Detailed Comparison of Apple iPad Mini vs iPad Air

apple ipad mini vs ipad air

The Apple iPad Mini and Apple iPad Air tablet is compared here. We all know that Apple tablets are best in all the possible ways but here, we will decide which one is best to buy in between the Mini and Air of Apple.

apple ipad miniapple ipad air
Apple iPad MiniApple iPad Air
BUY NOWBUY NOW
PROSPROS
Very strong processor and graphics.
Vibrant and sharp True Tone screen.
Apple Pencil support.
Small and light.
Excellent 10.5-inch screen.
Superb performance.
Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard support.
Great battery life.
Helpful multitasking features.
CONSCONS
Limited screen size for working.
The design is a bit outdated now.
No Smart Connector for keyboards.
Dull design.
Fast charging cable and adapter are not included.
No second-gen Apple Pencil support.

SPECIFICATIONS:

MODELAPPLE IPAD MINIAPPLE IPAD AIR
BrandAppleApple
ModeliPad MiniiPad Air
DISPLAYAPPLE IPAD MINIAPPLE IPAD AIR
Diagonal Size7.9″ Retina display10.5″ Multi-Touch Retina Display
TechnologyTFT active matrixTFT active matrix
LCD Backlight TechnologyLED backlightLED backlight
Pixel Density326 PPI264 PPI
PROCESSORAPPLE IPAD MINIAPPLE IPAD AIR
ProcessorA12 Bionic chip.Apple A12 64-Bit SoC + M12 Coprocessor
MISCELLANEOUSAPPLE IPAD MINIAPPLE IPAD AIR
FeaturesAirPlay, AssistiveTouch, Dictation, VoiceOver screen reader, charging via USB, iBeacon microlocationAirPlay, AssistiveTouch, Dictation, VoiceOver screen reader, charging via USB, iBeacon microlocation
ColorSpace Gray, Silver, GoldGold, Silver, Space Gray
MEMORYAPPLE IPAD MINIAPPLE IPAD AIR
Storage64 GB64 or 256 GB
CONNECTIVITYAPPLE IPAD MINIAPPLE IPAD AIR
Wi-Fi Connectivity802.11ac Wi-Fi.Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
BluetoothBluetooth 5.0Bluetooth 5.0
CAMERA FEATURESAPPLE IPAD MINIAPPLE IPAD AIR
Front Camera7.0MP FaceTime HD7MP FaceTime HD
Rear Camera8.0MP8MP
DIMENSIONS & WEIGHTAPPLE IPAD MINIAPPLE IPAD AIR
Width5.3 in6.9 in
Depth0.2 in0.2 in
Height8 in9.9 in
Weight10.6 oz16.08 oz
POWERAPPLE IPAD MINIAPPLE IPAD AIR
Battery Life10 hour(s)10 hour(s)
FEATURESAPPLE IPAD MINIAPPLE IPAD AIR
FeaturesiPad mini features a thin, light, and portable design that makes it the perfect on-the-go companion.

The A12 Bionic chip with Neural Engine enables a remarkable level of power and intelligence. It uses real-time machine learning to recognize patterns, make predictions, and learn from experience.

iPad mini packs over 3 million pixels into a 7.9‑inch display. And we made them all count. Whether you’re reading in the park or editing video in your home office, the high brightness, wide color, and antireflective coating offer true-to-life detail and razor-sharp text. And True Tone dynamically adjusts white balance so images look natural in any light.

The front and back cameras in iPad mini let you take vivid photos and cinematic videos. But the fun doesn’t stop there. Make FaceTime calls with friends, scan documents and mark them up, or even use augmented reality to plan out your living room decor.

Apple Pencil opens up new possibilities for iPad mini.4 Together they turn iPad mini into your take-anywhere digital notebook. Jot down notes, sign documents, and fill out forms. Or capture your most creative ideas by drawing, painting, or sketching on the go.

iPadOS on iPad mini gives you the full iPad experience in the most compact iPad. Use multiple apps at once, launch your favorite apps from the Dock, and drag and drop files using simple Multi‑Touch gestures. Access your files all in one place with the Files app.

iCloud keeps things like your photos, files, and notes safe, current, and conveniently available on all your devices. And the Files app lets you manage all your files — in iCloud Drive and on your iPad mini — in one central location.

Apple iPad Air now supports Apple Pencil and smart keyboard.

With its thin, light design and 10-hour battery life, you can take it anywhere and use it all day.

A12 bionic chip delivers fast performance and can run the most powerful apps.

10.5 inch retina display is completely immersive with stunning color and easy reading in any light.

Detail Review

INTRODUCTION:

Apple iPad Mini

This is technically the fifth-generation iPad Mini but it’s struggled to see the difference just by looking at it. Actually using it, however, it’s a massively forward. 

