Apple iPad mini (2024) vs. iPad (2022): Which iPad to buy?

After a three-year wait, Apple has finally breathed some new life into its smaller iPad mini. While fans of the new 8.3-inch tablet may be disappointed by the lack of changes on the outside, it’s what’s under the hood that counts, and the 2024 iPad mini packs plenty of power into a tiny frame.

It’s an update that leapfrogs Apple’s entry-level full-sized iPad (2022) in every way except for its price tag. This part raises the most important question: Is the two-year-old iPad a worthwhile purchase for its larger screen, or is it worth paying $150 more to work on a smaller canvas? Let’s dive in and see if the trade-offs are worth it.

Apple iPad mini (2024) vs. iPad (2022): specs

Apple iPad mini (2024) vs. iPad (2022): design

Apple

This year’s iPad mini remains virtually unchanged from its 2021 predecessor. That model broke new ground for Apple’s smallest tablet by embracing USB-C and adopting the edge-to-edge screen design and side-button Touch ID sensor that debuted on the prior year’s iPad Air. You’ll have a tough time telling the two apart at a glance unless you know what to look for — other than a new color option, the primary visual difference is Apple’s decision to brand the back of this year’s model with “iPad mini” rather than just “iPad.”

The iPad (2022) was the first of Apple’s standard iPads to get the new full-screen treatment, bringing the entire iPad family into a unified design language. As a result, it looks every bit like a big brother to the iPad mini, with the most significant differences being the front-facing camera and volume buttons located on the long edge for use in landscape view.

Joe Maring / Digital Trends

That landscape camera placement subsequently came to the iPad Air and iPad Pro, but it’s one area where the iPad mini remains distinct from the rest of the family. The reason for this inconsistency isn’t entirely clear, but we’re assuming it’s because Apple doesn’t see the iPad mini as a device that will typically be used in landscape orientation; you can pair it with any Bluetooth keyboard, but unlike the full-sized iPads, Apple doesn’t produce any keyboard accessories for the iPad mini.

By contrast, the iPad (2022) supports Apple’s Magic Keyboard Folio, along with a wide variety of other keyboard cases designed for the full-sized tablet. Apple’s keyboard links up using the Smart Connector on the rear of the iPad rather than Bluetooth, which means you never have to charge it, but it also doesn’t come cheap.

Joe Maring / Digital Trends

Since Apple doesn’t make a keyboard for the iPad mini, the smaller tablet lacks the Smart Connector. You’ll find a few keyboards among the best iPad mini cases (all of which should fit the new iPad mini), but the smaller size makes for an awkward typing experience, so they’re not particularly common.

The iPad mini also supports the Apple Pencil Pro, which was introduced alongside the new iPad Air and iPad Pro models, and has a place to dock it. The iPad (2022) debuted with a peculiar Apple Pencil situation that only improved a year later when Apple released a new USB-C Apple Pencil. The new stylus will magnetically attach to the side of the iPad (2022), but you’ll still need to plug it into the USB-C port using a cable to charge it back up.

There’s another small change in this year’s cellular iPad mini that could matter to some people: As with its latest U.S. iPhone models, Apple has dropped the physical SIM card slot to go eSIM-only. That shouldn’t be an obstacle with most North American carriers, but there are other places where eSIM isn’t as widely available. Of course, that’s only relevant if you want to opt for the Wi-Fi + Cellular version, but it’s worth keeping in mind. The iPad (2022) still has a physical nano-SIM card slot, but we wouldn’t be surprised if that goes away in the next model.

Apple iPad mini (2024) vs. iPad (2022): display

Apple

Like the iPhone, Apple reserves its best displays for its iPad Pro models. Even though it’s technically a mid-tier model, the iPad mini (2024) has a display that remains unchanged from its predecessor and is remarkably similar to the one on the iPad (2022).

