iPad mini (A17 Pro) vs iPad 10th gen preview: smallest or cheapest?
Intro
Instead of using the fanfare and spotlight of the September Glowtime event, Apple chose to introduce a new iPad mini rather silently, via a press release and new pre-order page. It comes in the same portable shape and size as before, but with a new powerful chip — the A17 Pro.
Obviously, the iPad mini 7th gen was refreshed so it can support the new Apple Intelligence features (coming soon ™). But there's one tablet that was left behind. The reliable old iPad 10th gen.
The last time the iPad 10 got any sort of update was early this year, when its price was dropped. It starts at $349, making it the most affordable tablet in the Apple lineup. The iPad mini, on the other hand, is the smallest one — but it starts at $499. The obvious question here is which one is the better buy?
iPad mini (A17 Pro) vs iPad 10th gen differences explained:
| iPad mini (A17 Pro) | iPad 10th gen |
|---|---|
| Small tablet, 8.3", can be held in one palm while drawing with the other | A "regular" 10.9-inch tablet for most use cases |
| Supports Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil USB-C | Supports base Apple Pencil (1st gen, and USB-C variant) |
| No official keyboard accessory | Magic Keyboard Folio |
| Landscape stereo | Landscape stereo |
| 128 GB / 8 GB 256 GB / 8 GB 512 GB / 8 GB | 64 GB / 4 GB 256 GB / 4 GB |
| A17 Pro chip (3 nm) | A14 Bionic chip (5 nm) |
| USB Type-C with USB 3 speed | USB Type-C with USB 2 speed |
Table of Contents:
Design and Display Quality
Cut from the same cloth
So, it's no surprise that the iPad mini looks like a smaller version of the iPad 10th gen. But it's actually the higher quality product. Yes, it's more expensive because of the hardware inside, but the screen is also laminated. It's a process where the digitizer and the actual display panel are fused into one layer, making the glass appear like it's thinner (well, it is in a way). And the coating on top is anti-reflective.
The screen of the base iPad 10th gen doesn't look bad per se, but it definitely appears more "sunken into" the body of the tablet. Also, the base iPad has no anti-reflective coating, so it definitely gives you a less-than-premium experience when using. Also, the iPad 10th gen has an sRGB color profile, the iPad mini 7 has a wide color P3 one, which matters more for pro graphic work.
On the other hand, the bigger 10.9" screen of the iPad 10th gen lends itself much more for a wide selection of everyday tasks. From doing homework, to reading books, to binging Netflix and gaming. The iPad mini can definitely do these things, but its screen will feel constricting for more prolonged or focused sessions. It's definitely a tablet that puts portability first.
Also, there's no official keyboard cover for the iPad mini, though Apple proudly states that it supports Bluetooth keyboards — imagine if it didn't. The iPad 10th gen does have a proprietary Magic Keyboard Folio for it, which is pretty nice, but also a bit expensive at $250. That's... almost the price of the iPad itself.ƒ
Both tablets unlock via a fingerprint reader embedded in the power button — we've had that since the iPad Air 4th gen and it works quite quickly and reliably.
Performance and Software
M1 capabilities in an A17 chip
Up until yesterday, Apple claimed that the new Apple Intelligence features are coming to iPads equipped with an M1 chip or above. Well, add a tiny correction to that. The new iPad mini 7th gen has an A17 Pro chip inside. The same silicon that was in the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
In other words, yes, the iPad mini (A17 Pro) will also support Apple's AI. It will also run pro apps faster than the iPad 10th gen, which has an old Apple A14 Bionic inside (the SoC that was in the iPhone 12).
So, while the mini is smaller, it's also faster. And, for the gamers out there — it will run Assassin's Creed, Resident Evil, Death Stranding, and the other AAA games that should be popping up in the App Store in the future.
The question we have is — will the iPad mini (A17 Pro) also be able to run Stage Manager when you hook it up to an external monitor? The processor sounds like it's powerful enough to support it, but the wording on Apple's page makes it seem like the mini will only support screen mirroring. That'd be a huge miss, but oh well.
Camera
Sounds like the same thing
Few out there use a huge tablet as their main everyday camera, and manufacturers aren't putting a whole lot of weight into the cameras of their tablets, of course. You need a good enough selfie camera for video calls, and a good enough rear camera for document scans or just quick, impromptu pictures of random things and fleeting moments.
Both the iPad 10th gen and iPad mini 7th have a 12 MP main camera and 12 MP front camera — that's it. Sounds like they will perform very much the same, which in our experience with previous iPads is in the realm of "Quite OK".
The front cameras have the ultra-wide lenses on them to allow iPadOS to use the Center Stage feature. That's the one where the camera automatically zooms in on your face and follows you around, so you are not tied down to one particular spot while on a video call.
Battery Life and Charging
"All day"
Apple says both of these will allow for up to 10 hours of web browsing or video binging. So, their battery performance should be around the same, though we are still curious if the iPad mini will drain faster if we run heavy 3D apps, video editing, or audio software on it.
In any case, our benchmark test for the iPad 10th gen confirm the web browsing part — 10 hours 30 minutes, actually — and say that it lasts 6 hours and 30 minutes for video streaming. We assume Apple's benchmark points to watching on-device video. It also gave us 6 hours and 40 minutes of gaming.
Based on Apple's specs, we expect very similar results from the iPad mini (A17 Pro).
Specs Comparison
Our full iPad mini 7 vs iPad 10th gen specs page goes into more detail, but here are the main points:
| Specs | iPad mini (A17 Pro) | iPad 10th gen |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 195.4 x 134.8 x 6.3 mm | 248.6 x 179.5 x 7 mm |
| Weight | 297 g | 477.0 g |
| Screen | 8.3-inch LCD 60 Hz Wide color P3 | 10.9-inch LCD 60 Hz sRGB |
| Processor | Apple A17 Pro (3 nm) | Apple A14 Bionic (5 nm) |
| RAM, Storage and Price | 8 GB/128 GB - $499 8 GB/256 GB - $599 8 GB/512 GB - $799 | 4 GB/64 GB for $349 4 GB/256 GB for $499 |
| Cameras | 12MP F1.8 12MP front, ultra-wide, f/2.4 | 12MP F1.8 12MP front, ultra-wide, f/2.4 |
| Battery Size | 5,078 mAh | 7,606 mAh |
| Charging Speeds | 20 W wired USB-C | 20 W wired USB-C |
Which one should you buy?
These are very different tablets for very different needs. The iPad mini, in particular, is a very niche device. It's more powerful than many tablets out there, but doesn't offer a lot of screen to work on. It's for those that need truly portable power, especially if you need to sketch with the Apple Pencil on the go.
The iPad 10th gen is more of a "catch-all" tablet. It's cheap, by iPad standards, and it supports the basic Apple Pencil, a basic Magic Keyboard Folio (though, its price is anything but basic), and has the core iPadOS features.
So, to answer the question — most people will want the iPad 10th gen, unless they are willing to shell out for something like the iPad Air M2 or iPad Pro M4. But be careful — it's quite possible that Apple will do a silent launch of the iPad 11th gen to bring AI features to its most affordable iPad line in the near future.
Those that need the portability and the power and pro experience... well, they already have the iPad mini in their shopping cart.
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