Is The iPad Mini Worth It? Here’s Why I Am Returning It…
Don’t want to read, watch the video here.
The iPad Mini finally got a refresh and it’s just alright. If you are like me and are an iPad Pro user, you might get very frustrated with the mini, actually even if you’re a 2020 Air user. I was so excited to buy the mini that I drove 1hr and 20mins, one way… to pick it up, the day of release. I wanted something smaller to just grab and go and with cellular. Sadly, I have been disappointed, mostly because I think the mini is a huge downgrade from the Pro, especially since Apple is charging a premium price for the iPad Mini. I could have got over the downgrade part IF the items below weren’t so terrible. Below are 10 reasons why I am returning my iPad Mini.
The app screens are driving me crazy!! The amount of space that is left on the sides when in landscape mode, annoying to say the least. It feels very android for some reason lol.
Safari is a nightmare, everything is tiny, you have to zoom in just to read something, the scaling is not done properly.
The display is good, but it’s obviously not iPad Pro good, you will notice the difference. Everything looks slightly blurry. I was able to fix this a bit by using a different background, I had setup the mini to mirror my Pro, so the Pro background was super blurry, once I changed it, it made a huge difference.
Touch ID… I get it, they need to save things for the Pro models, but baaabyyy the Touch ID is like going back in time. I can not seem to get use to it, at all. I instantly go for the swipe up and expect it to unlock.
Now that the 2nd Gen Pencil works with the mini, Apple moved the volume buttons to what they consider the top because the pencil takes up pretty much the entire side of the mini. Again, may seem like a small change, but this makes it more difficult to turn your iPad off and take a screenshot. You literally have to use both hands to perform either of those tasks.
Wrist is HURTING! Using the pencil with the mini while the iPad is not placed on a flat surface is painful, there is no room for you to rest your wrist. I noticed this to be the worst when I was laying in bed. So, if you plan on not getting or not using a pencil with the mini, this wont even affect you.
It feels cheap! They basically just shrunk everything from the larger iPads and threw it on the mini. Nothing feels right or good on the iPad mini. Wasted space on far too many screens. Apple was being lazy with this product in my opinion. They just refreshed the outside to look like the the Air and Pros and called it a day. They only showed us things that looked good on the mini during their keynote.
Touch points are difficult, sometimes you’ll touch something to perform a task and the mini just doesn’t respond, like at all… come on Apple. I have seen other people say this as well, so, no, my device wasn’t defective, unless there’s an entire batch of defected devices 🤔. This even happens in native Apple apps.
I don’t like the storage options, this easily could have been a 128gb and 256gb, instead the options are 64gb and 256gb. Minor thing, let’s please just abolish the 64gb.
The keyboard isn’t scaled down, it takes up 3/4 of the screen when in landscape mode. I really paid over $800 for a product that is just okay and cute lol. Now that I think about it, for what you are getting I just don’t think the price point is worth it. Sure the mini is a premium product, but I can’t even comfortably use the product, the way it’s meant to be used. They should have been more affordable. When I saw the keynote, I thought the $499 price was going to be at least for a 128gb.
The things I listed, honestly will probably only affect iPad Pro users, so if you’re looking to get your first iPad or upgrading your current iPad that is not a Pro then the mini will be a good choice for you. If as a Pro user, you feel like you can get over the things listed above, then by all means buy, buy, buy lol. I feel like I could get over a lot of the small stuff, like touch ID, screen resolution, but since there are problems with scaling, and touch points, it’s not worth it to me. I tried really hard to keep the iPad Mini because I do like the compactness of it, I wanted something to throw in my purse and be on my way, but I’m a Pro girl and an avid Pencil user 🤷🏽♀️. Maybe I’ll give it another chance in the future, right now, I can not justify this purchase. I will probably downgrade to the 64gb, if I do give it another chance because I don’t see myself using the camera or storing too much on the physical device.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Do you love the mini, hate it, returned it, etc.?