Both devices feature Apple’s Liquid Retina LCD panels with very similar specs. The iPad mini (2024) has a 2266 x 1488 pixel resolution, while the iPad (2022) comes in at 2360 x 1640, and both support up to 500 nits of SDR brightness. The smaller 8.3-inch screen gives the iPad mini an edge here, as you end up with a noticeably higher pixel density for crisper text — 326 pixels per inch (ppi) on the iPad mini versus 264 ppi on the 10.9-inch display of the iPad (2022).

The iPad mini display is laminated with an anti-reflective coating, making it easier to see in challenging lighting conditions and more natural to use with an Apple Pencil. This year’s model also supports Apple Pencil hover, which adds a preview of where your stylus will land before it touches the screen.

Apple iPad mini (2024) vs. iPad (2022): performance

Apple

The iPad mini punches well above its size class in performance. The three-year-old model already packs a faster A15 Bionic chip than the iPad (2022), which only received the A14 Bionic from the iPhone 12 era. This year’s iPad mini leaps even further ahead, moving up to the A17 Pro from the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone Pro Max.

This means the performance gap between the iPad (2022) and the iPad mini (2024) is on par with that of the corresponding iPhone models. The iPhone 12 was no slouch, so the iPad (2022) will be equally satisfactory for everyday tasks. However, the new iPad mini becomes a gaming powerhouse capable of handling the AAA console games that appeared when the iPhone 15 Pro debuted last year.

The iPad mini (2024) might be a small notch behind the iPhone 15 Pro since it has one less GPU core. It appears to be a binned version of that original A17 Pro, but we’ll have to wait and see how much of a difference that makes in real-world use. We suspect it will be negligible outside of high-end gaming.

Apple

However, Apple’s main reason for choosing the A17 Pro is to support its Apple Intelligence suite of AI features, which will begin to appear when iPadOS 18.1 arrives at the end of October. While Apple doesn’t discuss RAM, it’s a safe bet that the iPad mini (2024) has the same 8 GB of RAM as its latest AI-capable iPhone models and should handle all of the Apple Intelligence features just as well as an iPhone 15 Pro can.

The iPad mini (2024) also gains Wi-Fi 6E support, Bluetooth 5.3, and a faster USB-C port that supports USB 3 transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps. The iPad (2022) has only Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and a USB-C port limited to 480Mbps USB 2.0. Neither of the cellular models is equipped for mmWave 5G — only sub-6GHz 5G frequencies.

Apple iPad mini (2024) vs. iPad (2022): software and features

Apple

The Apple Intelligence features will mark the most significant break between the iPad (2022) in this year’s iPad mini. While both models can run iPadOS 18 now and are likely to upgrade to iPadOS 19 and beyond, only the iPad mini will be able to take advantage of the new Apple Intelligence capabilities.

Still, it will be a few weeks or even months before these features reach a point where they set the two devices apart. The first release of Apple Intelligence in iPadOS 18.1 adds primarily text-based features, such as writing tools, summarization of notifications, emails, and audio transcripts, plus some relatively minor Siri improvements and a new Clean Up tool in Photos that’s essentially Apple’s take on Google’s Magic Eraser. More advanced features like AI image generation, ChatGPT integration, and a significantly smarter Siri aren’t coming until future iOS 18 point releases.

If you’re looking forward to Apple Intelligence, the iPad mini (2024) will have you ready for it, but if AI isn’t your cup of tea, you won’t find too many things the iPad mini can do that the iPad (2022) can’t. Everything else in iPadOS 18 is available to both models except for features related to the Apple Pencil; the iPad mini (2024) supports everything the new Apple Pencil Pro offers, including hover and more advanced gestures with haptic feedback.

Apple iPad mini (2024) vs. iPad (2022): cameras

Apple

For most tablet users, getting a top-notch camera isn’t a huge priority, and Apple’s iPad lineup continues to reflect this. Not only is the rear camera on the iPad mini (2024) virtually unchanged from its predecessor, but it’s the same as what Apple offers on the rest of the iPad lineup — even the flagship M4 iPad Pro.