Apple iPad Air

This is the third-generation iPad Air. It comes in a few different variants, there is the 64 gigabyte Wi-Fi model at 499 dollars or 649 for 256 gigabytes. If you’d like cellular with that, it’s about a hundred and thirty dollars more. This one has a nice and bright large screen and some premium features. 

apple ipad mini

DESIGN & DISPLAY:

Apple iPad Mini

The design is just with a few minor tweaks, it’s essentially the same thing as the original from what seven years ago. On the one hand, it still looks good and it’s a premium well-built tablet and also in this form factor, it is relatively easy to use one-handed if you’re just reading books or watching videos. Also, it means they’ll be compatible with all older iPad mini accessories but those huge bezels at the top and the bottom, it definitely doesn’t look like a brand new 2019 tablet.

It’s a 7.9-inch retina LCD screen and great for reading books, watching videos, browsing the web, playing games, dueling with the pencil and unlike iPad Pro which is obviously much bigger and cost about twice as much, there’s no question around the iPad Mini replacing your laptop or your desktop, it’s clearly a secondary device. Something like the iPad Mini which doesn’t cost an absolute fortune and even with a case on is still a good size, it will be great for playing games. They do offer much better value for money.

Apple iPad Air

The iPad Air feels pretty familiar so far in fact, it’s got stainless steel on the back. We got a laminated display, so that means the display and the glass are glued together and that will give you a really nice viewing experience, very similar to the iPad Pro. We have touch ID, it should be the latest generation touch ID.

The display is 10.5 inches, it’s laminated. It’s 2224 by 1668, it has 264 pixels per inch. It supports P3 wide color gamut, it also is true tone It has an oleophobic coating on it as well as an anti-reflective coating and goes up to 500 nits.

This is a 500 nits display, so it should go nice and bright, that’s a really nice display. It’s not the brightest of Apple displays but it’s pretty good for an iPad. The screen looks a little different, but we can draw pretty fast. It’s nice and responsive. It doesn’t have that 120 Hertz display but it is nice and fluid.

It has a much nicer display than the non-laminated display. It just looks really good, it’s right up at the screen just like the iPad Pro. It’s just such a better experience if you’ve ever used one.

apple ipad air

SPECIFICATIONS:

Apple iPad Mini

With the ridiculously powerful A12 Bionic processor, the same one used in the iPhone 10S, 3 GB of RAM up from 2 on the old iPad Mini, more storage, and it ships running iOS 12. So, this feels like a proper modern Apple device. Starting at 399 dollars is the iPad Mini still the best mini tablet on the market.

The new Mini offers a whole host of upgrades. The new processor, a much better screen that’s 25% brighter, more color accurate, less reflective. We get Apple pencil support although frustratingly, it’s still the first-gen version. A brand new 7-megapixel selfie camera and a major overhaul of connectivity including Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi AC, and gigabit LTE on the cellular version. So that’s a pretty big upgrade then in almost every way except the design. There’s no face ID here. We have the classic touch ID home button.

Thick bezels and old ports aside, it’s still lovely to use. It’s 6.1 millimeters thick has dual speakers but be it only on the bottom like the iPad Pro. So, the sound only comes out of one side but there is a headphone jack. You can even run AR apps now on the Mini since we have the A12 chip and iOS 12 but whatever you end up, using it is just a nice experience.

The reason Apple didn’t go with the second-gen pencil for the new Mini or the new Air is that you need the USB-C port and also the iPad Pro with the new design has the flat magnetic edges. So, the first-gen pencil definitely has its flaws but it’s still nice to use and it’s a good option to have. You can always use Bluetooth keyboards with the Mini but it’s not as seamless and it’s just a bit small. 

The 7-megapixel front camera has also been updated plus they reposition the microphone. So, it’s much better for FaceTime calls. The camera on the back though is basically the same as before 8 megapixels, it can shoot 1080p video. Quality is good, it’s good enough for scanning documents if that’s what you need but you probably shouldn’t really expect to take great photos with an iPad Mini.

Apple iPad Air

It has 2 speakers on the bottom and you’ll see we have our lightning connector. Now unlike the other 10.5 inch iPad Pro, we don’t have additional speakers. So we’ve only got two speakers at the bottom. We still retain our headphone jack, we’ve got a little microphone and then we also have our camera, power sleep-wake, volume buttons around the side. As far as its rigidity Feels pretty good. We have three gigabytes of RAM, so that’s to be expected.

On the back, we have an 8-megapixel camera with an F 2.4 aperture and it only does 1080p video. The front also has a 7-megapixel camera and it’s an F 2.2 aperture and that also does 1080p. So, no 4k and it’s basically the same cameras that you get in the new iPad Mini.

You also have a smart connector here that I didn’t mention before and you can use this with the iPad Pro keyboard. This looks like it’s already pre-installed with iOS 12.2 That means, we have the latest of the OS that’s currently out to the public. Everything seems nice and fast and that’s due to the new A12 Bionic processor with the M12 coprocessor, it has that neural engine as well.

