a resolution of 1,280x720. Video, as with images, works best outside where there’s lots of natural light, but suffers a little inside from image noise. TouchID As with the iPad Mini 3, this new tablet also has the TouchID fingerprint reader, which is becoming a substantially more important part of iOS. For starters, it gives you a quicker way of logging into your iPad, rather than having to type in a six-digit code (the default code length for iOS 9). It's also being used by many more apps too, such as for logging into your Amazon account. Finally, you can use it to authorise Apple Pay payments in-app, which saves having to type your credit card details in. Storage There’s no memory card slot, as is normal for Apple, so you need to buy the model with the right amount of storage for you. The entry level model has just 16GB of storage (£319), which isn’t really enough. Next up is the 64GB model (£399), which is the one that most people will buy; at the top is a 128GB version (£479). It’s a shame that 32GB isn’t available as the entry-level option. Wi-Fi and 4G As with previous generations, you get a choice of Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi+Cellular models. The first has 802.11ac Wi-Fi for fast wireless connections, which you’ll notice if you’ve got an 802.11ac router and a quick internet connection when you’re downloading apps or large files, such as films. If you pay the extra $100 for the Cellular model, you also get a built-in 4G receiver, so that you can also get online when you like. You can fit any standard microSIM, although the iPad Mini 4 comes with an Apple SIM built-in. I have to say that this such a brilliant idea, as the Apple SIM can connect to any supporting cellular network, letting you buy the data plan that’s the best value for what you need now, and then letting you change to a different provider later.

Overall I like the iPad mini. It's lightweight and ergonomic, I can comfortably type with two hands in portrait mode, which is not possible with the regular iPad. I haven't noticed any performance issues either, it's been responsive and stutter free in use. The iPad mini is more than just a blown up phone. Unlike smartphones, it typically allows you to access full versions of websites which for me makes web browsing much more enjoyable. Battery life is good as well. The iPad mini does have flaws though. When watching Netflix I noticed that the display will dim and brighten repeatedly. I don't have auto brightness on, apparently it's a bug that's been with the iPad for years and only goes away if you turn on a setting called 'assistive touch,' which then leaves a gray circle somewhere on the screen that you have to try and hide somewhere in the letterboxing. I haven't noticed this issue with youtube, but I did with youtube TV. Also, although I prefer the display ratio of the iPad for web browsing, when watching a video that is widescreen, about half the display is wasted with black bars. The display aside from that is nice, but it's definitely no OLED. The other issue I have is that when multitasking with 2 apps, you can only split the display vertically. That's fine in landscape mode, but in portrait mode you're left with a display area about 2 inches wide and 7 inches long. It's really weird that apple still hasn't better implemented this feature. Overall though the iPad mini is a good tablet, and it's become the device I use most both at home or on the go.

I’ve always loved the size and weight of the iPad mini. It’s the tablet I take with me to use when away from home. I have a 9.7 inch iPad 3 but it’s used as a desktop tablet since it’s heavy and I have to use a large backpack to carry it when using it away from home. The mini 4 is beautiful tablet all around and a great upgrade from my first iPad mini. The screen is leaps and bounds better on the mini 4. It’s fast compared to my old iPad and my aging iPhone 5s. I chose the mini over the 2017 iPad because it has more storage and was on sale for cheaper than the cheapest 2017 iPad. The screen size is good for watching videos. The speaker sound is not very good. I have to turn up the volume and it’s still hard to hear sometimes. I use headphones when I don’t want to disturb others and use Bluetooth speakers when I’m at home. Battery life is slightly less than my old mini about 9 hours vs 12 hours and it might be because of updating to iOS 11 or maybe this has more power, not sure. This is not a major problem. I’m still figuring out all of the updated features. I’m really enjoying it.

I love this tablet, the most i like is the size, is so comfortable and easy to use. I love thay it fits on all my bags and crossbags so carry it everywhere i go. I use it pretty much for watching youtube and movies and also to read. Is really fast in comparisson to other older models and the fingerprint works perfect. The camera is also really nice. I am happy with the 128gb of storage too. I got the space grey so it match my iphone X color. I am really happy with it!

I totally love the iPad mini4 for its compact design,yet generous screen for viewing movies or webpages. I don’t miss the full-size screen of the bigger iPads. The crisp picture is second to none and I enjoy the memory capacity of 128 gigs. Priced competitively and it weighs next to nothing for one handed carrying. Great device!!!

Perfect size, great for everything that I need it for. Gorgeous screen, lightweight. I use it for reading the news, reading books, writing, catching up on email & playing with apps. I've been on the fence for a few years about the iPad Mini, but so glad I made the plunge. If you are wondering about getting one...treat yourself!

I love this ipad mini. Its small enough to easily slip in my bag but big enough that I can war in clash of clans without accidently dropping troops in the wrong spots, (unlike a phone). I use this ipad daily and the battery lasts all day even a year later. It is so easy to use too. I am not even close to filling up the 128 gb it has and I have about a hundred ebooks on it, dozens of apps, and even dl some vids occassionally. It is fast for web surfing, faster even than my laptop and for streaming videos. I know many people look down on the minis but I personally love it and think its better if you intend to carry it with you everyday. I would recommend it for everyone.

The mini iPad is just perfect! It has the right size of memory, physical size, weight and speed to enable me to use this device for a good few years for myself and my son ie. for educational learning games only (these apps takes up a lot of disk space!). I no longer have to struggle with disk space (for now)!