Specifically, the iPad mini (2024) and iPad (2022) sport the same single rear camera with a 12-megapixel sensor, an f/1.8 aperture, and a 5x digital zoom. The new iPad mini has a slight advantage with a True Tone flash that the larger iPad lacks and an upgrade to its Smart HDR 4 computational photography algorithm compared to Smart HDR 3 in the iPad (2022). The jury is out on whether that’s a good thing, but we don’t think it matters much on a tablet either way.

Joe Maring / Digital Trends

The video recording specs are also identical, providing 4K video recording at up to 60 frames per second (fps), extended dynamic range at up to 30 fps, and 1080p slo-mo video at up to 240 fps.

Things are slightly different around the front, but that’s primarily due to camera placement since the specs between the two iPads are identical. The landscape placement on the iPad (2022) provides a more natural experience for videoconferencing, while the iPad mini is better used in portrait orientation for casual video calls.

If you want to use your tablet for traditional photography, the iPad mini has the obvious edge of being smaller and easier to hold. It’s still pretty unwieldy compared to an iPhone or other smartphone, but it’s much better than taking photos with a full-sized iPad, especially in a crowd.

Apple iPad mini (2024) vs. iPad (2022): battery life and charging

Apple

While you may think a bigger iPad should have room for a larger battery and, therefore, offer longer battery life, it turns out this isn’t the case for these two models — at least not according to Apple’s published specs.

Apple claims the new iPad mini offers the same battery life as the iPad (2022) despite the latter having a smaller cell inside. This is likely due to a combination of the more power-efficient A17 Pro and a smaller screen that consumes less energy.

We found the battery on the larger iPad impressive. It easily got us through two days of solid use in our review with room to spare. We’ll have to wait until we get our hands on the new iPad mini to see how it holds up under the same conditions, but we’re optimistic as Apple’s promises in this area are typically pretty realistic.

Charging performance for both models should also be roughly on par, as both have a USB-C port and include the same 20W power adapter and braided one-meter USB-C charging cable.

Apple iPad mini (2024) vs. iPad (2022): price and availability

The iPad mini (2024) is now available for preorder and will arrive in stores on October 23. The base model comes with 128GB of storage and starts at $499 for Wi-Fi only or $649 for the 5G version. Higher-capacity 256GB and 512GB models are available starting at $599 and $799 for Wi-Fi or $749 and $949 for Wi-Fi + Cellular models. All versions are available in Space Gray, Starlight, blue, and purple.

The iPad (2022) can be purchased from Apple and most other major retailers. It starts at $349 for 64GB with Wi-Fi and $499 for 5G connectivity, with the 256GB versions selling for $499 and $649, respectively. It’s available in blue, pink, yellow, and silver.

Apple iPad mini (2024) vs. iPad (2022): verdict

Apple

The iPad mini (2024) sits in an interesting spot in Apple’s tablet lineup. It features mostly the same specs as the full-sized iPad Air with a slightly less powerful chip, a smaller form factor, and a $100 lower price tag. On the other hand, the 2021 iPad mini was already a step ahead when the iPad (2022) debuted. The 2024 model widens that performance gap significantly.

However, the choice here likely won’t be based primarily on performance. Ultimately, the decision for most folks will be whether to go for a full-sized iPad with a 10.9-inch screen or a smaller and more portable 8.3-inch model. If a smaller iPad is your top priority, the iPad mini is the only game in town. However, the iPad mini (2024) also delivers the best price-to-performance value for those willing to live with a smaller screen You’ll need to move up to the pricier iPad Air to get the best of both worlds, and while that also gets a performance boost from the M2 chip, that’s not something that most typical iPad users will notice.

Nevertheless, if you want the largest possible iPad without spending a bundle, it’s the iPad (2022). While there have been rumors of a new model being right around the corner, Apple recently made some significant packaging changes to the iPad (2022) in Europe — a move that seems to suggest that a refresh isn’t as imminent as many believed. We likely won’t see a new standard iPad until at least next spring, and there are some reports it may be slated for a fall release. So, if you’re looking for the most affordable iPad available today, the iPad (2022) remains a solid pick, especially since it’s not hard to find it on sale for an even lower price.