Now, one of the weird things that they did with the mini and this one is this only supports the first-generation pencil not the second-generation. So, if we want to use an Apple pencil with it we can, so that part is nice but we have to do weird charging pairing through the bottom of the iPad. We should do that because to pair, we’ll wait for it to pair and it will take just a moment to come up on the screen, and then we’ll pair. After that, we should be able to use it Well, if it didn’t pair yet, we’ll give it a moment. We should be able to use it for notes or whatever, we can scroll through everything.

Now, just like all other iPads, this has a ton of different sensors in it. It has a digital compass and an ibeacon micro-location sensor. It also has a three-axis gyro and accelerometer and barometer and an ambient light sensor. Also, if you get the cellular version, you have GPS and GLONASS on the cellular models to help locate it. So, you can use GPS on a map, that part’s really nice.

It’s a simple iPad and I think it’ll get the job done for most people but unfortunately, you don’t have those stereo speakers. It will do any task you want because it’s got the latest chipset in it. So, if you want to edit 4k video, you can go into iMovie.

All the latest iPads still support the split view, of course, so if you want to open the App Store, for example, and then maybe bring up Safari and wait for it to load. We can slide over, you gonna have multiple apps going at the same time. It’s just really nice to use all of those different things.

apple ipad mini

BATTERY:

Apple iPad Mini

Apple has stuck with a lightning connector whether than USB-C which you get on the latest iPad Pro. iMacs, MacBooks, and iPad Pro 7 use USB-C whereas iPhones and cheaper iPads still have lightning. They do these all because to differentiate it from the higher-end models.

Battery life is incredible though. Apple quotes 10 hours the same as all other iPads but even that’s a bit conservative, it’s seriously good. It’ll easily get you through a full day, if you’re just watching videos or browsing the web, you’ll easily get 11 hours.

Apple iPad Air

We have our lightning cable, this is a USB to lightning. There is no USB-C on this particular model. We expect this to get about 10 hours of battery life. Most iPads do live up to that claim and we’ll get 10 hours of battery life and then for your connectivity, this does have wireless A, B, G, N, AC, and also Bluetooth 5.0. So it’s got all of the latest wireless standards, of course, it doesn’t have Wi-Fi-6 but we haven’t seen a ton of support for that just yet.

apple ipad air

WHICH TO BUY?

Both the iPad is nice to use and works well. If you want to decide which one you have to buy and for that, you should decide that for what purpose you need it. If you want to use it as a normal tablet like for gaming and watching movies like that then the iPad Mini is good enough. If you want a great tablet that you can use one-handed, then you can’t really beat the iPad Mini. On the other hand, if you want a large tablet with some premium features, then you should go for iPad Air which is light and also large. Both are greater than the Apple iPad. 

Expert Reviews of Apple iPad Mini:

By Goodhousekeeping
Ideal if you’re looking for an extremely compact tablet that doesn’t compromise on speed or battery life. It doesn’t come cheap, but with the screen that’s great for reading e-books and support for a stylus, this is a great buy.Key SpecificationsScreen…

By Techradar
The iPad mini (2019) is the best small tablet to carry one-handed, even if its design hasn’t changed in any significant way from the iPad mini 4 more than three and a half years ago. Its 7.9-inch screen is a familiar, albeit unbeatable way to read and…

By Hardwarezone
How do they perform?Since the new iPad Air and iPad Mini are powered by the Apple A12 Bionic, it’s not surprising to see that their performances were largely similar to the iPhone XS Max.That’s not a bad thing as we can see that the iPad Air, iPad Mini,…

By Gadgets360
The iPad mini (2019) is a fantastic tablet overall. It’s definitely not geared towards heavy productivity-oriented use, but it’s almost perfect for casual use. Its form factor is perfect for commutes or travelling, and it’s got really powerful hardware…

By Trusted Reviews
The iPad Mini 5 is excellent for the purpose for which it’s designed. This isn’t a productivity beast, nor is it attempting to replace your laptop; it’s a super-fast tablet that will slip easily into your bag and act as an incredible gaming and…

Expert Reviews of Apple iPad Air:

By Trusted Reviews
The iPad Air 2019 isn’t the most innovative Apple-slate on the market, but by getting all the basics right it easily earns a place as one of the year’s best tablets and is an ideal option for most buyers.

By Mashable
Despite its name, the new iPad Air (2019) is basically an iPad Pro, only without the expensive price tag.

By Notebookcheck
The Apple iPad Air (2019) combines a modern SoC with proven technology.

By Macworld
The iPad Air is a powerful and easy-to-use tablet with a large and well-specced screen, long battery life and attractive design, all at a sensible price. There are some compromises here, but as an all-round package this is vastly appealing.

By Thestraitstimes
The longest holdout in Apple’s iPad family – the iPad Air 2 – has finally been updated after nearly five years.The most prominent change in the new model, which launched last month and reverts to the iPad Air name, is its larger 10.5-inch display with…