I have been an enthusiastic tablet user for many MANY years now. I purchased the original iPad 1 and loved it - and definitely understood what all the fuss was about. The iPad really allowed you to be comfortable browsing the internet whilst sitting on the sofa - this was something I would never really be comfortable with trying to do with a laptop computer.
Unfortunately, in the case of the original iPad 1, the standard applications did leave a lot to be desired. Getting even simple documents from one device to another for example required some lateral thinking and you was very reliant with iTunes which offered its own set of limitations.
When the Android tablets came onto the market shortly after the original iPad, they were far more effective when it came to working with other devices - not just your desktop computer. This was thanks to things like conventional USB connections, the ability to use Micro SD Cards and the cross-platform capabilities available with software such as Google Docs, Google Keep and other non-Apple apps.
Things have moved on though. Apple can now easily and effectively run Google applications which takes care of the cross-platform issue, now features full-blown USB Type C support so there’s no problems with squirting your documents and data to external devices and, thanks to the fact that a lot of users not have access to fast internet access, it’s very easy to simply store your stuff in the cloud and bring it down to any other device in your arsenal.
There’s not a pretty significant range of iPad devices now available. Their cheapest large iPad is extremely impressive for the price and brings a lot to the table when it comes to form and function. It’s certainly an impressive alternative to a laptop computer and a massive improvement over the original model. The only real problem with this model is - whilst still being nicely portable - is still a large device to carry around with you.
The iPad Mini forms a clear bridge between a large mobile phone and a conventional tablet. It’s small enough to fit in a fairly large pocket and powerful enough to still get the job done. The screen is a nice bright, conventional colour LCD screen - sadly not an AmoLED screen nor does it feature a high refresh rate but it’s very impressive nonetheless.
Apple will have you think of the iPad Mini as a ‘fun’ device but I think it has the potential to be a useful serious machine - pretty much capable of performing the same kind of tasks that you would put to a larger machine. Whilst the screen is smaller therefore perhaps a little harder to type on directly, you always have the option to use an external bluetooth keyboard if you really need to. I personally think that the iPad Mini is perhaps more designed to be used for reviewing work, researching work and editing work rather than producing work.
In the field people are using the iPad Mini for a wide array of different applications. Pilots are using them as alternatives for knee pad notes, mobile workers are using them for data collecting, photographers are using these devices as remote viewfinders and, thanks to its decent colour gamut, to review photos and videos virtually instantly.
Apple recently released an update to their operating system for both the iPad and Mac. Whilst there will always be a significant difference between the two platforms, there are some similarities which definitely make the iPad offer a more productive working environment. Specifically one of the more interesting features to be found on the latest OS is the ability to have all your apps work in re-sizable windows. Unfortunately this is less than an ideal feature on a machine with such a small screen. Still, it’s nice to have nonetheless.
My iPad Mini features the ability to use cellular and comes with 256gb of RAM which definitely offers a boost when it comes to doing serious things with the machine. In addition to the Google range of applications - Docs, Calendar, Sheets, etc I have also installed the free Apple productivity apps - Pages and Numbers. Whilst these are genuinely excellent and useful apps, I do prefer to use the Google apps thanks to their ability to be used effortlessly across different devices.
For me, the biggest improvement the latest iPad’s offer has to be the ability to effectively use USB Type C. In addition to improved connectivity with other computers and make use of the many USB-based chargers you will almost certainly have scattered around the house, you can now easily use external storage devices such as SSD drives, USB-hubs - the list is almost endless. However, you should note that if you attempt to connect the iPad Mini 6 to an external display you will only get screen mirroring rather than the excellent DEX function you get with some Samsung devices. Newer versions of the iPad offer enhanced functionality when it comes to connecting to external monitors.
I don’t think I really have a use for the Apple Pencil (or any of its inexpensive counterparts that can be found on Amazon). I have the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite which came with the excellent S-Pen and, to be honest, I almost never use it as my handwriting is appalling, the artistic capabilities are utterly non-existent and I would much rather use either an add-on bluetooth keyboard or an alternative machine when I’m needing to do a lot of text input.
There are aspects to the Apple devices which I am not so impressed with. Whilst there’s no doubt that the applications that are available for the iOS platform are genuinely impressive, they typically do cost money - in fact many applications and games that claim to be free are often only free for a limited amount of time before you have to pay for them. I can easily do many things on my Android devices using just free software which I cannot do for free with Apple. In fact, one of the most common uses I put my Android phone to is listening to regular ebooks using a free e-reader, Google’s free text to speech processing and beaming that to my bluetooth earbuds whilst I’m driving my truck. I have yet to find a way to do this for free on the Apple platform.
In all fairness though it has to be said that generally speaking, software that runs on iOS is quite often of higher quality and more optimised for tablets. This is something that Android quite often lags behind. There is some extremely impressive video and image editing software available for the Apple devices which put many desktop applications to shame.
It’s fair to say that the iPad Mini 6 is an excellent machine. I would highly recommend using some form of case with the device because it’s somewhat slippery and with this device being aimed specifically at portability it’s a layer of protection you really can’t do without.
Whilst the iPad Mini 6 may not be the most powerful tablet out there - that particular award has to be given to the latest iPad Pro models - there can be no doubt that this remarkable little tablet certainly brings a lot to the table thanks to the combination of compact size, excellent screen and powerful processor. There’s a saying in the camera world that states “the very best camera in the world is the one you have on you!”. I think that this is also true when it comes to computing - the very best computer system is the one you have with you - and that would be your phone. However, thanks to its size, it’s also quite possible that you may also have your handy dandy iPad Mini with you as well.