Thin, light, powerful, and the perfect size! This IPad Mini with tons of storage at 128 GB is the right size for on the go individuals! Had the IPad 1, and the IPad 2, and this Mini 4 is a huge step forward in technology! Apple makes a excellent tablet! You just can’t go wrong!

the ipad mini 4 is lighter and faster than the original. bought this for my mother for christmas online at black friday pricing for $279 for the 128 gb, so the price was right as well. apple is always a great pick with someone not so great with tech, very easy to use.

I had been in the market to replace my current Samsung mini tablet, and then saw this mini Apple tablet on sale. I had only used Samsung phone & tablet products for over 12 years-so to switch over to Apple was a big deal to me. What really caught my eye was the 128 GB storage on the mini Apple tablet as I kept running out of storage on my current tablet. So when I saw it on sale I couldn't resist & bought it! I'm so happy w/this lil' tablet! I can keep notes on it, keep all my dates organized on the calendar & never worry about my apps taking up all my storage. The best part is, it's so sleek & fits rights in my purse so I can have it w/me at all times. I love the finger print sign in option & also that I can instant message on it too! It's fast & has so many other options I've yet to explore! In fact I liked this lil' tablet so much-I bought ANOTHER Apple tablet-but a larger one!

The iPad mini 4 is currently the best portable tablet to travel around with. Love the size and iOS is probably the best operating system optimized for tablets. Android system is good on mobile phone but not really good for tablet format. A decent android and windows tablet are hard the find. Both these two operating systems can not really complete in the tablet market with Apple in terms of price and value. Since Apple will no longer be producing newer mini models past the 4 version, the iPad mini 4 can be your last chance to grab a great portable tablet at this size. I been using it for the past month now and come across no problems, no lags on any of my apps, runs very smoothly. Just updated it to iOS 11 and have no issue at all, runs fine. I normally have it with me daily in my backpack. Lot better then carrying my iPad Air 2 around.

Love it as a big Apple fan! I wish there were a six star for this product. It's light and the screen is perfect. The photo I took shows the effect of iPad Air with iPad mini4. A huge difference if you need to hold it for a long time reading. And the size of iPad mini 4 is good for you to use it on the train. I would recommend using iPad or mini with stylus to improve productivity. The usefulness of iPad(including mini) depends a lot on great apps. I used to use iPad to read textbook everyday because kindle can't deal with colorful large PDF very well and it's way to heavy to carry textbook around the city. I would say if you need a tool to read PDF and want it to be portable and affordable, iPad mini is better than iPad and better than kindle.

Bought pre Black Friday Sale and at a great price point in which you know what your getting with an Apple product. Bought for my daughter, Size of tablet and quality is great not to mention 128gb of memory helps.

The iPad Mini 4 is smaller, lighter, and has a 128 GB memory. This iPad will fit in your purse, and you'll be ready to play computer games, listen to a recorded book, or take great photos, at a moments notice.

The Apple experience is the same across all platforms. If you're an Apple person or own other Apple products you know what you're getting into so it comes down to size. I enjoy the smaller tablet for holding and portability. The Mini's are renowned for their battery life and this is no exception. I typically go a week between charges which I find fantastic although it is not as good as my Gen 1 Mini. I attribute this to the higher resolution screen and better processor in the Gen 4 but I'm happy to make this trade off. This is not my primary device and used mostly for media consumption at home before and after work: YouTube, YouTubeTV, Netflix, Amazon Video, Vudu... While that is my primary use I do have all my other normal apps loaded and those work as expected too. If I had one real complaint is that the screen format. When watching widescreen video it crops quite a bit of the screen and for a 2:39:1 movies that means you have about a 3 inch band in the middle of actual screen and the rest is black bar. If you're a video watcher there are other tablets in the Android line that make better use of the screen real estate but NONE of them seem to handle bluetooth audio as well as Apple and it really irks me to watch something with audio out of sync like I'm watching a foreign film or something. So thats the compromise I have to accept, smaller watchable screen with fully sync'd audio. As of 12/17 the processor is still very good, no issues or slowness and it is running the latest iOS 11.1.2. This is my second Mini, I jumped from a Gen 1 to this Gen 4 and its not let me down. I'm sad to see the Mini line die off, guess I'll have to look at an Android 8" when I'm due for my next upgrade.

I upgraded from the iPad mini 2. The iPad mini 4 is much faster and has a better camera. I mainly use it for reading, checking email and social media. It’s easy to use and light enough to carry in my purse.

The product is smaller than my previous iPad but does exactly the same and faster, it is also lighter and easier to hold for readers like me. Also it is easier to carry around when you travel. Love it

Very clear images & video. Quick processing and great Multi-Tasking functionality. Easily fits in purse and light to carry. Received iPad before Hurricane Irma 2017 forced evacuation from FL to GA. iPad live streamed our local news 24/7 so we could watch Naples FL news while in GA as Hurricane progressed each day and finally when Irma's eye came through our home in Marco Island/Naples. Husband and I were amazed at the clarity and sound from this compact device. Unbelievably low price for a 128G iPad. I am a Realtor and this iPad is an excellent toold for clients to use while searching for homes. I connect to the internet via Hotspot wifi through iPhone when necessary.

Love it. So easy to use and its light and easy to handle. Can take it anywhere and use it. I play alot of games on mine and do some research. Just excellent. Beautifully made.